Award-winning soprano Brenda Wimberly and five other well known soloists will join the Houston Ebony Opera Guild (HEOG) Chorus in a concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of HEOG , the late Robert A. Henry (1916-1996). The HEOG Founder’s Centennial Concert at 5 p.m., Sunday, June 26, 2016 at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler Avenue in Houston’s Third Ward. Tickets are now available. See details below.

Wimberly counts Robert Henry as a mentor and major influence in her development as a singer. She is now a critically acclaimed concert artist who has performed internationally. Wimberly is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University who went on to receive additional training through the Merola Opera Training Program of San Francisco Opera, the Young Artist Program of the Metropolitan Opera, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Her concert career has taken her throughout the United States, Western Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, and South Africa.

PROGRAM’S OTHER CONNECTIONS TO FOUNDER
The June 26th concert will feature the 44 voices of Houston Ebony Opera Guild’s Robert A. Henry Centennial Chorus and six soloists in a reprise of Negro Spirituals, operatic excerpts, and other music originally chosen by Henry for Guild performances. All of the soloists and a significant number of the choristers are from the pool of HEOG singers who performed under his direction in the 1990s. Returning as principal soloists for the June 26th concert will be the following: Dorceal Duckens, bass-baritone; Michelle Evans, mezzo-soprano; Joan Hubert, dramatic soprano; Robert Hughes, tenor; Richard Perkins, bass; and Brenda Wimberly, soprano. Other Henry protégées involved in the program will be A. Jan Taylor who will conduct the chorus, and pianist John L. Cornelius II. Program director for the Robert A. Henry Centennial Concert is Jason Oby, the current artistic director of Houston Ebony Opera Guild.

CENTENNIAL CONCERT TICKETS:
Tickets are now available and priced as follows: Adult SPECIAL ($20 each or $2 for $35); Group Rate ($15 each for 10 or more); Students ($10 each/ Kindergarten – College with I.D.) Tickets are available through multiple channels:

• Visit www.houstonebonymusic.org for online sales
• Chronicles Bookstore, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler (713-579-2753)
• Third World Imports by appointment (713-526-1980). Call after June 15th.
• Call HEOG at 713-335-3800.

BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF ROBERT ALPHONSO HENRY
Robert A. Henry: Choral Conductor, Voice Teacher, and Pianist
Robert A. Henry, founder of Houston Ebony Opera Guild, was born on June 22, 2016 in Oakwood, Texas to William Marcus and Margaret Johnson Henry, both of whom were educators. After leaving East Texas in pursuit of higher education, Henry earned a B.A. degree in 1936 from Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A&M University), Master of Music degree from University of Southern California, and a doctorate from Indiana University. In addition, as a Fulbright Scholar in England, he conducted research at King’s College, Cambridge University.

For additional information, call Dr. Jason Oby or Mary Marks Guillory at 713-335-3800.

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