DUNCAN | ELLINGTON | SIMON – A Semiquincentennial Celebration

Performers

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  Macomb Symphony Orchestra
  

  Macomb Symphony Orchestra
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  Andrew Neer Conductor
  

  Andrew Neer

  Conductor

  American conductor, Andrew Neer, was born in Tucker, Georgia and currently resides in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with his wife, Mary Lynn. He is quickly becoming known for his dynamic and expressive conducting style. His focus has been to educate and expand appreciation of music. He believes that at the heart of everything, music is the soul of America and provides transformative experiences for those performing and participating in the audience.

  Living in Michigan for most of his life, he is thrilled to join the Macomb Symphony Orchestra family. He attended Central Michigan University (CMU) studying Composition, Trumpet and Music Theatre Performance. Following his time at CMU, he obtained two Master of Music degrees in Composition and Conducting, respectively, from Wayne State University, Detroit MI. His composition experience ranges from that of the art song to film scores.

  In the summer 2013, he was invited to conduct Verdi’s La Traviata for Michigan Opera Theatre’s community programs, receiving high acclaim. In early 2016, he embarked on an international conducting career, appearing with orchestras in Romania and Bulgaria. He is honored to study privately with orchestral conductor & mentor Kenneth Kiesler. In 2023, Andrew completed Doctoral Studies in Orchestral Conducting at the world-renown University of Michigan. In addition to working with orchestras, Mr. Neer has been honored to lead choruses and conduct operas in and around Metropolitan Detroit.

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  Norah Duncan IV Composer
  

  Norah Duncan IV

  Composer

  Norah Duncan IV is a distinguished and multi-faceted musician whose career has profoundly shaped the worlds of academia, liturgical music, and performance. As a cornerstone of the Department of Music at Wayne State University, he served as Professor, Area Coordinator for Organ Performance, and former Department Chair. His academic and performance excellence is rooted in his Doctor of Musical Arts in Church Music from the University of Michigan.
  A Pillar of American Liturgical Music Duncan’s influence is perhaps most profoundly felt in the American liturgical music landscape. He has held the prestigious post of Music Director for the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament for an extraordinary tenure of over 26 years. This remarkable dedication makes him the second longest-serving Roman Catholic cathedral musician in the entire country, responsible for planning and directing music for major Archdiocesan liturgies.
  His leadership was showcased on the world stage when he was entrusted with one of the most significant spiritual and civic events in Detroit’s history: serving as the Director of Music for the historic 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II.
  A Global Voice in Composition and Scholarship As a renowned composer, Dr. Duncan’s works are published exclusively by GIA Publications. His celebrated compositions, including the Unity Mass (a setting of the 2010 Revised Roman Rite), Three Canticles, and Christ the Victorious, are performed in parishes across the country. His expertise was also tapped for the revision committee of the Lead Me Guide Me–Second Edition hymnal, to which he made many vital contributions.
  His authority as an educator and scholar extends globally. In a significant partnership with the Benedictine Monastery in Solesmes, France—the fountainhead of the modern Gregorian chant revival—Dr. Duncan established the Gregorian Institute of Detroit. He is a sought-after international expert, having presented scholarly papers on liturgical music at major congresses and workshops in Rome, Dublin, and Nigeria.
  An Acclaimed International Performer An acclaimed organist, Dr. Duncan’s own artistry has taken him across the globe. He has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, with recent recitals in international venues from Trier, Germany, to Sydney, Australia, demonstrating his continued impact as a world-class performer.
  Norah’s powerful cantata, JOURNEY: From Slavery to Freedom, is a work of humanistic importance that presents a fresh, exciting orchestral setting of nine traditional African American Spirituals. The musical essence is encapsulated by incorporating choral musical traditions with blues, jazz, Afrobeats, and pop idioms utilizing both traditional and indigenous instruments. This ambitious work for chorus, soloists, and orchestra vividly portrays the arduous journey of enslaved individuals to liberation, drawing upon the rich traditions of African American Spirituals and narratives of the Underground Railroad. It exemplifies contemporary American choral music, particularly works that explore themes of American cultural heritage. We are honored to premiere this magnificent work, right here, in Macomb County.

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  Joan Belgrave Alto
  

  Joan Belgrave

  Alto

  Joan Belgrave, Detroit Jazz Queen, is a two-time Grammy considered vocalist, songwriter, Music and Film producer. Joan is a multiple Detroit Music Award winner. In 2023 she joined the legendary WJZZ Detroit Jazz Radio station as an On Air Radio &TV Host. Her weekly WJZZ radio show (Monday’s from 5-8pm EST) “GROOVIN with JOAN BELGRAVE” is a “ STAND OUT”. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as she shares music from her personal jazz legend colleagues as well as the music of today. An example of her music production prowess is that of a sold-out New York Winter Jazz Festival event featuring herself, alongside jazz legends, Ron Carter, Sheila Jordan, Louis Hayes, Karriem Riggins, Robert Hurst, Johnny
  O’Neal and more.

  Joan is the consummate vocalist, equally adept with big band, blues, standards, gospel and contemporary R&B. While holding fans and critics rapt at prestigious venues like the Detroit Opera House, GEM Theatre, NJPAC (NJ) Brooklyn Academy of Music Theatre (NY), Dizzy’s Club (60th & Broadway, NY) The Metropolitan Room (NY), Catalina’s (Los Angeles), the Jazz Standard (Chicago) Switzerland, Paris, and the UK. “Belgrave’s voice is so soothing and sexy, she could give a pitbull goose bumps”… Detroit Metro Times raved, while jazzREVIEW called her “a class act and a beautiful talent.” Broadway Today calls her “Dynamic… with a Lush voice”. SOULTRACKS says of her voice “beautiful and lush” and awarded her “Oooo Boy” project as top 100 songs for 2023. “The artist herself explains it best: “I love singing with every fiber of my body.”

  The trajectory Joan has followed from singing gospel in the Baptist church as a young girl and entertaining family friends in Michigan to becoming a critically acclaimed performer who’s delighted sold-out crowds across the globe traces a fascinating course. Joan’s mother, who also sang, introduced her to U of M classical baritone, Dr. Willis Patterson who took her under his wing and classically trained her voice. Moving to Hollywood, Joan pursued a professional singing career but soon shelved her musical aspirations in order to marry and raise her three children. By the late-’90s, Joan had once again fully immersed herself in music. She began writing songs and recorded Emotions Blue (1998), her tribute to Billie Holiday. “I really related to her” she says. Joan’s chameleonic musicality fueled her follow-up Variations (2005). “It was a variety of me,” she explains about the album’s concept. “I had blues, gospel, jazz, and R&B going on there. I never want to limit myself because I’m a vocalist, period.” All of these projects were recorded in California, once she felt she had given her children a “solid foundation. Relocating back to Michigan, Joan met legendary trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. The couple wed and released their first of two collaborations with New Orleans Preservation Hall legendary saxophonist Charlie Gabriel, You Don’t Know Me: A Tribute to New Orleans, Ray Charles, and the Great Ladies of Song (2007). The trio followed up with Marcus, Charlie, and Joan … Once Again (2009) where Joan’s voice duly complemented the superb musicality of the album’s two jazz masters.

  Joan resumed her solo career with Excitable (2009) She released Merry Christmas Baby (2014), recorded “Please Send Me Someone to Love” for Blue Note Records, Don Was, and ventured into techno with producer Carl Craig on Tribe’s “Where Am I” (2009). In between headlining the Detroit Intl Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, Ontario Jazz Festival, Ascona Jazz Festival (Switzerland), and the annual Don Was Detroit All Star concert, she continued to produce her own shows, in addition to being a lead vocalist with the Motown Legends Gospel Choir. She produced a sold-out DIA tribute to her friend, the late Queen, Aretha Franklin and performed as a featured vocalist at Ms. Franklin’s Homegoing Concert held at Chene Park. She has composed all of the songs on her sixth solo project, “Oooo Boy” released in 2022 which was 2023 Grammy considered. The audio and video project was voted by SoulTracks as top 100 songs of 2022.

  The “Oooo Boy” project was up for five 2023 Detroit Music Awards, winning the award for “Outstanding Songwriter”. Whether onstage or in the studio, Jazz, Blues, Pop, R&B or Gospel, Joan Belgrave reaches listeners through a voice that holds a world of musical wonders. Her thrilling versatility and passion for music shines through every note she sings. “No matter what’s going on, the music is my savior,” she says. “It always has been.” Music takes Joan Belgrave to new heights. Join her for the flight.

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  Amber Rogers Soprano
  

  Amber Rogers

  Soprano

  A Washington DC native, Amber Rogers is quickly becoming a highly coveted soprano voice. After covering Elvira in Music Academy of the West’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Amber will head to Metro-Detroit for the 2025-2026 season as the Artist in Residence for the Macomb Symphony where she will sing the world premieres and This past May Amber was asked to sing in the Gateways Music Festival tour where she sang recitals at the Eastman School of Music and Carnegie Hall. She recently completed her Master’s degree at the University of Michigan (UofM) studying with Caitlin Lynch and Dr. Louise Toppin. Amber completed her undergraduate studies at Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Timothy LeFevbre and Marlene Rosen.

  At UofM, Amber sang Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, and Fiordiligi from Mozart’s Così fan Tutte, each directed by Metropolitan Opera visionary, Gregory Keller. Prior to these, she also presented a hilarious Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi directed by Mo Zhou and conducted by Kirk Severston.

  <p?Amber was a Finalist in the 2023 University of Michigan Concerto Competition, was named the 2024 National Scholarship Winner for the NANM competition, as well as winning first place in the 2024 George Shirley competition college division.

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  Ronald Perkins Baritone
  

  Ronald Perkins

  Baritone

  Ronald Quinn Perkins Jr. is a Detroit-based bass-baritone and music educator whose work spans orchestral, choral, and operatic repertoire. He has appeared as a soloist with ensembles throughout the Metro Detroit area and is recognized for a voice noted for its warmth, clarity, and musical sensitivity.

  Perkins’ performance experience includes operatic and concert repertoire ranging from Mozart, Verdi, and Monteverdi to Britten and American song, with roles such as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Pistola (Falstaff), Seneca (L’incoronazione di Poppea), and Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni). His choral-orchestral work includes bass solo appearances in large-scale works such as Handel’s Messiah, as well as collaborations with university, civic, and community ensembles.

  In addition to his performance career, Perkins is an educator, arts leader, and education policy fellow who serves as a music teacher, teacher mentor, and curriculum writer for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. He holds degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he studied with Daniel Washington, and continues to balance performance, teaching, and arts leadership with a focus on culturally responsive pedagogy and equitable access to the arts.

• Oakland Choral Society Chorus
  Oakland Choral Society

  Chorus
• Detroit Choral Society
  Detroit Choral Society