Sweet Honey In The Rock - 50th Anniversary Tour

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK

50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

FEATURING

CAROL MAILLARD

LOUISE ROBINSON

AISHA KAHLIL

NITANJU BOLADE CASEL

BARBARA HUNT

GUEST ARTISTS

NAVASHA DAYA, VOCALIST

HERMAN BURNEY, BASSIST

BARBARA HUNT, ASL SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER

Ted Lambert, Executive Director

Melay Araya, Artistic Director

Jeff Mann, Marketing Director

Alex Koveos, Digital Media Manager

Cindy Byram, Publicity

Carl Acampora, Production Manager

Dennis Rakauckas, Graphic Designer

In prayer we trust/ By hope we live/ On truth we stand/ From our hearts we give/ Love.

– SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK®

Sweet Honey In The Rock®, the extraordinary GRAMMY-nominated women-led African American vocal ensemble, marks their 50th anniversary at The Town Hall in New York City on Friday, March 24th

The concert, part of their three-year celebration tour “Sweet Honey In The Rock: Road To 50,” represents a truly special reunion.

Sweet Honey In The Rock, which first appeared at Town Hall in the early 1980s, has been guided by the idea of giving a voice to the voiceless and disenfranchised and addressing social justice. The Town Hall was built as a meeting place by a group of suffragists (The League for Political Education) to educate people on the significant issues of the day. It is also one of the best venues in the country for voices. During its completion, Congress passed the 19th Amendment establishing women’s right to vote.

Fittingly, Sweet Honey In The Rock’s performance highlights Town Hall’s celebration of Women’s History Month and is part of Town Hall’s ongoing Women Composers series.

Firmly rooted in African American history and culture, this vocal quartet has honed a rich combination of musical styles, including low-down blues, spirituals, and African choral traditions, to Rhythm & Blues and hip hop. They have shown an unwavering commitment to social justice, and their messages have been set to vocal harmonies celestial and earthy, and presented with a theatrical flair.

In his introductory essay to a Sweet Honey In The Rock songbook, Horace Clarence Boyer called the group a Greek chorus commenting on all matters of importance to our society.

Their work is still necessary and relevant 50 years later.

The current ensemble features vocalists Carol Maillard and Louise Robinson -- both original members of the group -- Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil and Navasha Daya; Herman Burney, bass, and Barbara Hunt, ASL sign language interpreter.

“When we started, we were part of the amazing DC Black Repertory Theater Company in Washington, D.C.,” recalls Maillard, who’s also an actress, musician, and composer and has performed in film, television, cabaret, and theater. “We were studying with Bernice Johnson Reagon (then vocal director of the company), who was an active member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [SNCC} and had another a cappella singing group in Atlanta. What Bernice brought to our theater company was steeped in our culture as African American people. One of the men in the vocal class told Bernice that the songs we sang for the show were really great, so can we have a singing group? I can tell you that this was not something Berniece wanted to do because she had two little kids and she was getting her doctorate in American History at Howard University. But between Louise Robinson and others asking her and asking her, they wore her down, and she finally said yes. She got ten of us together, taught us a few songs

that were not in the theater repertoire – and it was really great.”

After a few weeks, some members didn’t show up for rehearsals, “So Louise said, it’s four of us here. Let’s just sing and see what happens,” recalls Maillard. “The sound was so good! And Bernice said, ‘This is the group.’”

They took their name from “Honey In The Rock,” a popular song by singer Mamie Forehand in the late 1920s. The piece alluded to a line from Psalm 81:16, in which King David told his people that if they served The Lord, they would be rewarded with “honey out of the rock.” The song became popularly known as “Sweet Honey In The Rock,” and Maillard recalls she suggested at a rehearsal that “it would be a great name for the group.”

Their first concert was on November 17th, 1973. Since then, Sweet Honey In The Rock has performed all over the world, building a large and faithful fan following (they are favorites of Michelle Obama, who invited them to perform at the White House in 2009), releasing over two dozen recordings, and garnering three GRAMMY nominations. The group has also been the subject of two PBS Television specials (including American Masters).

“I cannot overstate Sweet Honey In The Rock’s importance in American music,” says Melay Araya, The Town Hall’s Artistic Director, and Archivist. “As a young artist, I turned to their music as inspiration for excavating our cultural traditions and generating new works that would honor them while pointing to the future. Celebrating their 50th anniversary is a privilege. They are as electric as they were when I first saw them decades ago. “

As for the social and political battles that once seemed settled and now have to be fought again, ranging from voting rights to police brutality, Maillard takes the long view. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” she notes. “Change is constant. The struggle is constant. Life is born out of struggle.”

“You just have to keep going,” she says softly but firmly. “You have to use your DNA that has resilience stamped all over it, and you want to keep moving forward because you’re going to uplift people and make room for younger people coming forward, their offspring, and their children’s children.”

“If I get emotional while talking about the group, please forgive me,” she says, chuckling. “I really am a fan. I think what this group does is so unique. We are young elders.” Reagon retired in 2004, and “there have been 28 different women and sign language interpreters on a Sweet Honey stage,” recalled Maillard. “But throughout, there’s been such a consistency between the message and the music. It’s really magical.”

ABOUT SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK

Since its 1973 inception in Washington, DC (founded by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon as part of the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company with Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson and Mie), Sweet Honey In The Rock has continuously evolved into international ambassadors of a cappella vocal and lyrical excellence and musical missionaries of equality, empowerment and education, peace, love, solidarity and nondenominational spirituality. Revered most for their live performances, the ladies have recorded 24 albums, several specifi-

cally for children. Their most recent double CD, SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: A Tribute...Live! Jazz at Lincoln Center (2012), paid homage to their kindred sisters: vocalists and activists Abbey Lincoln, Odetta, Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone, and found the group singing with a jazz trio of “Honey Men” (Musical Director and pianist, Stacey Wade; acoustic and electric bassist, Parker McAllister; and drummer and percussionist, Jovol Bell).

Sweet Honey In The Rock has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious venues on almost every continent for royal command concerts and festivals. In 2015 alone, they embarked on four U.S. Embassy tours with performances and community outreach in, Ethiopia, Peru, Jamaica and Swaziland (and also toured Belize in 2014). In Swaziland, they were one of the headliners of the internationally acclaimed 9th Annual Mountain Bushfire Music Festival (which attracted 20,000 people), and were featured at the 11th Annual Festival of Voices in Hobart, Tasmania, as part of a tour that also included Launceston, and Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. Their February 2016 appearance at New York’s historic Carnegie Hall (with noted guest artists trumpeter and bandleader Terence Blanchard and violinist Regina Carter) holds the distinction of being their 32nd occasion to perform there.

Recent milestones and accomplishments include being commissioned by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company to compose a score for its 50th anniversary 2008 program, “Go In Grace.” In 2012, they debuted their first orchestral collaboration, writing original lyrics for composer William Banfield’s, “Symphony 10: Affirmations for a New World”, a thirty minute work that was co-commissioned and presented by the National Symphony Orchestra (Christoph Eschenbach, Music Director), and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC; the Minnesota Orchestra, (Osmo Vänskä, Music Director) at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis; and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Millennium Park with the Sphinx Orchestra (conducted by Mark Russell Smith) in Chicago.

The group also had the honor of performing at the National Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. In acknowledgement of their efforts, Sweet Honey In The Rock was recently presented a distinguished award by the Search For Common Ground Organization and the Keeper of the Flame award by the National Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at its 100th anniversary celebration. Also, not surprisingly, they are a favorite group of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, having performed by request at the White House.

Sweet Honey In The Rock, which has been the subject of two PBS television specials, (including American Masters), is a beloved performance ensemble that, in its 40 plus year history, has maintained a resilient spirit and found a way to successfully fuse the talents of the 24 women that have graced the Sweet Honey In The Rock stage into their patented sound without ever skipping a beat. Ever evolving, the soul survivors once even expanded to six vocalists before settling back to four, all in the name of retaining its adventurous spirit, keeping up with the times and reaching greater numbers of like-minded spirits. Last year they released the holiday single and video, “Silent Night” in support of their annual Sweet Honey In The Rock, “Celebrate the Holydays” program

Contr ibu te to ou r

THE TOWN HALL FOUNDATION

The Town Hall’s mission is to provide affordable world-class entertainment by new and established artists to a diverse audience; to inspire the youth of our community to appreciate and participate in the arts at The Town Hall and in schools through our Education Outreach Program; and to preserve and enhance The Town Hall as a historic landmark venue for the enjoyment and cultural enrichment of generations to come.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

PRESIDENT

Tom Wirtshafter

PRESIDENT EMERITUS

Marvin Leffler

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Susan Zohn

GENERAL COUNSEL

Ellen Miller-Wachtel

TRUSTEES

Teniola Adedipe

Shauna Denkensohn

Anne Frank-Shapiro

John A. Jenkins

David F. McCarthy

Natalie Moreno

Rita Robbins

Madhu Southworth

Timothy Stambaugh

Nevin Steinberg

LIFE TRUSTEES

Phyllis Putter Barasch

Leona Chanin

Mary Dettling-Wright

Alfred H. Horowitz

Bruce S. Leffler

THE TOWN HALL STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Ted Lambert

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Melay Araya

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Jeff Mann

DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND ADMINISTRATION

Helen Morris

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Donna Banks, PhD

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Bill Dehling

VICE PRESIDENT

Nevin Steinberg

TREASURER

David McCarthy

SECRETARY

Rita Robbins

WARNING

The photographing or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any device for such photographing or sound recording inside the theatre without the written permission of the management is prohibited by law. Violators may be punished by ejection and violations may render the offender liable for monetary damages.

FIRE NOTICE

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Kathleen Rosenberg, Chair

Nancy Berman

Sandy Horowitz

Elizabeth Iannizzi

Candace Leeds

Zita Rosenthal

Rhoda Rothkopf

ARTS IN EDUCATION

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Dr. Sharon Dunn

Michael Fram

Gary Hecht

Ernest Logan

Dr. Eloise Messineo

Dr. Lisa Mars

Dr. Pola Rosen

George Young

BOX OFFICE MANAGER

Angel Rodriguez

DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER

Alex Koveos

CHIEF ENGINEER

Steve Franqui

HOUSE MANAGER

Johnny Lee Green

DIRECTOR OF BOOKING AND EVENTS

Paul Cameron Hardy

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Britni Montalbano

PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE

Gloria Lee

The exit indicated by a red light and sign nearest to the seat you occupy is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency please do not run, WALK TO THAT EXIT.

Thoughtless persons annoy patrons and endanger the safety of others by lighting matches or smoking in prohibited areas during the performances and intermissions. This violates a city ordinance and is punishable by law.

-FIRE COMMISSIONER

DIRECTORY OF THEATRE SERVICES

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES: 212.997.1003

Mon-Fri 9:30 am to 5 pm, for rental & membership info

BOX OFFICE: 212.840.2824

Mon-Sat 12 noon to 6pm. 24/7 Recording

TICKETMASTER: 800.982.2787 to charge tickets by phone.online Ticketmaster.com

LOST AND FOUND: 212.997.0113

CELL PHONE POLICY

Cell phones should be silenced prior to the performance as a courtesy to the performers and audience.

LOBBY REFRESHMENT BY Theatre Refreshment Company of NY

MAJOR GIFTS, CORPORATE, FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Town Hall’s Education Outreach Program is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. The Centennial Concert Series is funded, in part, by Howard Gilman Foundation. We would like to thank the following foundations, corporations, and government institutions for their support:

American Portfolios

Bank of America

Bob Dylan Center

Broadhaven Capital Partners

Consolidated Edison Company of New York

The Durst Organization

The Hearst Foundations, Inc.

The Hyde & Watson Foundation

Edythe Kenner Foundation

Gund Investment Corporation

National Endowment for the Arts

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

New York State Council on the Arts

Henry Nias Foundation

Howard Gilman Foundation

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul

New York City Mayor Eric L. Adams

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine

New York City Council Member Keith Powers

New York City Council Member Gale Brewer

New York City Council Member Julie Menin

New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse

New York City Council Member Kalman Yeger

NYC Dept. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo

S&P Global

The Shubert Foundation

Ticketmaster

THE TOWN HALL’S YOUNG PATRONS CIRCLE

Join the next generation of Town Hall supporters! Town Hall’s Young Patrons Circle is a special membership group, ages 21-40, that engages in social and educational activities through exciting events, performances, and programming. We are brought together by a shared love of the arts, a deep interest in social change, civic engagement, and a desire to become part of a growing group of like-minded individuals that support town Hall.

For more information about the Young Patrons Circle, please contact Development Manager - development@thetownhall.org

TOUR THE HISTORIC TOWN HALL

Town Hall has played an integral part in the electrifying cultural fabric of New York City for more than 90 years. A group of Suffragists’ fight for the 19th Amendment led them to build a meeting space to educate people on the important issues of the day. During its construction, the 19th Amendment was passed, and on January 12, 1921 The Town Hall opened its doors and took on a double meaning: as a symbol of the victory sought by its founders, and as a spark for a new, more optimistic climate. In 1921, German composer Richard Strauss performed a series of concerts that cemented the Hall’s reputation as an ideal venue for musical performances. Since, Town Hall has been home to countless musical milestones: The US debuts of Strauss, and Isaac Stern; Marian Anderson’s first New York recital; in 1945, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker introduced bebop to the world; Bob Dylan’s first major concert in ‘63; and much much more.

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

Producer’s Circle ($5,000+)

Howard Berman

Shauna & Michael Denkensohn

Frederic R. Coudert Foundation

Dr. Elizabeth Iannizzi

Ted Lambert & Susan Carragher

Dr. Charlotte Frank & Marvin

Leffler

Robin & Jay Lewis

Adam & Melony Lewis

David & Julie McCarthy

Alan & Ellen Miller-Wachtel

Drs. Torbjoern Nygaard & Lisa A.

Mellman

Rita Robbins

Brian & Patricia Shea

Beth & Tim Stambaugh

Nevin Steinberg & Paige Price

Allison & Stephen Sullens

Martha West

Carol Marks & Tom Wirtshafter

Gordon Woodward

Susan Zohn

Partner ($2,500)

Gordon Murray & Katherine

DeFoyd

Mary Dettling-Wright

Fern Hurst & Peter Rubin

John A. Jenkins & Susan Raleigh

Jenkins, Esq.

John Koerber

Scott Lehrer

Ivy Beth Lewis

Louis Salamone & Carolyn

Felder

Anita Jaffe & Lawrence C.

Zucker

Sponsor ($2,000)

Robin Arndt

Gerard Briscoe

Daniel Lewis

Rob Milburn

Lida Orzeck

Shelly Packer

Seat Holder ($1,000)

Margot Astrachan

Nancy & Evan Berman

Barbara Dobkin

Robert Evanson

Hazel & Russel Fershleiser

Matthew Frank

Laura Garn

Richard Gelarden

Patricia Green

Agnes Gund

Fran & Richard Habib

David Hindie

Bruce Horten & Aaron Lieber

Dr. Christopher Joy & Cathy L.

Velenchik

Jacqueline & Bruce Leffler

John McGuire, Jr.

Andrew Norton

Felix Roman

Kathleen Rosenberg

Rhoda Rothkopf

Susan & Victor Shedlin

Fred Wistow

Member ($500)

Irwyn Applebaum

Wanyong & Chris Austin

Lori Berisford

Jenny Cook

Louis Cox

Kristine Dermody-Nolan

Sharon Dunn

Diane Fairbank

Lynn Feinson

Dori Fromer & Harley Frank

Michael & Anne Frank-Shapiro

Carol Golden

Barbara Gottlieb

Adam Idleberg

Todd Jick

Adele Karig

Robert M. Kaufman

Eric & Sandra Kransoff

Judy & Steven Kunreuther

John Larson

Tim & Mary Lee

Jeff Marowits

Natalie Moreno

Joshua Nelson

Richard Oppenheimer

Diane & Steve Parrish

Nicholas Polsky

Brendon Ratner

John Reese

Yosef Riemer

Brad Robins

Zita Rosenthal

Joel Sklar

Emerson Spry

Melissa Wohlgemuth

Glen Wood

Friend ($250)

Richard Anderson

Deborah Barrera

William Beck

Jason Berger

Pat Brown

James P. Coffey

Deborah and Marshall Cohen

Sue Conroy

Barbara Cooper

Jacqueline Cottrell

Madeluz Espinal

Edmond FitzGerald

Patricia Foley

Alyson Forde

Donna Frankel

Roanne Goldfein

Marianne Goodman MD

Allen Honigman

Jon Horwitz

Wojciech Kropiewnicki

John Kuehn

Ellen & Martin Levine

William Low

Eileen Mcinerney

W. Kurt Meinen

James Naughton & Laura

Richards

Judith Oney

Hon. Chris Owens

John Palmer

Patricia Pamulo

Dr. John Rediske

Jason Rivas

A. Jeffrey Rosen

Martha Sammaciccia

Frank Scarangella

Georgia Scurletis

Emily Sernaker

Jennifer Smith

Yohanna Sowler

Virginia Stokes

Abbe Tiger

Andrew Underberg

Patricia Vitanza

Claudia Wagner

Bob Walter

Bruce Weiss

Howard Wiess

Debbie & Todd Wolleman

Supporters ($100)

Anonymous (52)

Robert C. Adler

David Albano

Eric Allen

Gary Apple

Catherine Arnst

Susan Babcock

Carl Bailey

David Bailin

Andrew Baldwin

Brian B. Barnett

Paul & Fran Bassi

Emil Batista-Herrera

Michael Becker

Alex Besterman

Aimee Beyda

Bruce Bosso

Scot Bowers

Katharine Boyle

James Bradley

Breea & Alana Brucia

Lillian & Robert Buckley

James Buresh

Colleen Cahill

Jamie Camche

Lloyd Campbell

Leslie Chiocco

Kay Ciganovic

Justine Ciovacco

Mel S. Citrin

Caroline Clark

William Clement

Peggyann Cohen

Michael T. Crane

Helene Criss

Myra Crowell

Charles Cummings

G.D. Czachowski

Michael DeMirjian

Leah Desole

Mary Patricia Devine

Michael J. Donlon

Dale Dueland

Jay Edelman

David Eiaenhardt

Phyllis Elkind

Chad Graff & Joan Falkenburg

Bernard Feigen

Daniel Figueroa

Peter E. Fisch

Paul Fishman

Brigid Foster

Tom Gallagher

Thomas Garbutt

Daniel L. Dolgin & Loraine F.

Gardner

Judith Mary Gee

Beth Gelfond

Peter Gilligan

John Gleeson

Paul & Miriam Gold

Rachel Goldstein

Joshua Goodman

Kenny Gordon

Chad Graff

Dr. Marc Gurtman

Amanda Guzman Molina

Elizabeth Hartman

David Hechler

I. Hidalgo

K & MB Hubbard

Craig Jenness

Brandy Johnson

Robert Kaplan

Jason Karameros

Jedd Katrancha

Kenneth Kaufman

Linda L. Kelly

Roy Kessler

David B. Killalea

Kevin Krause

Dan & Helene Lacoff

John Lancaster

Michael Leahy

Leslie & John Lehman

David Leibowitz

Paul Levine & Victoria Sweet

Steve Levitan

Elizabeth Levy

Chris Lipton

Dan Longhi

Colleen, Kimberly, & Shannon

Lovisi

Dennis Lynch

Drew Davis

Steven & Patricia Madsen

Gideon Mark

Kevin McMahon

David Medlar

Gloria Mendez

Paul Millen

Mr. & Mrs. David Milone

Peter Mishu

Barbara Mohan

Michael F. Money

Michele & Mark Montague

Elliot Morgan

Richard Moylan

House Casting

Kerin Nash

Matthew Neiger

Rick Nelson

Peter Palle

Ken & Susie Ng

Gerard O’Connor

Desmond OBrien

Roger Olson

David C. Olstein

Rozzi Osterman

Clare Palazzo

Jason Pendrock

John Raslowsky

Michael Reidy

David Rimmer

Vicki Roosevelt & Rob

Jorgensen

Kim Rothenberger

Ronald Rotter

Janet C. Rotter

Jess & Sammy Rubin

Roger Sadowsky & Robin Phillips

Morty Schiff

Ellen Schorr

Joseph Schott

Marilyn Schwartz

Richard Schwartz

Stefan Sherwood

Dave & Clare Sievers

Adam Stepansky

Laureen Swanwick

Victoria Sweet

Lori VanKluyve

Steve Varvaro

Lynn & Tom Vassar

Erica Ventley

Jeffrey Vernam

Nancy & Paul Vincent

Louise and Jeffrey Weisbord

David Weller

Marc Whiten

Chester Whitlock

Stanley Wine

Jamie Wolfe & Meg Cimino

Thomas Wood

Natalie Wright

David A. Wright

Tsurugi Yamazaki

Evelyn Yanatos

Scott Ziegler

Evelyn Yanatos

Scott Ziegler

Photo: © Sachyn Mital

heart

Thanks for putting art in the heart of the community