Sweet Honey in the Rock to Play CAPA, 12/5

Internationally renowned a capella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock presents a one-of-a-kind seasonal concert, celebrating music from many faiths and religions of the globe through stunning vocal prowess rooted in the rich textures of African-American legacy and traditions. With American spirituals, Latin, Chinese, African, and Hebrew influences, this program honors the holiday spirit from Christmas to Kwanzaa, including traditional holiday standards such as "Go Tell It On The Mountain," "This Little Light of Mine," and more blended with new holiday favorites.

CAPA presents Sweet Honey in the Rock: Celebrating the Holydays at the Capitol Theatre (77 S. High St.) on Thursday, December 5, at 8 pm. Tickets are $20-$50 at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. Individuals aged 13-25 may purchase $5 PNC Arts Alive All Access tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.

This Spectrum Series performance is made possible through the generous support of series sponsor David and Mo Meuse and 2013-14 CAPA season sponsor American Airlines.

Challenge and change are the themes underlying the 39-year career of the revered female African-American a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock. In the course of creating its adventurous and diverse mixture of blues, African, jazz, gospel, and R&B music with excursions into symphonic and dance theater, 23 vocalists have passed through the group, formed as a quartet in 1973 at a workshop at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company in Washington. Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson, and Mie drew their name from the first song they learned, "Sweet Honey in the Rock," based on a Biblical psalm.

With political and social activism as much a cornerstone of its objective as vocally painting a multi-genre rainbow of music with an a cappella approach (aside from its members' hand percussion), Sweet Honey began performing in 1974 and was soon performing various festivals in the US and Canada.

The ever-growing list of Sweet Honey in the Rock's musical and activist achievements is beyond stunning. The ladies have performed in Nairobi and Beijing at the U.N. World Conference on Women, toured the UK, Japan, Africa, Australia, and various European locations, been the subject of two PBS documentaries Gotta Make This Journey and Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice, recorded film soundtracks, received Grammy nominations for several of their albums for children, and shared a Grammy Award for their participation in the multi-artist record Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. The group appeared in a 1986 PBS special, The Dream and the Drum, on the first national observance of Martin Luther King Day, and in early 2012, performed at the unveiling ceremonies for the monument for Dr. King on the National Mall. The same year, Sweet Honey also debuted their first-ever orchestral collaboration, providing the lyrics for composer William Banfield's "Symphony 10: Affirmations for a New World."

In 2012, Sweet Honey co-wrote (with Grammy-winning songwriter Barry Eastman), recorded (with hip-hop artist Yonas), and released (on their own SHE ROCKS-5 label), a thought-provoking single and video, "Are We a Nation," inspired by the controversial immigration law enacted in Arizona in 2010. The song captured a Gold Songwriter Award from the 27th Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and was featured on an all-star compilation titled Bordersongs.

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