Houston Grand Opera and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church to host free, ticketed concert in celebration of Black artists in opera and song
What: On Friday, February 28, 2025, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will stage the sixth annual Giving Voice concert in partnership with Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church (WABC), to be held at the historic Third Ward church for the third year running.
Giving Voice is the brainchild of tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who created the series in 2019. This year’s event, held during Black History Month, will honor the legacy of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as an important training ground for Black artists in classical music and opera.
The evening will be emceed by Ruth J. Simmons, Distinguished Presidential Fellow at Rice University; Adviser to the President of Harvard University on HBCU Initiatives; and former President of Prairie View A&M University, Brown University, and Smith College.
Who: Giving Voice will feature a program of arias and songs performed by operatic soloists including HGO favorite, Butler Studio alumnus, WABC member, and Grammy Award-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr.; one of today’s most impressive young dramatic tenors, Issachah Savage; and two talented first-year members of HGO’s Butler Studio, soprano Elizabeth Hanje and bass-baritone Sam Dhobhany.
The concert also will feature choral works by a mass choir of singers from Texas Southern University, Jackson State University, WABC, the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, and Voices of Houston. Ruth J. Simmons serves as emcee.
When: Friday, February 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler Ave., Houston, TX 77004
Tickets: Tickets are free to the public but require a reservation. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit HGO.org/GivingVoice or call the Box Office at 713-228-6737.
Link to Giving Voice 2024 photos here. Photo credit: Michael Bishop.
About Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor assumed leadership of the organization and responsibility for its strategic vision in 2021. HGO was the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2019 International Opera Awards, and the only American company to be nominated twice. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art, to serve the Houston community, and to be a global leader in the future of opera, HGO has led the field in commissioning and producing new works (76 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators. The company contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. HGO’s pioneering Community and Learning initiative has served as a model for other arts organizations. The company invites all Houstonians to experience superlative opera without the barrier of price through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.
HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony, two Grammy awards, and three Emmy awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.
About Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, founded in 1962 by 13 friends at Texas Southern University, today has over 15,000 members. Dr. Marcus D. Cosby, the successor to the Founding Pastor Emeritus, Rev. William A. Lawson, has led the congregation since 2004. The church, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement that early on welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is located in Houston’s Third Ward. Its mission is to be a worshiping, witnessing, and welcoming congregation committed to a spirit of excellence in the praise of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ; the Christian Education of children, youth, and adults for the maturation in the faith; and worldwide ministry for the promotion of peace and justice in every aspect of life. The church opened its new building in 2021.