Lexington to Lift Its Voice in King's Memory

A world-class musical tribute to the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will mark the 2009 observance of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday set for 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in Heritage Hall of Lexington Center in downtown Lexington.

With "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as this year's theme, the centerpiece of the program will be a narrative concert by the American Spiritual Ensemble under the direction of Everett McCorvey, Lexington Opera Society Endowed Chair of Opera in the University of Kentucky School of Music and director of UK Opera Theatre.

The commemorative program will be preceded by the annual MLK Holiday March at 10 a.m. Jan. 19, with participation by a diverse crowd representing a wide range of area civic groups, churches, schools and youth organizations.

In addition, the UK Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center will present its annual MLK Student Vigil beginning late on the eve of Martin Luther King Day. With the theme of "Seeing the Dream Through," the vigil begins at 11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at Memorial Hall. The group will then walk through campus toward the Student Center, pausing along the way to watch skits enacting various events of the Civil Rights era. At midnight, a program will begin in the Student Center's Worsham Theatre, followed by a breakfast served at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center in 133 Student Center. The skits include:

• First Skit – Location: Funkhouser. Scene: Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott. (2/23/65)
• Second Skit – Location: Parking lot behind Chemistry/Physics Building. Scene: Birmingham, Ala., Letter from Birmingham Jail (4/16/63)
• Third Skit – Location: Between Pence Hall and Grehan Building. Scene: Washington, D.C., "I Have a Dream" speech (8/28/63)
• Fourth Skit – Location: Between M.I. King Building and Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library. Scene: Memphis, Tenn., Martin Luther King Jr. assassination (4/4/68)
• Final Skit – Location: Student Center Addition Patio. Scene: Chicago, Ill., Campaign and Election of Barack Obama (11/4/08)

Lexington's Martin Luther King Day celebration has a long and storied 35-year history in this community. The original sponsor was the University of Kentucky. In the early 1980s, the university was joined by the Lexington Urban County Government, other community organizations and individuals. As a result, the event has continued to grow in involvement and participation, drawing more than 6,000 people last year alone.

In commenting on the theme of the MLK Holiday concert, McCorvey said, "We think that a concert is so appropriate at this moment when we as a nation are yearning to come together again in the spirit of cooperation and inclusion. The American Spiritual Ensemble is honored to offer a creative, musical tribute to the legacy of this great American hero."

Founded by McCorvey in 1995, the American Spiritual Ensemble is dedicated to the mission of preserving and promoting the African-American spiritual as a cherished musical tradition. Its members have performed in theaters and opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and abroad in Italy, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Spain, Brazil and Japan.

Professor of voice Everett McCorvey is credited for the growth UK Opera Theatre has achieved. Under his leadership and with the support of the Lexington Opera Society, the opera program has become one of the most sought-after opera educations in the country, on par with other noted programs at Julliard, Florida State and Indiana. UK Opera Theatre boasts numerous successful alumni, a talented and renowned faculty, and opera productions that compete with major regional opera. Most recently, McCorvey was elected faculty representative to the UK Board of Trustees.

A native of Montgomery, Ala., McCorvey received his undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a doctorate in musical arts, from the University of Alabama. As a tenor soloist, McCorvey has enjoyed critical acclaim and performed in many prestigious venues around the globe, including the Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Metropolitan Opera and Italy's Teatro Comunale.

A valued arts educator and performer, McCorvey is a member of the board of directors for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and was appointed to two four-year terms on the board of directors of the Kentucky Arts Council, where he currently serves as vice-chair.

McCorvey founded and directs the American Spiritual Ensemble, a group of professional singers who perform spirituals and other compositions of African-American composers throughout the United States and abroad. It is dedicated to the preservation of the spiritual and keeping the music vibrant and alive through performance. Spirituals were folk songs created by slaves in the South in order to communicate secretly with each other, giving them the power to console, heal and resist without endangering themselves.

Operatic training provides the American Spiritual Ensemble with an extraordinary sound differentiating it from other spiritual groups. The ensemble has been asked to perform throughout the United States, South America, Europe and Asia. In 2006 and 2007, even more audiences were introduced to the talented ensemble as local and national television audiences were presented with a documentary on the ensemble's work keeping spirituals alive. "The Spirituals," a Public Broadcasting System documentary, retold the bitter history of the art form and followed a tour of the American Spiritual Ensemble through the South. The documentary by Dos Vatos Productions captured the ensemble's message of hope and forgiveness and offered a fresh approach to African-American history, while clearly reiterating the contributions of African-born slaves and their descendants to America's musical history.

For more information about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities, call (859) 257-1991 or (859) 257-4130.