Damien Sneed's 'We Shall Overcome: A Celebration Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.' Tour Kicks Off In NYC At Joe's Pub

Damien Sneed's 40+-City North American tour, "We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." tour kicks off at Joe's Pub in New York, NY on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 9:30 p.m. Presented by IMG Artists, today's leading global performing arts management agency, the tour will make stops at concert halls and universities in the U.S. and Canada. For a complete list of the tour dates, click HERE.

In honor of Dr. King, the Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient will bring his brand of classical, jazz, and sanctified soul to venues across the country during MLK holiday, Black History Month, and Women's History Month. "We Shall Overcome" is a joyous celebration reflecting on the triumphant and victorious moments during our history. To view footage from last year's tour, click HERE.

"I'm super excited about the upcoming 'We Shall Overcome' tour," says Sneed. "Last year was our first time going out, but now we are well prepared for the rigorous schedule and vast amount of travel required. The best part of this tour is how we will be able to touch the lives of so many different people through the lyrics and messages in the music."

Joining Sneed on tour will be an ensemble of multi-genre vocalists and instrumentalists, including Chenee Campbell (vocalist), Anitra McKinney (vocalist), Alicia Peters-Jordan (vocalist), Linny Smith (vocalist), Arthur Sutton (bass), Marquéz Cassidy (keyboards) and other musicians and special guest artists to be announced.

On Friday, January 10, 2020, Sneed will also release the deluxe edition of the 2019 CD, Damien Sneed: We Shall Overcome on his label, LeChateau Earl Records, which was established in 2009 to reflect his varied musical interests. In September 2019, he released his latest offering, Jazz In Manhattan. Previous recordings included Damien Sneed: We Shall Overcome (January 2019), The Three Sides of Damien Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul (July 2018), Broken To Minister: The Deluxe Edition (March 2015), Spiritual Sketches (June 2013), and Introspections LIVE (January 2010).

As a multi-instrumentalist and producer, Sneed has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B legends including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, which he recently was the musical director for his mentor's funeral service, and is featured on Norman's final recording, Bound For The Promised Land. Sneed also worked with Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, Lawrence Brownlee, and many others.

Sneed was also a part of the Metropolitan Opera Celebration of Jessye Norman on Sunday, November 24, where he accompanied three Metropolitan Opera's rising stars, including Latonia Moore, Leah Hawkins, and J'Nai Bridges, who currently stars as Queen Nefertiti in Phillip Glass' new opera AKHNATEN. During that same week, Sneed conducted Wynton Marsalis' critically-acclaimed Abyssinian Mass with the famed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Sneed's choir, Chorale Le Chateau, for a three-night engagement during the 10th Anniversary of the White Light Festival, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The composer and pianist recently premiered his new opera, "We Shall Overcome -- Our Journey: 400 Years from Africa to Jamestown," at Carnegie Hall's Isaac Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage for the Sphinx Organization Performance and Gala, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert F. Smith. Sneed also wrote the libretto, which showcases musical styles from the African American diaspora from African rhythms to spirituals to gospel to jazz, all interwoven in the classical genre. He was joined by fellow Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipients and Metropolitan Opera's Will Liverman (baritone) and J'Nai Bridges (mezzo-soprano), along with Chorale Le Chateau, and the Sphinx Virtuosi Orchestra, who brought to life his ground-breaking opera during the evening's finale performance.

Sneed was also commissioned to compose a new chamber opera titled MARIAN'S SONG about the life of Marian Anderson for Houston Grand Opera, which will have its world premiere on March 5, 2020, at the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center. In addition to MARIAN'S SONG, he was commissioned to compose a symphony in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen with its world premiere in summer 2020 in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.

Sneed is featured in Aaron Dworkin's new book, The Entrepreneurial Artist: Lessons from Highly Successful Creatives, scheduled for release on December 4, 2019. The book also features Emmy Award-winning actor Jeff Daniels, Tony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones, and Pulitzer Prize winners Wynton Marsalis and Lin-Manuel Miranda, among others. The Entrepreneurial Artist explores lessons of love, sacrifice, loss, despair, perseverance, and triumph.

Sneed recently joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches graduate-level courses in conducting, African American Music History, a singer/songwriter ensemble, a gospel music ensemble, and private lessons in piano, voice, and composition. A graduate of John S. Davidson Fine Arts School in his hometown of Augusta, GA., Sneed studied at some of the finest conservatories and universities, including Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music - Piano Performance; the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University; New York University, where he earned a Master of Music in Music Technology: Scoring for Film and Multimedia; and the Manhattan School of Music. Sneed will also graduate with his doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from USC in 2020. Sneed was a member of the faculty at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and Nyack College. His other professional affiliations have included The Juilliard School as a staff accompanist, Jazz at Lincoln Center as an artistic consultant, and the City University of New York (CUNY) as a professor of music. In 2015, he established the Damien Sneed Performing Arts Institute, a division of the Damien Sneed Foundation. He is the founder and artistic director of the international vocal ensemble Chorale Le Chateau.

For more information on Damien Sneed and LeChateau Earl Records, go to www.damiensneed.com and www.lechateauearl.com.

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