Avery Sommers, Vocalist

Avery starred on Broadway in “Ain’t Misbehavin’” when she replaced Nell Carter and “Show Boat” as Queenie.  She toured nationally with “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (Jewel) with Ann-Margret and “Chicago” (Matron Mama Morton) with Chita Rivera and Joel Grey.  She was nominated for and won an La Ovation Award for her portrayal of Matron Mama Morton.

Some of Avery’s other favorite roles include “Crowns”  (Mother Shaw),  “South Pacific”  (Bloody Mary), “Big Rivier”  (Alice), “The Hot Mikado”  (Katesha), and “Menopause the Musical” (Power Woman).  Avery starred in “But Not for Me” her one woman show which was created and produced by the Caldwell Theater Company in Boca Raton, Florida.  She won the Carbonelle Award as Best Actress for her performance.

She created the recurring role of Regina Dansby on the CBS soap, “As the World Turns” as well as the recurring role of Evelyn on the ABC Mystery Movie Series, “B.L. Stryker” starring Burt Reynolds and Ossie Davis.  She also costarred with Burt Reynolds and Reba McIntyre in the CBS Movie of the Week, “The Man from Left Field”.  Avery wrote, directed, staged and choreographed “This Little Light of Mine” a musical about the lives and music of Dinah Washington, Della Reese and Pearl Bailey and is very proud of her cast of wonderful young performers from the Palm Beach County School System.

Ivan Griffin, Baritone

American baritone Ivan Griffin is a versatile artist whose experiences range from opera to musical theater. He has been praised for his “excellent diction and superb sense of theater” in roles ranging from Count Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro” to Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Ladies”.

A member of the internationally renowned American Spiritual Ensemble, he has also performed with numerous arts organizations throughout the United States and abroad, including Michigan Opera Theater, Buffalo Lyric Opera, South Carolina Opera and Great Lakes Lyric Opera. He has delighted audiences in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Holland in his portrayal of the roles of “Lawyer Frazier” and “Jake” in Gershwin’s beloved “Porgy and Bess”.

His oratorio repertoire includes performances of the baritone/bass roles in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. John Passion, the requiems of Brahms and Mozart, Mozart’s Mass in C, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, and Haydn’s Mass in D Minor. His recital appearances have taken him.

Roderick George, Tenor

Tenor Roderick George enjoys a diverse career as a performer and an educator. He made recent company debuts with Dayton Opera and Opera Theater of Pittsburgh as Sportin' Life in “Porgy and Bess” and debuted the role of Gérald in “Lakmé” with Union Avenue Opera in St. Louis and the role of Roméo in “Roméo et Juliette” for the 2010 Southern Illinois Music Festival. He has also delighted audiences in the roles of Rodolfo (“La Bohème”), Don Ottavio (“Don Giovanni”), Tamino in (“Die Zauberflöte”), Alfredo (“La Traviata”), Ferrando (“Cosí fan tutte”), Albert (“Albert Herring”), Camille de Rosillon (“The Merry Widow”), Ralph Rackstraw (“HMS Pinafore”), Benedict (“Beatrice and Benedict”), Aaron (“Different Fields”), and David (“I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky”).

As a concert artist, George is heard regularly as a soloist in major concert and oratorio works, including “Handel’s Messiah”, “Haydn’s Creation”, “Orff’s Carmina Burana”, Mozart’s “Requiem and Mass in C Minor”, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony”, Rossini's “Stabat Mater” and Gounod's “Messe Solennelle”. He has also recorded and toured regularly throughout the United States and Spain as a soloist with the acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble, including recent performances at the ACDA Southern Division conference in Memphis, and at the Riverside Church in New York City.

Internationally, George has been featured in concerts in Austria, including a benefit concert for Doctors without Borders and a gala concert celebrating the operettas of Austrian composer Robert Stolz. He holds degrees, including the Doctor of Music degree in voice performance, from Florida State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and Stillman College. He received advanced training in opera at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and was an Artist in Residence with Amarillo Opera and an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera.

Louise Toppin, Soprano

Louise Toppin, has received critical acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and oratorio performances in the United States, Czech Republic, Sweden, Uruguay, Scotland, China, England, New Zealand, the Carribean, Bermuda, Japan and Spain. She has appeared in recital on many concert series including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center.

Represented by Joanne Rile Artist Management, she tours in "Gershwin on Broadway" with pianist Leon Bates, singers Cedric Cannon, LaRose Saxon, and Robert Mack. She has recorded twelve compact disks of “American Music Songs of Illumination”, (Centaur Records), “Ah Love, But a Day” (Albany), “Extensions of the Tradition” (Innova) “More Still” (Cambria), “Sence You Went Away” (Albany) and “Paul Freeman Introduces... Vol. II and Vol. IV” (Albany) with the Czech National Symphony, “William Grant Still Opera Highway One” (Visionary Records), “The Major’s Letter” (Albany Records), “Good News” (Visionary Records), “Poetry Preludes” (Albany Records), “Somewhere Far Away” and “He’ll Bring it to Pass” (Albany Records) and CDs with three publications including A Hall Johnson collection published by Carl Fisher. Opera credits include: Baltimore Opera, Opera Carolina, Piedmont Opera. Orchestral appearances include: the Norrköping Symphony (Sweden), the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Czech National Symphony, Mälmo Symphony Orchestra, (Sweden), Tokyo City Orchestra (Japan), The Montevideo Philharmonic (Uruguay), the Scotland Festival Orchestra (Aberdeen, Scotland), the Honolulu, Bermuda, Petersburg, Fayetteville, Fairfield, Toledo, Canton, North Carolina, Charlotte, Lafayette, Erie Chamber and Raleigh Chamber Symphony Orchestras. She is currently Professor and Chair of Voice at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

David Burnett, Violinist

David Burnett began teaching himself the violin as a hobby, while in eighth grade, after seeing Itzhak Perlman on PBS, playing the Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert. Mr. Burnett began taking private violin lessons with Galina Hefietz after being admitted into Music and Art High School. After Music and Art, he went to Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Marilyn McDonald. After Oberlin, he went to Boston Conservatory of Music and studied with Lynn Chang.

In 1987, Mr. Burnett founded the West Village String Quartet, an African-American String Quartet that performs music from the Classical repertoire. Since its' beginning, the quartet has kept a busy schedule of concerts, recitals and other

public performances. The quartet made has made noteworthy appearances on Entertainment Tonight, 20/20, Queens Access Public Television and PBS's Children's Express. Articles about the quartet have appeared in the North County News, The Croton Gazette, Reader's Digest, The Amsterdam News, The Daily News and The New York Times. The West Village Quartet has performed for Philip Morris, New York Telephone, The Essence Awards, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Ford Foundation, The National Association of Black Accountants, Former Mayor of New York City, Ed Koch and David Dinkins at Gracie Mansion.

Lecolion Washington, Jr, Bassoonist

Lecolion Washington, Jr. is the Associate Professor of Bassoon at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music and bassoonist of the Memphis Woodwind Quintet. Washington enjoys the versatility that he has as a performer. As a chamber musician, Washington has performed with principal players from orchestras all over the world including the New York Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Mozarteum, the Leipzig Gewaundhaus and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has performed with the New York Chamber Ensemble and the North Country Chamber Players (NH). In 2004 the Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music invited him to perform on a chamber music concert of distinguished alumni. In the summers, Washington serves on the faculty of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in South Africa where he performs, coaches chamber music, and teaches master classes along with faculty from all over the world. Washington is the founder and director of the PRIZM Chamber Music Festival, which occurs annually in Memphis.

Herby Raymond, Pianist (Student)

Herby Raymond is a junior at Suncoast High School, currently in the Math, Science, and Engineering (MSE) program. He attended Bak Middle School of the Arts as a keyboard major. He has been playing piano for nine years and currently takes classical and jazz piano lessons with Mr. Pedro Hernandez. Herby has won superior ratings at district competitions and has performed as lead pianist in Bak Middle School of the Arts' 2007-2008 jazz band which won the most awards at the 2008 Heritage Festival. He also participated as a pit musician in the Suncoast theatrical presentation of Aida. He is a member of Kathy Kretzer’s Kretzer Kids program, a group of young pianists that perform at various venues. He’s played at the Harriet Himmel Theater, Kravis Center, numerous nursing homes, churches, and schools across the county.

Karl Van Richards, Accompanist

Karl Van Richards is a consummate artiste gifted in music, dance and theater. An extraordinarily talented pianist, arranger, composer, conductor and choreographer, Karl Van Richards has captured the hearts of audiences with his virtuosic performances, endearing personality and beautiful smile.

As a pianist, he made his orchestral debut at age 17 playing the Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor after having won the Victoria M. Griffith Concerto competition, and since then, he has appeared as a soloist and in orchestral performances in such venerable places as Leopoldskron Castle and in esteemed halls and theaters in his native Jamaica, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, The Cayman Islands, The United States, South Africa and Austria.