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Newport Classical Music Festival presents Karen Slack: African Queens
GRAMMY Award-winning singer Karen Slack – “one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos” (Trilloquy) – presents African Queens, an extraordinary evening of music and storytelling, featuring a powerful selection of new works by some of today’s most acclaimed composers including Jessie Montgomery, Fred Onovwerosuoke, previous Newport Classical Composer-in-Residence Shawn Okpebholo, Jasmine Arielle Barnes, Will Liverman, Joel Thompson, and Damien Geter. This collaborative song cycle shines a spotlight on seven fierce African Queens, whose legacies as rulers and warriors have often been overlooked in the West, with each piece reflecting their beauty, passion, humility, and power. Slack brings her operatic virtuosity to this project, joined by pianist Kevin J. Miller, to celebrate living composers and elevate voices long underrepresented in classical music. African Queens is commissioned for Karen Slack by a national consortium of prominent presenters – the Ravinia Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, Boston Symphony Orchestra for the Tanglewood Learning Institute, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Washington Performing Arts, The 92nd Street Y, New York, and Newport Classical Music Festival.
From July 4-22, 2025, the Newport Classical Music Festival offers an unparalleled experience, combining 29 intimate concerts featuring over 100 artists with the grandeur and opulence of 11 iconic venues, making the City by the Sea an ultimate summer destination for live music. For 56 years, Newport Classical has united artists and audiences to experience the joy of music and the connections it inspires, offering concertgoers the opportunity to discover new composers or experience timeless works offered from a fresh perspective.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3085979-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3085979-2
