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Regular Session, 2011 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 36
BY SENATOR WILLARD-LEWIS
A RESOLUTION
To commend and congratulate the début performance of OperaCréole, the premier operatic
ensemble in New Orleans.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Creole Research Association will present OperaCréole
in its inaugural concert at 6:00 p.m on Saturday, May 21, 2011, at the historic St. Mary's
Church at the Old Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter; and
WHEREAS, the ensemble will feature Givonna Joseph, Aria Mason, Vickie Thomas,
Tyrone Chambers, Crystal Morris, and Romel Brumley-Kerr, as well as pianist Wilfred
Delphin, and organ player Marcus St. Julien; and
WHEREAS, this will be an evening where attendees will enjoy performances and
celebration of Louisiana's standard operatic works, operatic works by composers of color,
contemporary music of New Orleans' 19th-century Creole composers of color, and operatic
works by other composers of African descent; and
WHEREAS, New Orleans is the First City of Opera, presenting the first opera,
Sylvian by Gretry, in America on May 22, 1796, and from the early 19th-century, the city's
Creoles of color have been great supporters of opera, and composed and performed the finest
classical music; and
WHEREAS, the performing professional singers are international and regional
soloists, and artist educators and many are also members of the professional New Orleans
Opera Chorus, and have performed roles with the company; and
WHEREAS, OperaCréole singers were featured in New Orleans Opera's production
of Porgy and Bess on October 15-17, 2010; and
WHEREAS, the event is dedicated to preserving Creole culture through historical
and genealogical research, education programs, and celebrations; and
WHEREAS, the program will include the New Orleans premiere of scenes from La
Flamenca, by Lucien Lambert, son of Charles Lucien Lambert, a New Orleans born free SR NO. 36 ENROLLED
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Creole composer of color; aria's and duets from operas by William Grant Still, and Les
Chevalier de Saint-Georges Songs by Creole composers Snaer, and Dédé; arias from
Zarzuela ( Spanish Opera); and many arias and scenes from Gershwin, Verdi, Bizet, Bellini,
Rossini, and Thomas; and an organ tribute to the 19th century Creoles of color who were
organists at St. Mary's; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Givonna Joseph, a Loyola University alumna, is the founder and
director of OperaCréole, and is deeply committed to the culture of New Orleans, the city of
her birth; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Joseph has performed in concert at such venues as The American
Church In Paris, in Paris, France, and La Chiesa di Santa Susanna in Rome, Italy; been a
soloist with the William Grant Still Orchestra, the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans; and
served as a cantor for Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's New Orleans visit; and
WHEREAS, in the 2006-2007 season, she was a chorister with Houston Grand Opera
and the creator of WomanSong, a one woman show, she was also heard as an opening artist
for Ray Charles in concert at Jones Hall in Houston, Texas; and
WHEREAS, Aria M. Mason is a graduate of The Catholic University of America and
alumna of Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts,
who was recently seen in the role of Annie in New Orleans Opera's production of Porgy and
Bess, has been seen and heard on C-Span, EWTN, WLAE-TV, WWL-TV, and has
performed in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Paris, France, and Rome, Italy, in
addition to her native city of New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, Aria Mason has continued to show her commitment to the renaissance
of the New Orleans community through her past service as a founding member of City Year
Louisiana, and as the New Orleans Outreach Coordinator at S.J. Green and Arthur Ashe
Charter School, she has demonstrated her commitment to work toward providing greater
opportunities for success for the next generation of New Orleanians; and
WHEREAS, Vickie R. Thomas obtained her bachelor's degree at the University of
New Orleans, did graduate work at the University of Northern Colorado, and is also an
alumna of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts in both voice and piano
performance; and SR NO. 36 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, Ms. Thomas has performed in such productions as Die Zauberflote, The
Medium, The Consul, Suor Angelica, Big River, Mahalia, Showboat, Babes in Toyland, The
Stoned Guest, Blood Brothers, Gianni Schicchi, and Carmen Jones; and
WHEREAS, Tyrone Chambers II is a native of New Orleans, has been involved in
music since his youth, and has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Morehouse
College in Atlanta, GA and a Master of Music degree from the University of Oklahoma; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Chambers has performed a few small operatic roles in Porgy and
Bess (Gershwin) and LaRoche (Sharon Willis), opera scenes from Mozart's La Finta
Giardiniera, Otello, and Werther, a few roles which include Figaro in The Barber of Seville
and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and Laërtes in Mignon at the Music Academy of the
West, and in May, 2011, played the part of Padre in Man of La Mancha, with most recent
credits including the role of Crab Man in New Orleans Opera Association's production of
Gershwin's Porgy and Bess; and
WHEREAS, Crystal Morris, a student at Xavier University in New Orleans, is a
Junior, Music Vocal Performance Major from Jackson, Mississippi, and her previous roles
include Monica in The Medium, which was her first fully stage operatic role, Mrs. Florentino
in Street Scene and Eva from An Embarrassing Position, has been the Soprano soloist for
numerous Oratorios such as John Rutter's Requiem and Magnificant, and Haydn's Lord
Nelson Mass and The Creation; and
WHEREAS, Crystal spent the summer in Italy singing with the La Musica Lirica
Opera Company singing in the Chorus of La Traviata and sang the role of Adina in L'Elisir
D'amore; is a member of the New Orleans Opera Chorus where she recently opened the
season as a soloist in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess; sang Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
in Xavier Opera Workshop; and is a soloist and chorus member at Trinity Episcopal Church;
and
WHEREAS, Romel Brumley-Kerr is the first Afro-Costa Rican male opera singer
in Costa Rican history and has been a member of the New Orleans Opera Chorus since 2004;
won the second prize of the vocal competition by the Association of the Negro Business
Women's Club INC of the district of New Jersey, the same association which indulged him
with the honor to sing at Carnegie Hall and then proclaimed him as an emerging young artist SR NO. 36 ENROLLED
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in February 2007; and has also performed in New York as a soloist in the Messiah by
Handel, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Faure's Requiem, Theodore Du Bois' The Last Word of
Christ, and Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Brumley-Kerr has participated in several important opera programs
in New York City; was part of the prestigious Martina Arroyo Program in which he learned
and performed the role of Figaro from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart under the direction of
Legendary Soprano Martina Arroyo in 2007, the same year in which he sang with the
prestigious Pacific Opera in New York singing twice at Carnegie Hall and the Golden Hall
in NYC; was a member of The Long Island Opera Workshop in which he performed the role
of Marco in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi; and after coming to the University of New Orleans,
he reprised the role in Gianni Schicchi, sang the role of Tom in Henry Mollicone's Face on
the Barroom Floor, and Hansel and Gretel; and
WHEREAS, Wilfred Delphin, DMA, pianist, is a professor at Xavier University.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and congratulate the début performance of OperaCréole, the premier
operatic ensemble in New Orleans.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
OperaCréole.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE