Celebrating the American Spiritual
Sunday, February 5 at 8:30 & 11am
La’Shelle Allen, Contralto, is a native of Baltimore, Maryland where she began her journey in music at the Baltimore School for the Arts. After graduation, Ms. Allen relocated to New York City to pursue her aspirations and was hired as a Soloist for the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. This began her professional career performing nationally and internationally. For more than 25 years La’Shelle Allen has shared her remarkable talents with the world. Highlights of Ms. Allen’s work include appearances at St. Peter’s Basilica, Grand Théâtre de Genève and North Sea Jazz Festival de Vienne. Her operatic experience has afforded her the opportunity to perform with the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, University of Kentucky Opera Theater, Bluegrass Opera, Teatro Colon, Bogota, Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari and Israeli Opera, Tel-Aviv. Ms. Allen works not only as a Classical Vocalist but also as Composer/Arranger, Producer, Actress, Recording and Voice-Over Artist. Spirituals, Jazz, Blues and Soul make up some of the genres La’Shelle explores in her writing and performance. Ms. Allen is the creator of Spirituals In Motion, The Album and educational outreach program honoring the musical traditions of the American Negro Spiritual.
Concert & Evensong
Sunday, February 5 at 3:30pm
Dr. Scott Wright currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Clarinet at the University of Kentucky. Prior to his appointment at UK in 2002, he served as the Professor of Clarinet, Director of Instrumental Music Education, and Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Additionally, he began his professional career teaching K-12 music for the public schools of Longview, Washington from 1987-97. Dr. Wright received music education degrees from the University of Michigan and Arizona State University, and he received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance from Arizona State University. Former teachers include Robert Spring, James Pyne, John Mohler, Stan Stanford, and Evelyn Angerman. With an extensive background in K-12 education (spanning over 30 years), Wright focuses tremendous energy in the area of music education. He concentrates his vast experience as a performing artist and as an ensemble director to prepare his college students to thrive and succeed as both performers and as inspirational teachers in the public and private sector. His former students are active around the globe as orchestral musicians, university faculty members, K-12 educators, and private studio instructors. Wright has performed with numerous ensembles including the Arizona Opera Orchestra, Ensemble 21 (Phoenix), the Southwest Washington Symphony (Longview, WA), the Bloch International Music Festival Orchestra (Newport, OR), the Yaquina Chamber Orchestra (Newport, OR), the Northwest Wind Symphony (Olympia, WA), the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra (WI), and the Lexington Philharmonic (KY). He has recorded extensively with the Trade Winds Ensemble (Tampa, FL), and he is active as a soloist, clinician, adjudicator, and conductor throughout the United States with recent performances in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Texas. Additionally, Dr. Wright has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe with pianist Linda Halloin as Duo Pegasus. Their concerts, recitals, and educational presentations have been roundly praised as innovative, virtuosic, and wildly entertaining. Wright has been married to his wife Eileen since 1987, and they have three grown sons—Stephen, Garrison, and Calvin. Scott Wright is a Buffet Performing Artist