In April 2011, the Akron Symphony Orchestra in Ohio will perform Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess, and as part of the lead-up to that event, the orchestra’s Gospel Meets Symphony Choir performed four selections on July 25 from the orchestra’s 2010 Gospel Meets Symphony concert program at the 30th Annual African American Cultural Festival at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron. For next spring’s Porgy and Bess, Music Director Christopher Wilkins will lead four professional soloists, the Gospel Meets Symphony Choir—a 200-voice volunteer gospel choir—and teens in the Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop (YEPAW) 365 youth leadership program’s chorus. The orchestra is able to perform Porgy and Bess thanks to a $150,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Auditions for the chorus and many solo roles in Porgy and Bess are for local residents only and will take place on September 12; more audition information is available at the Akron Symphony’s website. The Akron Symphony’s annual Gospel Meets Symphony program has been the orchestra’s best-selling concert.
Posted July 26, 2010
