Angela Brown Named Delta Visiting Chair For Global Understanding At The University Of Georgia

Opera soprano Angela Brown is the first musician to be named a Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding at the University of Georgia (UGA). The Delta Visiting Chair, established by the Willson Center through the support of The Delta Air Lines Foundation, hosts outstanding global scholars, leading creative thinkers, artists and intellectuals who teach and perform research at UGA. Its first honoree was Alice Walker in 2015. In the company of other luminaries who have held the Chair distinction, Brown is recognized for her impactful career and personal commitment to diversity in role models, performers, educators, and audiences in the performing arts. As the Delta Chair, she will be in residence at UGA from February 20-24 to perform her signature show Opera...from a Sistah's Point of View, lead a vocal master class at UGA's Hodgson School of Music, visit and speak with a local high school, and moderate a discussion-lecture for music business students on navigating the artist and artist manager relationship.

Angela's dedication to diversifying opera audiences started over 20 years ago. As she was singing on the stages of the world, she noticed something about audiences: "I would see very few people who looked like me." So, she created a solo show, Opera...from a Sistah's Point of View, to unabashedly demonstrate the broad diversity displayed in opera. She wanted to help people see themselves in the characters and stories of opera.

Angela is known for her big personality and comedic timing, on and off the stage. Her witty retelling of opera plots from her perspective demystifies opera so all people feel they belong in the audience and on the stage. She copyrighted the show title in 1997 and began offering it as an outreach when performing with opera companies, symphonies, and concert series. It caught on and was the catalyst for a bigger endeavor.

In 2015 she founded Morning Brown, Inc., a nonprofit initiative that bridges the gap between accessible music programs and historically excluded audiences. Morning Brown acts as an umbrella for several programs including her expanded version of the show: Opera...from a Sistah's Point of View: Generation Next. This version shines a light on emerging multicultural singers of all genres and has been presented by Cincinnati Opera, Opera Birmingham, Florida Grand Opera, Elon University, and the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts. She enjoys mentoring young artists and giving them a platform alongside her. University music schools, conservatories, and resident artist programs of opera companies are her target. Angela aims to give promising multicultural artists performance opportunities in a show designed to celebrate their musical gifts, potential, and personalities.

Angela's multi-genre career has been lauded on the front page of The New York Times, CNN, CBS, in Oprah Magazine, and Reader's Digest. She has graced the leading opera and symphonic stages on six continents including Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, National Opera of Paris, Vienna State Opera, Capetown (South Africa) Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Edmonton Opera, Calgary Philharmonic, Shanghai World Expo, Moscow Performing Arts Center, The Metropolitan Opera, Bilbao Opera, Teatro La Fenice, Hamburg Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and more. She has performed in recital throughout the United States, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, China, and Africa.

Her vocal artistry is featured on the two-time Grammy Award winning recording "Ask Your Mama" by Laura Karpman, and her voice is the inspiration for new works. Composer Richard Danielpour set the poetry of Dr. Maya Angelou to create "A Woman's Life" that Angela premiered with Pittsburgh Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra and recorded for the Naxos label with Nashville Symphony Orchestra. The opera roles of Addie Parker in Daniel Schnyder's Charlie Parker's Yardbird and Cilla in Richard Danielpour's Margaret Garner were both written for, premiered by, and reprised many times by Angela.

She is the co-host of Melanated Moments in Classical Music, an award-winning podcast from Classical Music Indy with an audience in over 100 countries. She is featured in two PBS documentaries on the life of Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands from American Masters and Voice of Freedom from American Experience.

To follow along or attend Angela's events and performances, visit her websites angelambrown.com and morningbrown.org or her social media channels.

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