Uptown Anniversaries
Charles and I travel less during the winter months, preferring to attend events close to home. Fortunately, we haven’t had to travel far this winter to quench our thirst for fine music and art. Three of our favorite Charlotte arts organizations celebrated important anniversaries in 2024—and will be offering more high-quality performances and exhibits through the spring.
Opera Carolina celebrates 75 years
On October 30, 2024, Opera Carolina opened its 75th season with a benefit concert starring the always-popular Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Uptown. A week later, fourteen internationally recognized vocalists denoted their time and talents to perform beloved arias by Bizet, Puccini, Verdi, Offenbach and other composers. (We attended and were amused to hear a few members of the audience singing along during the finale!)
Dr. Shanté Williams is Opera Carolina’s new general director, a position that, since 2020, has been temporarily filled by artistic director and conductor James Meena. Williams, the first Black person and woman to lead Opera Carolina, brings to the company extensive business skills (she’s currently CEO of a $25 million venture capital fund) as well as a passion for opera. She’ll be collaborating with Meena to bring in operas, both contemporary and traditional, that appeal to a variety of ages and musical tastes.
Rounding out the 2024-25 season is Bizet’s Carmen (February 6–9) and Puccini’s La Bohéme (April 10–13). Internationally acclaimed soprano Alyson Cambridge will demonstrate her considerable vocal and dramatic talents in the title role of Carmen. [The Toledo Blade, has called her Carmen “… a wall of undulating raw sexual force that takes the breath away”] Performing the role of Rudolpho in La Bohéme will be charismatic tenor Alexander Livingston Geis, a graduate of Washington National Opera’s prestigious Cafritz Young Artist Program. The Houston Press recently praised his “robust virile voice.”
Opera Carolina is especially proud of its education programs for young people. These include the Opera Carolina Youth Academy, the Youth Academy Chorus as well as a two-week-long summer workshop—all geared for middle and high school students. For the K-5 set, OperaXpress brings fun opera performances into Charlotte’s schools and neighborhoods.
The Gantt Center’s 50th Anniversary
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture marked its 50th anniversary in 2024. The Gantt’s world-affirming, multidisciplinary mission celebrates the contributions of African Americans and those of African descent. The Center’s reach is broad, encompassing the visual and performing arts, history, film, theater and digital arts. Equally impressive is its commitment to community outreach and education. The Center offers access to many types of classes and events. These include spoken art (which unites music and poetry), yoga, instruction in the digital arts, and even a class in how to bring creative flair to your business.
In December, we took in two exceptional exhibits at the Gantt Center in 2024. The first, From the Heart, featured the Center’s collection of important 19th and 20th-century African-American masters, collected by John and Vivian Hewitt. The second, Becoming the Sea, featured work by 12 artists from an artist-in-residence program established in Dakar, Senegal, by the renowned artist Kehinde Wiley.
Two exhibits have just opened at the Center. The first, Cherry, features eight large-scale paintings by Khalif Tahir Thompson, a 2022 resident of Wiley’s Black Rock Senegal, the program mentioned above. Known for his powerful portraiture and figurative work, Thompson incorporates painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, and papermaking into his practice.
The second is YoYo Lander: Between the Quiet, Selected Works from 2019-2024. Lander, a self-taught painter and collagist, uses hand-cut stained watercolor paper to create layered portraits that bring out the physical and emotional presence of her subjects. Both exhibits are exceptional.
Thompson’s exhibit runs through August 17; Lander’s closes May 11.
JazzArts Charlotte’s 15th Birthday
From our point of view, JazzArts Charlotte has rapidly raised the profile of jazz in Charlotte. These days, it seems jazz concerts and clubs are popping up all over the city! Among the best, in our opinion, is the Jazz Room, JazzArts’ series of monthly concerts that run from October through March. This non-profit institution, started in 2009 by Lonnie and Ocie Davis, brings top-notch local, regional and nationally renowned artists to the Blumenthal Center’s intimate Stage Door Theater.
JazzArts also sponsors the JazzArts Academy, a series of instructional programs for middle and high school students. Those programs include the JazzArts Youth Ensembles + Workshops (jazz instruction and performance), the Nuestro Tiempo Latin Youth Jazz Orchestra (instruction in Latin rhythm, history and techniques), WeBop (a pre-school program), and even a one-week summer camp held at UNC-Charlotte.
Acclaimed saxophonist and vocalist Camille Thurman performs in the Jazz Room on March 14 -15. Thurman was the first woman in 30 years to tour, record and perform full-time internationally with the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as a saxophonist and woodwind artist.
As you can see, our schedule is already filling up for the second half of the cultural season. And we haven’t even mentioned the other organizations Uptown—the Charlotte Ballet, the Charlotte Symphony and the Mint Museum—all less than a mile from our doorstep.
We urge friends and colleagues to check out the performance calendars of these organizations if you happen to be in Charlotte during the winter and spring season. And if you need advice on where to stay or dine … we’re happy to offer suggestions!