DUNCAN | JOURNEY: From Slavery to Freedom (WORLD Premiere)

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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  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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  Theodore Jones Baritone Soloist
  

  Theodore Jones

  Baritone Soloist

  Theodore Jones is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he studied violin and viola at the Settlement Music School of Philadelphia. In 1974, with the assistance of a Ford Foundation Scholarship, he studied with Joseph DePasquale, principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He attended Morehouse College and studied voice with the late Dr. Wendell P. Whalum. While attending Morehouse College, he served as featured soloist and Student Director of the Morehouse College Glee Club. In 1977, he attended the Phyllis Curtin Seminar for Singers at Tanglewood Music Festival in Berkshire, Massachusetts. He performed with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra during its 1996 Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration concert. He performed as a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Hannibal Lokumbe’s African Portraits in 1994.

  Since then, he has performed the part of the male slave with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in concert performances and in the work’s world premiere recording for Teldec Records. He participated in the 100th performance of the work with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Leslie Dunner in 2003. Since 1990, he has been a member of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale of Detroit, Michigan. With this organization, he has been a soloist in several major works, including the Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach, the German Requiem by Johannes Brahms and the Requiem by Wolfgang A. Mozart. Additional oratorio work has included Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Gioacchino Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and George F. Handel’s Messiah. Since 1989, he has been a member of the Cathedral Choir and the Male Chorus at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit MI., performing liturgical solo work and an annual Handel’s Messiah as bass soloist.

  Additional work with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has included other vocal solos in the Classical Roots series and an appearance with Maestro Thomas Wilkins for a Saturday Youth Concert featuring a performance of Aaron Copeland’s I Bought Me A Cat from his American Songs collection (2003). A medical doctor by training, he is Division Director for Maternal Fetal Medicine at Corewell Health Dearborn and is Associate Professor (FTA) of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit MI.

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  Thornetta Davis Alto
  

  Thornetta Davis

  Alto

  DETROIT’S QUEEN OF THE BLUES THORNETTA DAVIS

  International singer, songwriter and Independent recording artist, was awarded by the Detroit Blues Society “Living Lifetime Achievement Award” and awarded a star on the Canada South Blues Museum “Walk of Fame”. In 2015 Thornetta was crowned “DETROIT’S QUEEN OF THE BLUES” in a ceremony by the Detroit Blues Society, with proclamations from the City of Detroit, County of Wayne and the State of Michigan. Thornetta has performed with and opened for Bob Seger, Blues Legends such as B.B. King, Sir Mac Rice, Ray Charles, Etta James, KoKo Taylor, Johnny Johnson, Bonnie Raitt and more. Thornetta released her first solo album SUNDAY MORNING MUSIC in 1996 on the label Subpop featuring the late keyboardist Eddie Harsh from the Black Crowes, Big Chief.

  Thornetta is a ten time Blues Music Award Nominee including 2024 for best Soul/Blues Artist female and the Winner of the 2023 BLUES MUSIC AWARDS for Best Soul/Blues Artist Female. Thornetta is also winner of over 30 Detroit Music Awards. Thornetta received six 2018 DMA’s and has also won eight 2017 Detroit Music Awards for her latest album Honest Woman which include Outstanding Record Producer, Outstanding Blues Recording, Outstanding Blues Vocalist and Outstanding Live Performance. As winner of the 2017 Blues Blast Magazine Music Awards for “Best Soul/Blues Album, Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine “Coolest Blues Song” Thornetta has garnered international attention by winning 2017 1st place in the INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION (ISC) for “Best Blues Song” (I BELIEVE EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE ALRIGHT) and also receiving the prestigious French 2018 La Academie du Jazz Award for “Best Blues Album” for HONEST WOMAN.

  Down Beat Magazine 2018 Monterey Jazz Fest performance review

  “The follow-up at the Garden Stage on Saturday blew the crowd away. In her first time performing at Monterey, Detroit’s Queen of the Blues, Thornetta Davis, sang with no-nonsense sass, fearless in her missives against lovers, as she preached the Blues”

  2023 BLUES MUSIC AWARD WINNER FOR SOUL/BLUES ARTIST FEMALE

  2024 BLUES MUSIC AWARD NOMINEE

  2022 BMA NOMINEE CONTEMPORARY BLUES FEMALE, INSTRUMENTALIST VOCALS

  2021 JUS’ BLUES FOUNDATION HONOREE- THE DENISE LASALLE RECORDING OF EXCELLENCE AWARD

  2018 $25,000 KRESGE FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT

• Oakland Choral Society Chorus
  Oakland Choral Society

  Chorus