CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Sacred Ellington

St. John the Divine
Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at 8:00 PM

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, New York 10025

Tickets: $40

For more information:
212-247-7800
www.carnegiehall.org

Jessye Norman, Soprano
Mark Markham, Music Director and Piano
Maurice Chestnut, Tap Dancer
Margie Gillis, Dancer
Flux Quartet
·· Tom Chiu, Violin
·· Conrad Harris, Violin
·· Peter Bucknell, Viola
·· Felix Fan, Cello
Sacred Ellington Band
Mike Lovatt, Trumpet
Bill Easley, Saxophone
Ira Coleman, Double Bass
Steve Johns, Drums
Sacred Voices
Lawrence Hamilton, Sacred Voices Director

Suzanne Ishee, Coordinating Producer
Stan Pressner, Lighting Designer
Sound Design by Randy Hansen, ADI
Sue Anne Johnson, Wardrobe Designer

Sacred Ellington--comprising excerpts from Ellington’s magnificent Three Sacred Concerts--is Jessye Norman’s homage to this legendary figure. The concert, which features Jessye Norman with a jazz ensemble, string quartet, gospel choir, and a dancer, takes place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a special sanctuary of central importance in Duke Ellington’s life.

Major funding for Honor! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy has been provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Alice Tully Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation's New York City Cultural Innovation Fund, Howard University, and the A. L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation.

The opening performance of Honor! is sponsored by Bank of America.

Honor! is made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This concert is also supported, in part, by the A. L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation.

Program Notes:


Of all that Duke Ellington accomplished during his extraordinary life (April 29, 1899–May 24, 1974), it was his Sacred Concerts, which premiered in 1965, 1968, and 1973, that he considered “the most important statements I’ve ever made.” Ellington had always been deeply religious; he attended church and prayed regularly from childhood onward, carrying a well-worn Bible with him as he toured the world. But during the last decade of his life, he became more spiritual than before. When the opportunity arose to express his faith musically, it was a road Ellington was thrilled to travel.

Although the vast majority of Ellington’s works had always been secular in nature, his catalog of compositions—so broad in scope that the phrase “beyond category” has often been affixed to his oeuvre—included a number of Spiritual pieces written and recorded prior to the commission of the initial Sacred Concert (which took place at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral). Drawing from those earlier works, including the “Black, Brown, and Beige” suite first performed at Carnegie Hall in 1943, and writing new music for the events, Ellington tied together elements of jazz and classical music with Spirituals and gospel, crafting some of the most ambitious and heartfelt music of his long career. The concerts were successful not only on their own merits, but also as a catalyst for further eradicating the lines dividing secular and religious music.

Ellington’s Sacred Concerts have, since his passing, taken on even greater importance as other musicians around the world have interpreted the music. Among those artists is Jessye Norman, one of the world’s great operatic sopranos, who pays homage to Ellington’s sacred music at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine—the very same New York landmark where Ellington premiered the second of his liturgical works in 1968.

“We’ve done music from the Sacred Concerts in London, Paris, Germany, the south of France, and Lebanon, in all these different venues,” notes Mark Markham, Miss Norman’s longtime musical director and pianist, “but we’ve never done Sacred Ellington in the United States. You couldn’t ask for a better place to perform this music.”

For the occasion, which will feature excerpts from the three concerts, Miss Norman has assembled a diverse cast of participants that includes Markham, tap dancer Maurice Chestnut, dancer Margie Gillis, the FLUX Quartet, trumpeter Mike Lovatt, saxophonist Bill Easley, bassist Ira Coleman, percussionist Steve Johns, plus additional artists that will all be directed by Lawrence Hamilton.

“The Sacred Concerts,” says jazz critic Dan Morgenstern, “were of primary importance to Ellington. He was not bound by the conventions of any particular faith, but the concerts were his sincere and very personal offerings. There could have been no more fitting accompaniment to the procession that ended Ellington’s monumental funeral service at St. John than the recording of ‘Heaven’ from the second Sacred Concert, featuring [singer] Alice Babs and [alto saxophonist] Johnny Hodges. As is so often the case, the artist—not the critics—had the last word.”

One artist who has been profoundly influenced by the Sacred Concerts is jazz guitar legend Kenny Burrell, who also serves as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA. “The Sacred Concerts contain so many wonderful qualities, not the least of which are love and beauty,” he says. “This is great musical art written by a musical genius from the depths of his soul. The Duke Ellington Sacred Concerts, while representing a new development in the sound of sacred music, also represented the ever-expanding role and function of jazz in America and throughout the world. It was certainly an historic breakthrough, but it was also a natural outpouring of music that represented the thoughts, feelings, information, awareness, and extraordinary talent contained in Duke Ellington.”

Critic Gary Giddins, in his book Visions of Jazz: The First Century, expounded upon the magnificence of the music. Giddins wrote of Ellington and this music, “He did not attempt to apply his genius to an established idiom, but rather to bring his own music intact to the church. The difference between playing for the people, whether at the Cotton Club or Westminster Abbey [where the final Sacred Concert premiered], and creating for the greater glory of God, was not lost on him.”

Markham believes that had he still been with us, sitting in the pews at St. John, listening to his own creation being voiced by Jessye Norman, Duke Ellington would be beaming. “Duke’s talent was not just limited to jazz or popular music,” he says. “He had a wonderful mind. He would love to hear it go in this direction and to have somebody of her caliber doing this in a thoughtful, involved, impassioned, inspired way. I don’t think a composer could ask for anything better.”

Burrell concurs. “I truly cannot imagine a better sound or performance in all of music than to hear the magnificent Jessye Norman lending her great voice and artistry to Duke Ellington’s sacred creation,” he says. “This is a monumental event.”

—Jeff Tamarkin
Jeff Tamarkin is the Associate Editor of JazzTimes magazine.

Jessye Norman, Soprano
Jessye Norman is “one of those once-in-a-generation singers who is not simply following in the footsteps of others, but is staking out her own niche in the history of singing” (New York Times). She continues to bring her sumptuous sound, her joy of singing, and her passion to recital performances, operatic portrayals, and appearances with symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles to audiences around the world. The size, power, and luster of her voice share equal acclaim with that of her thoughtful music making, innovative programming of the classics, and fervent advocacy of contemporary music. Miss Norman’s collaborations with artists on the cutting-edge of their respective fields—Robert Wilson, Andre Heller, Bill T. Jones, Steve McQueen, and Laura Karpman—serve to add new dimensions and exciting challenges to her work.

In 2008 Miss Norman presented recitals in Germany and France titled The Five Seasons: Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall, and the eternal season of Love! She brought this theme again to recitals at Carnegie Hall and Royce Hall at the University of California last May.

Miss Norman opened the World Festival of Sacred Music in Fez, Morocco, and The Festival of the Arts in Ohrid, Macedonia, during the summer. She offered recitals in Spain, Austria, and Poland, with orchestral concerts in France, Spain, and Korea. Miss Norman’s jazz program, The Duke and the Diva, was performed as the opening of the performing arts series for the 2008–2009 season at the University of Maryland. The Duke and the Diva was also presented at the Echternach Festival of Luxembourg. She also presented the opening concert of the Festival of Sacred Music in Dijon, France, last October.

In November Miss Norman was presented the highest civilian honor in Austria, The Medal of Arts and Letters by President Heinz Fisher at the Hapsburg Palace in Vienna. President Fisher noted her longstanding artistic relationship with Austria, including her recital debut in Vienna while she was still a graduate student at the University of Michigan, and her appearances all over the country, including 25 years of performances at the Salzburg Festival.

The Jessye Norman School of the Arts in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia, serves as a tuition-free platform and unique study facility for talented middle school students in music performance, writing, drama, dance, and visual arts. A fellowship and master class series recently established in her name at the University of Michigan’s School of Music further attest to Miss Norman’s encouragement and support of emerging talent.

Miss Norman is the recipient of many prestigious awards. In December 1997 she was presented with the highest accolade in the US for the performing arts—the Kennedy Center Honor—making history as the youngest recipient in the Honors’ 20-year existence. Her many other prestigious distinctions include honorary doctorates at some 35 colleges, universities, and conservatories around the world.

Miss Norman’s distinguished catalogue of more than 75 recordings has earned numerous awards, including France’s Grand Prix National du Disque for the music of Wagner, Schumann, Mahler, and Schubert; London’s prestigious Gramophone Award for her outstanding interpretation of Strauss’s Four Last Songs; Amsterdam’s Edison Prize; and recording honors in Belgium, Spain, and Germany. In the US her Grammy Award–winning recordings include Songs of Maurice Ravel, and Wagner’s Lohengrin and Die Walküre. Miss Norman’s recording of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra received the Grammy Award for Best Opera in February 1999. She was also the winner of an ACE Award from the National Academy of Cable Programming for “Jessye Norman at Notre Dame,” televised throughout the US on the Arts and Entertainment Television Network.

In February 2006 Miss Norman became only the fourth opera singer in the 48-year history of the Grammy Awards to be presented with The Lifetime Achievement Award for Classical Music. Creating her own place in this legendary list of awardees, Miss Norman joined the illustrious company of Enrico Caruso, Marian Anderson, and Leontyne Price.

Miss Norman was the Harmon-Eisner artist in residence at the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival, where she spoke about her career, the absolute necessity for arts education in the public schools, and the political and social elements required to make the arts available for all to experience.

In addition to her busy performance schedule, Miss Norman serves on the Board of Directors for the New York Public Library and on the Board of Governors for the New York Botanical Garden. She is also on the boards of Carnegie Hall, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Howard University, the Lupus Foundation of America, Paine College, and the Augusta Opera Association. She is national spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation and the Partnership for the Homeless.

Mark Markham, Music Director and Piano
Born in Pensacola, Florida, pianist Mark Markham made his debut in 1980 as a soloist with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and, that same year, was invited by Boris Goldovsky to coach opera at the Oglebay Institute. After studying for 10 years at the Peabody Conservatory—where he received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees—he won several competitions, including First Prize and the Contemporary Music Prize at the 1988 Frinna Awerbuch International Competition in New York. He has given solo recitals at the National Gallery in Washington, DC; the New York Public Library; the Baltimore Museum of Art; and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

In 1987 Mr. Markham was appointed pianist of the Contemporary Music Forum in Washington, DC; he has also performed with the the Baltimore Woodwind Quintet as well as the Brentano, Mozarteum, Glinka, and Castagnieri quartets. Appreciated for his improvisational skills, he collaborated with Sir Peter Ustinov for a live television broadcast at Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany.
Mr. Markham has been the recital partner of Jessye Norman since 1995, giving more than 150 performances in 22 countries, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, La Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Salzburg Festival, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in Greece, and at the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize presentation to President Jimmy Carter in Oslo. This season he gives recitals with Ms. Norman in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Aix-en-Provence, New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

In 1990 Mr. Markham was invited to join the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory, where he served for 10 years as a vocal coach and professor of vocal repertoire and accompanying. A former faculty member of Morgan State University, the Britten-Pears School in England, and the Norfolk Chamber Festival of Yale University, he has presented master classes for pianists and singers throughout the US, Europe, and Asia; in addition, he has been a guest lecturer for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Johns Hopkins University. Last fall he joined the faculty of Grand Valley State University as assistant professor of piano.

Maurice Chestnut, Tap Dancer

Margie Gillis, Dancer
Internationally acclaimed modern dance artist Margie Gillis has been performing her solo dance concerts for over 30 years. As choreographer and performer of more than 80 original solo dance works, she has earned rave reviews throughout the world for her intimate, emotional, and intelligent portrayals of the multiple facets of the human soul.

Born in Montreal to a family of accomplished athletes, Margie Gillis could not have wished for a better environment in which to develop her talent. Showing a passion for dance early in life, she began ballet and gymnastic lessons at the age of three. She has studied with such prominent teachers as May O'Donnell, Linda Rabin, Lynda Raino, and Allan Wayne. Over the years this charismatic dancer has forged a unique style and technique. Critics have unanimously acclaimed her intricate yet larger-than-life expression of the complex human heart.

In 1979 Ms. Gillis introduced modern dance to China, being the first performer, teacher, and lecturer in that art since China’s cultural revolution. Two years later she founded her own company, the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation, to support and promote her work. Ms. Gillis’s international tours have since taken her to India, Europe, and the Middle East, as well as across North and South America.

Ms. Gillis also collaborates with other artists in various productions of interest. She was in the original company and involved in the creation of two of Martha Clarke's major works. She has performed twice with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in pieces by her brother, the late dancer-choreographer Christopher Gillis. With Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, she danced the role of Miss Lucy in James Kudelka's Dracula. She has been a guest artist with The National Ballet of Canada, Ballet British Columbia, Momix, and the Bruce Wood Dance Company. She has also collaborated with many important figures in the world of dance, most notably John Butler, Paul-André Fortier, Christopher Gillis, Pauline Koner, James Kudelka, Peggy Baker, Robbie LaFosse, Joao Mauricio, Tedd Robinson, Rina Schenfeld, Paola Styron, Rex Harrington, and Emily Molnar. She was recently part of the Sacred Ellington tour with Jessye Norman, and danced in Adela, a film choreographed by José Navas.

Ms. Gillis is an Honorary Cultural Ambassador for both the Québec and Canadian governments. In 1988 she became the first modern dance artist to be appointed to the Order of Canada. In 2001 she received a Career Grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for her exceptional contribution to Québec culture. She has also lent her voice to a number of organizations dedicated to the fight against AIDS.

Flux Quartet
·· Tom Chiu, Violin
·· Conrad Harris, Violin
·· Peter Bucknell, Viola
·· Felix Fan, Cello
The FLUX Quartet has performed to rave reviews at many music centers around the world, appearing at Da Camera of Houston, Miller Theater, the Walker Art Center, the Library of Congress, and the When Morty Met John festival at Carnegie Hall. It has also recently debuted in Ireland at the Samuel Beckett Centenary Festival and in San Francisco with the Morrison Series, which invited the quartet back as special guests for the series’ 50th anniversary gala concert. FLUX’s numerous radio credits include NPR’s All Things Considered, WNYC’s New Sounds and Soundcheck, and WFMU’s Stochastic Hit Parade. Its growing discography includes recordings by composers Michael Byron, Annie Gosfield, and bagpipe virtuoso Matthew Welch. Highlights of recent seasons include debut appearances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles; residencies at Wesleyan College and Princeton University; and the Interpretations series in New York City, celebrating innovative music of living performers and composers.

FLUX captivates its audiences worldwide with a vivid repertoire balanced between notable pioneers as well as visionaries of tomorrow, from classics by Conlon Nancarrow, Giacinto Scelsi, and Iannis Xenakis, to new works by Leroy Jenkins, Elliott Sharp, Welch, and John Zorn. The quartet avidly seeks out collaborative relationships with genre-transcending artists such as Ornette Coleman, Joan La Barbara, Oliver Lake, balloon artist Judy Dunaway, and musical-visual artist collective the Slave Pianos. Members from the quartet have also done significant work in dance, including frequent collaborations with the Morphoses / Wheeldon Company and Shen Wei Dance Arts. Strongly dedicated to uncovering new works both by its own members as well as emerging composers, FLUX has received grants from the American Composers Forum, Meet The Composer, USArtists International, and the Aaron Copland Fund.

The spirit to explore and expand stylistic boundaries is a trademark of the FLUX Quartet. Partly as an homage to the 1960s Fluxus art movement, violinist Tom Chiu founded the FLUX Quartet in the 1990s with a quest similar to that of some of the original Fluxus artists: a search for a living art for all people with an embracing anything-goes spirit. To that end, FLUX has always been committed to projects of unique vision that defy aesthetic categorization.

Sacred Ellington Band

Mike Lovatt, Trumpet
Mike Lovatt studied at Trinity College of Music London where he was awarded the Jon Kelly Jazz Scholarship. He has performed and recorded a wide range of musical styles with many artists, including Quincy Jones, Robbie Williams, Eric Clapton, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Buble, Oasis, Michel Legrand, Tony Bennett, Toots Thielemans, Marty Paich, Johnny Mathis, the Michael Nyman Band, Michael Ball, Shirley Bassey, Michael Crawford, Danny Elfman, Joby Talbot, the BBC Symphony and Concert orchestras, London Brass, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

As principal trumpeter in London’s West End, Lovatt has performed in Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Producers, Billy Elliot, Guys and Dolls, Saturday Night Fever, My Fair Lady, and Spamalot, among others. He played lead trumpet in the Grammy-nominated John Wilson Orchestra and is a regular guest with the BBC Big Band, who featured him in a tribute to Maynard Fergusson.

Lovatt has played on movie soundtracks the include the James Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day, the award-winning Chicago, Kevin Spacey’s Beyond the Sea, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Madagascar, and Corpse Bride. He is featured on trumpet and cornet in George Fenton’s Mrs. Henderson Presents.

In 1999 Lovatt first performed the Sacred Music of Duke Ellington with Jessye Norman, Mark Markham, Ron Carter, and Grady Tate. This collaboration with Miss Norman continued with a duo appearance at the Tate gallery in London, the Nice Jazz Festival, the Schleswig Festival Germany, the Gstaad Menhuin Festival, the Peralada Festival, and the Cap Roig Festival. More recently Lovatt played principal trumpet in English National Ballet’s Strictly Gershwin celebration with Barbara Cook, Chroma with the Royal Ballet Covent Garden, and the soundtrack of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.


Lovatt is a sought after professor of trumpet at the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and Trinity College of Music London.

Bill Easley, Saxophone
Bill Easley has enjoyed a diverse musical career, representing the fourth generation of a family dedicated to music. Over the years he has played in bands led by such notables as Ruth Brown, Isaac Hayes, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Bobby Short, Louie Bellson, Nicholas Payton, Charles McPhearson, James Williams, Sir Roland Hanna, Earl May, Illinois Jaquett, Ron Carter, Frank Foster, Mercer Ellington, Warren Vaché, David “Panama” Francis, and Grady Tate, among others.

In addition to his extensive discography as a sideman, he also has five recordings as a leader: Wind Inventions, First Call, Easley Said, Business Man's Bounce, and the soon-to-be-released Hearing Voices. His arsenal of woodwind instruments includes tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones; clarinet and bass clarinet; and flute, alto flute, and piccolo.

Easley moved to New York City in September 1964. He was a part-time student at The Julliard School while getting his feet wet in the uptown jazz scene. The US draft board had other plans, however; he completed his military service with the Ninth Army Band in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Easley joined the George Benson Quartet in January 1968 and traveled with the great guitarist for the remainder of the decade. This band worked in such legendary jazz spots as Minton's Playhouse in New York, the Plugged Nickel in Chicago, the Jazz Workshop in Boston, and the Hurricane in Pittsburgh.

After a brief residence in Pittsburgh, Easley followed his instincts to Memphis. It was there that he performed and recorded with Isaac Hayes. He also continued his formal education at Memphis State University. It was in the mid 1970s that Easley first toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington. In January of 1980 Bill moved back to New York City with the promise of a job on Broadway. His Broadway credits include Sophisticated Ladies, The Wiz, Black and Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, Swingin' on a Star, Play On, Fosse, and most recently, The Wild Party.

Easley has been a part of the jazz repertory movement, playing in the American Jazz Orchestra (John Lewis), Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (David Baker); and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (Wynton Marsalis).

Ira Coleman, Double Bass
Ira Coleman was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He was raised in France before living in Germany for fourteen years. He studied bass at Germany’s Hochschule für Musik, Köln. Thereafter he moved to the US to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Coleman currently resides in Rhinebeck, New York, and has performed with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Jessye Norman, Milt Jackson, Freddie Hubbard, Grover Washington Jr., Barbara Hendricks, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Kathleen Battle, Tony Williams, Baaba Maal, Michel LeGrand, Billy Taylor, Cab Calloway, Clark Terry, Billy Cobham, Monty Alexander, Bobby Hutcherson, Hank Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Art Farmer, Jon Faddis, Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks, Nat Adderley, Jackie McLean, Mulgrew Miller, Billy Pierce, Barney Wilen, Kenny Barron, Franco Ambrosetti, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Joe Chambers, Joanne Brackeen, Charles Mc Pherson, Tom Harrell, Arthur Taylor, Randy Brecker, Roy Haynes, Jacky Terrasson, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Ensemble, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington.

Coleman has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Tokyo’s Budokan Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Paris Théatre du Châtelet, Montreux Stravinsky Hall, Cologne Philharmonie, the Hollywood Bowl, Lebanon’s Beiteddine festival, and Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, as well as the JVC, Nice Berlin, Mt. Fuji, Paris, Playboy, Antibes-Juan les Pins, Tenerife, Pan Jazz, North Sea, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Pori, and Montreal jazz festivals.

Since 2002 Coleman has served as Dee Dee Bridgewater’s music director. He has also branched out to collaborate with musicians from various musical backgrounds, including a variety of African musicians.

Coleman has performed in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Dubai, England, Estonia, Finland, France, French Antilles, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Russia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, and Vietnam. He has toured in Europe, South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand for the French Cultural Association (Alliance Française).

Steve Johns, Drums
Steve Johns was born in Boston and began playing the drums at age nine. One of his primary musical influences was his uncle and saxophonist Jimmy “Bottoms Up” Tyler who played in the bands of Count Basie and Lloyd Price. At age 15 Johns began a three-year study with renowned jazz drummer and teacher Alan Dawson. He later studied with Boston-based drum guru Bob Gullotti. After high school he was accepted into the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he was taught by classical percussionists Fred Buda and Vic Firth. He also played in and around Boston with many top jazz musicians, including James Williams, Billy Pierce, Jimmy Mosher, Miroslav Vitous, Jerry Bergonzi, Tiger Okoshi, Mick Goodrick, Jeff Berlin, Mike Stern, and Ray Santisi to name a few.

In 1982 Johns headed to the jazz mecca, New York City. Shortly after arriving in the Big Apple he began adding to his impressive resume, recording and performing with a who’s who of the jazz world, including Donald Byrd, Nat Adderley, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, George Russell, Randy Brecker, Lou Donaldson, Bob Mintzer, John Hicks, Ronnie Cuber, Sonny Fortune, Benny Carter, the Billy Taylor Trio, Larry Coryell, the Thomas Chapin Trio, Mario Pavone, and Stanley Turrentine. Johns was the drummer for NPR’s Billy Taylor’s Jazz from the Kennedy Center in which he recorded 75 shows with guest that included Wynton Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, Joe Lavano, Arturo Sandavol, Ray Barreto, Milt Jackson, Grover Washington, and Gary Burton.

Johns is an adjunct instructor at Montclair State University in New Jersey and is a faculty member of several summer music programs. He is also a member of the group Native Soul, along with Marcus McLaurine, Peter Brainin, and Noah Haidu.

Sacred Voices
Lawrence Hamilton, Sacred Voices Director

Suzanne Ishee, Coordinating Producer
Stan Pressner, Lighting Designer
Stan Pressner’s lighting designs can be found in productions by such esteemed performing arts companies as New York City Ballet, Bayerische Staatsoper, Lyon Opera Ballet, Stockholm Stadsteater, Geneva Opera Ballet, Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company, Ralph Lemon and Company, Bayerische Staatsballet, Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Stephen Petronio Company, and Netherlands Dance Theater. His recent work includes Robert Bly’s new translation of Peer Gynt at the Guthrie Theater with Mark Rylance; Twelfth Night and Measure for Measure at Shakespeare’s Globe; La Clemenza de Tito, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and Rake’s Progress at Munich Staatsoper; Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Solos with Piano or not …; Giant Empty for the John Jasperse Company; and Jean Genet’s The Blacks at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. He also worked on Broadway as the associate lighting designer for Annie Get Your Gun.

Pressner was a visiting professor of dance lighting at UCLA from 1992–1993. Pressner was also a member of the faculty at The Juilliard School from 2000–2008. Since 1996 he has served as the Resident Lighting Czar at the Lincoln Center Festival. His television credits include Bravo’s Inside the Actor’s Studio, Two Moon July for PBS, and Night Music for WHYY-TV Philadelphia. Pressner received a Bessie Award in 1988 for cumulative achievement; a Cable Ace Award in 1997 for Inside the Actor’s Studio; and was nominated in 1988, 1991, and 1994 for the American Theatre Wing Design Awards.

Sound Design by Randy Hansen, ADI
Sue Anne Johnson, Wardrobe Designer