The Grand Rapids Pops will host its annual “Symphony with Soul” Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. at DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW. The program will feature a statue to thematic of Ella Fitzgerald.
Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt leads the concert with three guest female vocalists performing songs including “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” “How High the Moon,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” and many more. Guest singers Harolyn Blackwell, Aisha de Haas and Nova Y. Payton all are stars of jazz, Broadway and opera.
The Grand Rapids Symphony Community Chorus, a gospel choir led by Duane Shields Davis, joins the orchestra for the performance that also features an appearance by the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Mosaic Scholars, a training program for young African-American and Latino musicians including private lessons with members of the Grand Rapids Symphony.
Davis, retired director of vocal music at Grand Rapids Community College, will lead the orchestra in “Portrait of a Leader,” a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., narrated by Eddie L. Stevens, who played the role of Dr. King in Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s production of “All the Way.”
The evening program will be preceded by the Celebration of Soul dinner, honoring the accomplishments of individuals and organizations in the community that emphasize and celebrate the importance of cultural awareness and inclusion in West Michigan This year’s recipients of the Dr. MaLinda P. Sapp Legacy Award are Herschell Turner, Skot and Barbara Welch, and Celebration! Cinema.
For more information about this program or other Grand Rapids Symphony performances, visit grsymphony.org.
