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For immediate release
December 4, 2008 |
The Millennium Stage is sponsored by Target and Fannie Mae.
Washington, D.C.—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University will celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a free, ticketed musical tribute on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The program, part of the free daily performance series on the Millennium Stage, features the Queen of Soul and 1994 Kennedy Center Honoree Aretha Franklin, hip hop violin duo Nuttin’ But Stringz, and the Let Freedom Ring Choir with Music Director Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr. Andrea Roane from WUSA Channel 9 hosts as Mistress of Ceremonies. Free tickets are required. Tickets will be distributed one (1) per person in line in front of the Concert Hall, beginning at 4 p.m. on January 19, 2009.
Aretha Franklin, known as the "Queen of Soul," is an American R&B and soul icon, songwriter, and pianist. Renowned for her soul recordings, she is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop and gospel with a massive and powerful vocal range. "Respect," written and originally recorded by Otis Redding, firmly launched Franklin on the road to superstardom. Her version of the song became her signature tune, reaching Number 1 on both the R&B and the Pop charts—holding the top spot on the R&B chart for a record eight weeks—and helping her Atlantic debut album, I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, reach million-seller status. Rolling Stone Magazine ranks her in the top ten on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Aretha Franklin is the second most honored female singer in Grammy history, having won 21 Grammy Awards, including the Living Legend Grammy Award and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. She won eight consecutive Grammies between 1968 and 1975 for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; the category was nicknamed "The Aretha Award.” Franklin has had a total of 20 Number 1 singles on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart, two of which became Number 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as well: "Respect" in the 1960s and her 1980s duet with George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". On January 3, 1987, she became the first female artist to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1994, she received the Kennedy Center Honors. In September, 1999, she was awarded The National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton. In 2005, she was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
Brothers Damien and Tourie Escobar, known as Nuttin' But Stringz, blend classical music, jazz, R&B, and hip hop. The violin duo studied at The Juilliard School and Bloomingdale School of Music. They were recently seen as finalists on America’s Got Talent, and have performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Ellen, as well as at the world famous Apollo Theater. Their debut CD is titled Struggle from the Subway to the Charts.
Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr., Chief Music Editor of the bestselling “African American Heritage Hymnal” and Minister of Music at the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church, returns for a seventh year as Music Director for this performance and for the “Let Freedom Ring” Choir. The choir is comprised of Georgetown University students, faculty, staff, and singers from the broader Washington, D.C. community, especially the Metropolitan Music Ministry. The “Let Freedom Ring” Choir is an extension of Georgetown University’s diverse choral tradition, which includes: the GU Concert Choir, The Chamber Choir, The GU Chapel Choir, and the GU Gospel Choir.
This concert will be the seventh jointly hosted by the Kennedy Center and Georgetown University as part of the University’s ongoing “Let Freedom Ring” initiative honoring the legacy of Dr. King. This performance builds on the success of the first joint program in January 2003, which featured the legendary Roberta Flack and attracted more than 5,000 patrons. The second, held in August of 2003, commemorated the 40th anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and featured actor, civil rights leader, and 2004 Kennedy Center Honoree Ossie Davis. Past concerts have featured 1997 Kennedy Center Honoree and world- renowned opera singer Jessye Norman (2004); Grammy Award-winning vocalist Aaron Neville (2005); gospel sensation Yolanda Adams (2006); R&B singer and songwriter Brian McKnight (2007); and acclaimed vocal star Denyce Graves (2008).
Georgetown’s annual "Let Freedom Ring" initiative honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through a series of academic, artistic, and extracurricular programs that examine Dr. King's life and work, and address the contemporary challenges our nation faces in order to fulfill his dream of justice and equality for all people. A link to the University’s full schedule of events this year is available at http://mlk.georgetown.edu.
About Georgetown University
Georgetown University is the oldest and largest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Washington, DC, Doha, Qatar and around the world. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.
Millennium Stage
The Millennium Stage, underwritten by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, is brought to the public by Target Stores and Fannie Mae, with additional funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Ameriprise Financial, Inc., The Meredith Foundation, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A.J. Stolwijk, Temple-Inland, Inc., DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Millennium Stage Endowment Fund, and the Kennedy Center Washington Committee on the Arts.
Millennium Stage Endowment Fund
James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, Fannie Mae, James V. Kimsey, Gilbert and Jaylee Mead, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and Anonymous and other gifts to secure the future of the Millennium Stage.
Performing Arts for Everyone
The Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone (PAFE) program is designed to make the performing arts accessible, affordable, and available to everyone. The Millennium Stage is a vital part of PAFE. Not only does it host a performance every single day, it is a showcase of diversity, is broadcast daily over the Internet, and every performance is free to the public. No tickets required.
Transportation
The Show Shuttle, Kennedy Center’s link to Metro’s Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro station and the Columbia Plaza parking garage, provides free daily transportation every 15 minutes to and from the Center. The Show Shuttle operates this service from the Metro from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 11:45 p.m. on Sundays. On federal holidays the hours are 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. The Shuttle’s Columbia Plaza hours are 6 p.m. to 11:45.p.m. weekdays and weekends from 11 a.m. until 11:45 p.m. There is no Columbia Plaza service on federal holidays or on Open House day.
Internet Broadcasts
Internet broadcasts of Millennium Stage events allow anyone with Internet access to view both live performances, and past performances in the archives of the Web site, by visiting http://www.kennedy-center.org.
Performance Schedules
Millennium Stage schedules are available throughout the Kennedy Center, and on the Internet at http://www.kennedy-center.org
