Yearly Archives: 2013

Sweet Honey performs at a Center for the Advancement of Women fundraiser in NYC.

CINCINNATI, OH –­­ Internationally renowned a capella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock brings its one-of-a-kind seasonal concert, CELEBRATING THE HOLYDAYS to the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall on Friday, December 6, 2013 at 8:00 PM. The event is presented by the Cincinnati Arts Association as part of its 2013-14 Season.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK’s holiday concert celebrates music from many faiths and religions of the globe through stunning vocal prowess rooted in the rich textures of African American legacy and traditions. With American spirituals, Latin, Chinese, African, and Hebrew influences, this program honors the holiday spirit from Christmas to Kwanzaa. The repertoire includes traditional holiday standards such as “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and more, all blended with new holiday favorites.

Tickets are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. Group discount tickets for 10 or more are available by calling (513) 369-4363.

Challenge and change are the themes underlying the 40-year career of this revered female African-American a cappella ensemble. In the course of creating its adventurous and diverse mixture of blues, African, jazz, gospel, and R&B music, with excursions into symphonic and dance theater, 23 vocalists have passed through the group, formed as a quartet in 1973 at a workshop at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company in Washington. Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson, and Mie drew their name from the first song they learned, “Sweet Honey in the Rock,” based on a Biblical psalm. “Sweet Honey speaks of a land that is so rich when you break the rocks open, honey flows. And we thought it was something like us African-American women . . . strong like a rock, but inside [there’s] honey – sweet,” explains Robinson.

With political and social activism as much a cornerstone of its objective as vocally painting a multi-genre rainbow of music with an a cappella (aside from its members’ hand percussion) approach that is part of its African American legacy, SWEET HONEY began performing in 1974 and was soon performing various festivals in the US and Canada. After the 1976 release of its eponymously-titled first album, the group expanded its touring, which included appearances at the 1979 Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) concerts in New York City that became the No Nukes concert film and album. In the summer of 2011, SWEET HONEY and other MUSE musicians (Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, et. al.) performed a benefit concert for disaster relief efforts in Japan.

The ever-growing list of SWEET HONEY’s musical and activist achievements since its creation is beyond stunning. The ladies have performed in Nairobi and Beijing at the U.N. World Conference on Women; toured the UK, Japan, Africa, Australia, and various European locations; been the subject of two PBS documentaries (Gotta Make This Journey and SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: Raise Your Voice); recorded film soundtracks; received Grammy® nominations for several of their albums for children; and shared a Grammy® Award for their participation in the multi-artist record Folkways: A Vision Shared – A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. They again honored Guthrie in a Centennial Celebration of his birthday presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in November 2012. The group appeared in a 1986 PBS special, The Dream and the Drum, on the first national observance of Martin Luther King Day, and in early 2012 performed at the unveiling ceremonies for the monument for Dr. King on the National Mall. The same year, SWEET HONEY also debuted their first ever orchestral collaboration, providing the lyrics for composer William Banfield’s “Symphony 10: Affirmations for a New World,” co-commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The backgrounds of the current members of SWEET HONEY are as varied as one would expect. Founder member Carol Maillard, who took a sabbatical from the group between 1976 and 1992, is an accomplished actress and has performed on stage, film, and television. The other founding member, Louise Robinson, returned to the group in 2004 after a 27-year hiatus during which she formed and toured with Bay Area a cappella quintet Street Sounds for 14 years. Aisha Kahlil (the most tenured member of the group at 32 years, joining in 1981) is a master teacher in voice and dance who studied extensively at the Alvin Ailey School. Nitanju Bolade Casel was previously active in studying, performing, and organizing in Dakar, Senegal. Her compositions earned her finalist status in the 2006 and 2007 International Songwriter’s Competition. Her experience producing the Grammy®-nominated Experience . . . 101 was good training for her role as producer of A Tribute – Live! On-stage sign- language interpreter Shirley Childress, who learned sign language from her deaf parents, is a founding member of the Black Deaf Advocates organization. She has interpreted for SWEET HONEY since 1981 and for such stellar authors as Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Audrey Lorde.

For more information, visit SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK at www.sweethoney.com.

MEDIA PARNTERS
Cincinnati Herald
Radio One

Cincinnati Arts Association SPONSORS

Season Sponsors: AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), CADILLAC Dealer Local Marketing Group, FIFTH THIRD BANK (Lifetime Endowment Partner),FURNITURE FAIR, LOCAL12 WKRC, TheP&G FUND of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

“CAA PRESENTS” SPONSORS: Coldwell Banker/West Shell, Heidelberg Distributing, Macy’s, Ultimate Air Shuttle, Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc.

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS: Cincinnati Bell,Cincinnati Herald, CityBeat, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Millennium Hotel, Pepsi, Skyline Chili

Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves more than of 600,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than 1.3 million students.

CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT: SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: CELEBRATING THE HOLYDAYS

WHEN: Friday, December 6, 2013 – 8:00 PM

WHERE: Aronoff Center for the Arts – Procter & Gamble Hall

PRICE: $42 • $37 • $27 (ticket prices/fees subject to change)

INFO: Internationally renowned a capella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock presents a one-of-a-kind seasonal concert, celebrating music from many faiths and religions of the globe through stunning vocal prowess rooted in the rich textures of African American legacy and traditions. With American spirituals, Latin, Chinese, African, and Hebrew influences, this program honors the holiday spirit from Christmas to Kwanzaa.

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale now

• www.CincinnatiArts.org
• (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
• Aronoff Center Ticket Office
• Group sales (10 or more): (513) 369-4363