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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

MUSIC MONDAYS

JANUARY 15, 2024

RECITAL WITH HARLEM QUARTET

The Harlem Quartet leads a special program for MLK Day, which brings together music by Beethoven, spirituals, and works by African American and contemporary composers, playing all with equal “panache” (New York Times).

HARLEM QUARTET & KAREN SLACK

New York, NY
Advent Lutheran Church

FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC

JANUARY 17, 2024

RECITAL WITH PACIFICA QUARTET

Star soprano Karen Slack returns to FCM’s member Series, this time in concert with the Pacifica Quartet.  The varied program features songs by George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, a new commission by James Lee III, and Dvorak’s Quartet in A-flat Major.

PACIFICA QUARTET

Gates Hall, Newman Center
Denver, CO

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OPERA

PHILADELPHIA

TO SIT AND DREAM

MARCH 17, 2024

SOPRANO

The 90-minute concert is conducted by Opera Philadelphia’s Elizabeth Braden and Theodore Thomas, Jr., Director of the Wharton-Wesley Faith Ensemble and Minister of Music at Tindley Temple, and includes compositions by Roland Carter, Christopher H. Harris, Undine Smith Moore, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Michael Reid, André J. Thomas, and Nolan J. Williams, Jr.

Tindley Temple United Methodist Church
Philadelphia, PA

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 

MAY 8-10, 2024

SOPRANO

Baroque and Classical expert Jane Glover conducts this program spotlighting Mozart. Bookended by his Symphonies Nos. 35 and 39 — both full of gorgeous melodies from beginning to end — the concert features his buoyant Oboe Concerto performed by NY Phil Principal Oboe Liang Wang. Ah, perfido!, by Beethoven, one of Mozart’s most eminent heirs, is a dramatic showpiece for soprano, sung by Karen Slack.

MOZART AND BEETHOVEN WITH JANE GLOVER

New York, NY
David Geffen Hall

RAVINIA FESTIVAL

August 1, 2024

SOPRANO

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors.This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

WORLD PREMIERE*

AFRICAN QUEENS


Highland Park, NY
Martin Theater at Ravinia,

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SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH LYRIC

August 25, 2024

SOPRANO

Artists from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center perform a variety of favorites from the 2024/25 Season accompanied by members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and conducted by Lyric Music Director Enrique Mazzola. Featuring a special performance by Lyric Unlimited's new Artist-in-Residence, Karen Slack, music fans will not want to miss this one-night-only concert under the stars.

Lyric Opera of Chicago


Chicago, IL
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park

FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC DENVER

OCTOBER 2, 2024

RECITAL

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

AFRICAN QUEENS


Denver, CO
Gates Hall, Newman Center

MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST

OCTOBER 5, 2024

RECITAL

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

AFRICAN QUEENS



Santa Barbara, CA
Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West

JNSA ANNUAL BENEFIT CONCERT -MARK MARKHAM AND FRIENDS 

BENEFIT CONCERT

OCTOBER 13, 2025

SOPRANO

Join us on October 13, 2024, for Mark Markham and Friends-A Concert benefiting the students of the Jessye Norman School of the Arts!


Augusta, GA
Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre

LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

RECITAL

Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice is a critically acclaimed recital created by Lyric Unlimited Artist-in-Residence Karen Slack in the late summer of 2020 during the height of the pandemic and just after the murder of George Floyd. The center of this moving program is the raw and powerful yet hopeful Langston Hughes poem, The Kids Who Die (1938) as set by American composer Scott Gendel. The program also features works that explore themes of love and justice by H.T Burleigh, Clayton White, Undine Smith Moore, H. Leslie Adams, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adolphus Hailstork, and Jake Heggie.

OF THEE I SING! SONGS OF LOVE AND JUSTICE


Chicago, IL

Lyric Opera of Chicago

FRESNO PHILHARMONIC

JANUARY 18-19, 2025

SOPRANO

In recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we welcome back the phenomenal soprano Karen Slack to perform Mahler’s haunting Rückert-Lieder.  The concert opens with Nkeiru Okoye’s energetic Voices Shouting Out. A lifelong advocate for civil rights, Leonard Bernstein’s jazzy ballet score Fancy Free brings this celebratory concert to a close.

BERNSTEIN AND MAHLER


Fresno, CA
Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall

MINNESOTA OPERA

FEBRUARY 8 - 16, 2025

SOPRANO

In the fresh snow, every footstep is marked with magic. A young boy wakes to find that the first snow of winter has fallen overnight– an exciting day of adventure awaits. Peter delights in making footprints in the snow and meeting new friends, before returning home to the cozy embrace of Mama and Daddy. Based on the Caldecott Medal-winning book by Ezra Jack Keats, Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney’s The Snowy Day brings centerstage the fleeting but indelible magic of childhood.

THE SNOWY DAY


Saint Paul, MN
Ordway Music Theater

LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

SOPRANO

DREAM VARIATIONS: NINA, LENA, AND TINA

Karen Slack with pianist Mark Markham, at Northwestern University Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, Evanston, IL.

This special evening at Northwestern features Karen Slack performing works by Mahler, Berg, Wolf, Berlioz, Brahms, Schubert, Strauss, Hahn, Marx, del Tredici, and Wagner. You'll also hear Gershwin and Legrand, with a special tribute to Nina Simone, Lena Horne, and Tina Turner.


Chicago, IL

Lyric Opera of Chicago

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS

MARCH 9, 2025

RECITAL

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

AFRICAN QUEENS


Washington D.C.
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

92NY

MARCH 11, 2025

RECITAL

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

AFRICAN QUEENS


New York, NY
Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92NY

NASHVILLE SYMPHONY

MARCH 16, 2025

RECITAL

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

AFRICAN QUEENS


Nashville, TN
Schermerhorn Symphony Center

ARIZONA OPERA

APRIL 12-19, 2025

OPERA

AIDA

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.


Phoenix, AZ
Symphony Hall

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL

August 7, 2024

SOPRANO

Karen Slack joins pianist Kevin Miller for African Queens, a new project celebrating the history and legacy of seven acclaimed African queens who were revered as rulers and warriors. This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers.

AFRICAN QUEENS


Aspen, CO
Harris Concert Hall

VIRGINIA OPERA AND RICHMOND SYMPHONY

LOVING V. VIRGINIA

APRIL 25 - MAY 11, 2025

OPERA

VA Opera caps off the 50th Anniversary season with the highly anticipated world premiere of Loving v. Virginia. A young couple’s interracial marriage in 1958 sparks a case that leads to the Supreme Court and a victory for civil rights in the United States. This operatic retelling is based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving.


April 25 - 26
Harrison Opera House | Norfolk, VA

May 3-4
Center for the Arts at George Mason University | Fairfax, VA

May 9 -11
Dominion Energy Center | Richmond, VA

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MAY 8-10, 2024

Baroque and Classical expert Jane Glover conducts this program spotlighting Mozart. Bookended by his Symphonies Nos. 35 and 39 — both full of gorgeous melodies from beginning to end — the concert features his buoyant Oboe Concerto performed by NY Phil Principal Oboe Liang Wang. Ah, perfido!, by Beethoven, one of Mozart’s most eminent heirs, is a dramatic showpiece for soprano, sung by Karen Slack.

MOZART AND BEETHOVEN WITH JANE GLOVER

New York, NY
David Geffen Hall

LYRIC CHICAGO OPERA

JUNE 25, 2025

RECITAL

Karen Slack presents works from her newest album, Beyond the Years. The recital will present performances of previously unknown pieces by Florence Price in collaboration with pianist Michelle Cann, followed by a post-concert discussion between the artists and Lyric Unlimited Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Antonio Cuyler on the impetus for recording the album.

Beyond The Years


Chicago, IL
Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric

DO

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