UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES
SF JAZZ
AUGUST 6 & 7, 2022
WITH TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET
Following up the 2016 world premiere of a revised version of Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion: An Opera in Jazz, these historic performances featuring the GRAMMY-winning Turtle Island Quartet and a selection of guest vocalists will focus on music from Blanchard’s groundbreaking new opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones, based on journalist and author Charles M. Blow’s powerful memoir chronicling his early life in rural Louisiana.
San Francisco, California
Miner Auditorium
SKANEATELES FESTIVAL
CATALYST QUARTET
AUGUST 18 & 19, 2022
The Grammy-winning Catalyst Quartet debuts at the Festival, performing music by Haydn and brand new short works for the quartet by Andy Akiho (heard at the Festival in 2018), Kevin Puts, and Jessie Montgomery, among others. Sharing the program is rising star soprano from the Metropolitan Opera, Karen Slack (“feisty, rich voiced,” New York Times), who offers songs by Richard Strauss; Festival Artistic Directors Julia Bruskin and Aaron Wunsch also perform Rachmaninoff’s passionate Cello Sonata.
First Presbyterian Church
Skaneateles, NY
TOSCA
OCTOBER 22, 25 & 28, 2022
EDMONTON OPERA
Karen will star in the title role of Tosca with Edmonton Opera.
Edmonton, AB, Canada
OF THEE I SING!
NOVEMBER 13, 2022
Metropolitan Opera Star Karen Slack returns to perform on stage of the new Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU in Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice, with award-winning pianist Michelle Cann.
FORT WORTH OPERA
Fort Worth, TX
SONG OF HOPE
DECEMBER 8, 2022
Boston Conservatory chorus and orchestra welcome guest soloist Karen Slack (soprano) to present the New England premiere of Florence Price's Song of Hope.
BOSTON CONSERVATORY AT BERKLEE
BOSTON, MA
SINGING FREEDOM
PANEL DISCUSSION
JANUARY 8, 2023
WITH ROLLO DILWORTH, SHAWN OKPEBHOLO, MASON BYNES, TSITSI JADI, ED BAPTIST AND JAY FLUELLEN
Discussion with composers, artists, historians, writers on/around Freedom on the Move database and performances of Songs in Flight and Three Dialogues.
Philadelphia, PA
African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas
SONGS IN FLIGHT
METLiveARTS
JANUARY 12, 2023
WITH THE RHIANNON GIDDENS, HOWARD WATKINS, REGINALD MOBLEY AND WILL LIVERMAN
Singing Freedom utilizes Freedom on the Move—Cornell University’s database devoted to the experiences of fugitives from slavery in North America—to “capture a multiplicity of voices and perspectives, each meditating on what it means to risk all to be free.”
New York, NY
The Met Museum
SONGS IN FLIGHT
PHILADELPHIA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY AND WIREY CRIES
JANUARY 15, 2023
WITH THE RHIANNON GIDDENS, HOWARD WATKINS, REGINALD MOBLEY AND WILL LIVERMAN
Singing Freedom utilizes Freedom on the Move—Cornell University’s database devoted to the experiences of fugitives from slavery in North America—to “capture a multiplicity of voices and perspectives, each meditating on what it means to risk all to be free.”
Philadelphia, PA
Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
DAS RHEINGOLD
DALLAS OPERA
FEBRUARY 10, 12, 15 & 18, 2023
Karen will star in the role of Freia in Dallas Opera's production of Richard Wagner's epic opera, Das Rheingold.
Dallas, Texas
CONCERT
MARCH 18, 2023
PORTLAND OVATIONS
Miró and Slack come together in a unique program that includes compositions by Teresa Carreño, Florence Price, and George Walker, among others.
WITH THE MIRÓ QUARTET
THE JONAH PEOPLE
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
APRIL 13, 14, 15 & 16, 2023
Few artists have conveyed the African American experience in America as movingly and as powerfully as Hannibal Lokumbe. Skillfully bringing together jazz, blues, gospel, opera, orchestral and choral music, this legendary trumpeter and composer will premiere his most expansive and ambitious project yet, The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph. Featuring a cast of six vocalists, nine actors, a full chorus, a jazz quartet and an African drumming ensemble, this monumental production will bring the community together in a celebration of music, artistry and African American voices.
Nashville, TN
Schermerhorn Symphony Center
FORBES ORGAN SERIES
JUNE 2, 2023
Rising Metropolitan Opera star and renowned soprano Karen Slack, is paired with one of America’s premier concert organists Alan Morrison, for a moving performance of dynamic musical synergy rarely seen on the Central Coast.
CAL POLY
san Luis Obispo, CA
NINTH SYMPHONY & JUSTICE SYMPHONY
FRESNO PHILHARMONIC
JUNE 11, 2023
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of JFK’s 1963 nationally televised speech that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this performance of Damien Geter’s The Justice Symphony, centered on anthems from the Civil Rights era, highlights contemporary challenges in social engagement. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Choral closes the season with the joyful confluence of Music Director Rei Hotoda, the Fresno Philharmonic, the Fresno Master Chorale, and special guests Karen Slack, Sarah Mesko, Adam Diegel, and Damien Geter.
Fresno, CA
William Saroyan Theatre
TRIALS, TEARS TRANSCENDENCE: THE JOURNEY OF CLARA LUPER
MAY 13, 2023
Part of the Oklahoma Stories – Clara Luper Centennial, Karen will perform as a soloist in Hannibal Lokumbe's: Trials, Tears, Transcendence: The Journey of Clara Luper.
Oklahoma City, OK
Civic Center Music Hall
OAKLAHOMA CITY PHILHARMONIC
HEROES UNITE
ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
MAY 20, 2023
Orpheus pays homage voices of justice and freedom. Beethoven channeled his revolutionary ardor into music for Goethe’s historical drama about a local hero defying foreign occupiers, Egmont, performed here with a new translation and featuring soprano Karen Slack and a special guest narrator.
New York City, NY
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
ABSENCE: TERENCE BLANCHARD
MAY 26, 2023
PORTLAND OPERA
A one-night-only gala celebration. In collaboration with the Portland Opera Orchestra, the audience will hear from guest stars for an unforgettable night of musical fusion and ensemble work.
Portland, OR
Keller Auditorium
WITH E COLLECTIVE AND TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET
