CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Sweet Honey in the Rock

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 8:00 PM

Sweet Honey In The Rock

The renowned a cappella group preserves and celebrates African American culture and singing traditions, addressing the most pressing contemporary issues with electrifying musical drive.

Sponsored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Sweet Honey In The Rock
The women who comprise Sweet Honey In The Rock are more than entertainers—they are artists dedicated to preserving and celebrating African American culture and singing traditions, poets and activists who are compelled to address the most pressing contemporary issues. Their fervor and sense of urgency fuels their sometimes tender and often explosive musical drive. Sweet Honey members continuously evolve as musicians, composers, arrangers, singers, and storytellers, retaining an unmistakable quality of sound, while always sounding fresh.

YSAYE M. BARNWELL

Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell is a native New Yorker now living in Washington, DC, where, since 1979, she has performed with Sweet Honey In The Rock. She appears as a vocalist and/or instrumentalist on more than 25 recordings with Sweet Honey and other artists. Dr. Barnwell spends much of her time off stage as a master teacher and clinician in cultural performance theory and voice production. Her workshop, “BUILDING A VOCAL COMMUNITY: Singing In The African American Tradition,” has been conducted throughout the US, Great Britain, and Australia; her work in the field are a true source of inspiration for her performances on stage.

Barnwell’s 15-year study of the violin, begun at age two, was the foundation of her musical career. Dr. Barnwell holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Speech Pathology, a Doctor of Philosophy in Craniofacial Studies, and a Master of Science in Public Health. She was a professor at the College of Dentistry at Howard University for 12 years, and also administered and implemented community health projects. Barnwell is a commissioned composer and arranger who has worked on numerous and varied dance, choral, film, video, theater, and recording projects. Dr. Barnwell is also an actress whose credits include voice-over narrations and appearances on both television and big screen film and video. She authored the children’s book No Mirrors in My Nana’s House, illustrated by Synthia Saint James; compiled and edited Continuum: The First Songbook of Sweet Honey In The Rock; produced Sweet Honey In The Rock’s 25th anniversary CD, ...twenty-five..., and is the featured storyteller/singer on her release Um Hmm, a feast of African American stories, poems, and songs for young audiences.

NITANJU BOLADE CASEL

Nitanju Bolade Casel first came to Sweet Honey after four years of study, performance, and cultural organization in Dakar, Senegal, where she was co-founder with Marie Guinier of ADEA (Artistes des Echanges Africaines). Dedicated to the exchange of ideas and services between African of the Diaspora, ADEA worked in alliance with local artists, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Theatre Daniel Sorano, the University of Dakar, Air Afrique radio (O.R.T.S.) and television programming, the Schomburg Center for Research and Development, and the late Dr. Ewart Guinier of Harvard University. Casel has brought the improvisational rhythms of hip-hop and jazz to Sweet Honey In The Rock’s palette since her arrival in 1985. She is currently co-director, with her sister Aisha Kahlil, of First World Productions, a cultural and educational organization in the performance arts. Casel made her film debut appearance in Beloved, directed by Jonathan Demme.

AISHA KAHLIL

Aisha Kahlil joined Sweet Honey In The Rock in 1981. As an experienced jazz vocalist and African dance and song artist, she has moved Sweet Honey In The Rock into new territory of improvisation, and is the group’s strongest blues singer. In 1994, CASA (Contemporary A Cappella Society of America) named Kahlil as best soloist in a cappella music for her performance of See See Rider and Fulani Chant. Some of the group’s most innovative and experimental work occurs in the performance of her compositions, including Fulani Chant and Wodaabe Nights. Wodaabe Nights was included in the sound score for the 1998 PBS film series, Africans in America, produced by WGBH-TV. Her composition Fulani Chant was included in Climb Against the Odds benefit recording for Breast Cancer Funds and the film score for Down in the Delta, directed by Maya Angelou. Recently added to her acting credits is her debut appearance in Beloved, directed by Jonathan Demme. Aisha composed the closing song for the American Bible Society video featuring Sweet Honey in the Rock; composed and performed original music for the film Freedom Song starring Danny Glover and directed by Phil Robinson, with music by Sweet Honey In The Rock and James Horner; and appeared with Sweet Honey In The Rock as guest artist on the TNT special A Tribute to Joni Mitchell. She is currently at work on a recording project featuring her original compositions and arrangements.

CAROL MAILLARD

Carol Maillard was born and raised in Philadelphia, and attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where she studied violin and theatre. She began her performance career at the DC Black Repertory Theatre as a member of the professional company. Carol has worked extensively both on and off-Broadway, in many national and international tours, on TV, and in film. She has produced, written, and recorded with Sweet Honey In The Rock and other well-known artists. Her arrangement of “Motherless Child” is featured in the film The Visit and the documentary film on Dorothy Height, We Are Not Vanishing. She is a published writer and lives in New York City with her son, Jordan. She is a founding member of Sweet Honey In The Rock.


LOUISE ROBINSON

Louise is a native New Yorker who began her relationship with music in her church’s children’s choir. She went on to play the accordion and concert bass, later joining the all-city orchestra and the citywide chorus. She studied music while attending the High School of Music & Art in New York City. She graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC, with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree.

Louise’s first professional job was with the Arena Stage’s company, Living Stage. She then joined Robert Hook’s newly formed acting ensemble at the D.C. Black Repertory Company, where she, along with Mie, Carol Maillard, and Bernice Reagon, formed Sweet Honey In The Rock.

Louise moved back to New York several years later to resume her acting career and performed both on and off-Broadway productions of Reggae, Tintypes, I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Little Shop of Horrors.

SHIRLEY CHILDRESS SAXTON

Shirley Childress Saxton is a veteran professional sign language interpreter, having learned American Sign Language from her deaf parents. She has 25 years of experience providing sign interpreting services in a wide range of life situations including education, employment, legal, medical, and performing arts / music. Shirley conducts master workshops on Sign interpreting music. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education and is a certified member of the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf, Inc., who recognized her in an article entitled, “Shirley Childress Johnson, The Mother of Songs Sung in ASL.” She has been recognized for her interpreting work and services to the community by deaf advocacy organizations including Women Unlimited, Deafpride, Inc., and the Silent Mission at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, DC. She has authored three writings on her experiences as a child of Deaf adults (C.O.D.A.), and her work as a sign language interpreter can be found in the following publications: We Who Believe In Freedom: Sweet Honey In The Rock ... Still On The Journey, Continuum: The First Song Book of Sweet Honey In The Rock, and Souls of My Sister: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories, and Heal Their Spirit.