FEBRUARY 28, 2026 • 8 PM
Fan Yang Soprano
Madeline Olivera Mezzo
Johnnie Felder Tenor Kendrick Williams Baritone
Lift Every Voice
A Concert of Legacy, Reflection, and Future Vision
Opera Carolina
Welcome
Welcome to Lift Every Voice, a celebration of African American artistry in classical music—honoring the roots that ground us, the voices that shaped us, and the future rising before us. This evening, we trace a lineage of sound, story, and spirit: from spirituals and early pioneers to contemporary composers and today’s leading artists. Together, we listen, remember, and lift our voices toward what comes next.
Program
This program is curated as a continuous journey—from foundation to future—inviting listeners to experience legacy, reflection, and renewal without interruption.
PROLOGUE – The Call
An opening invocation that gathers the room into shared purpose.
Opening Poem
Lift Every Voice by G. Hummingbird – George Washington III
All Ensembles
Lift Every Voice and Sing – J. Rosamond Johnson (arr. Roland Carter)
I. ROOT – The Foundation
The musical and spiritual bedrock from which American voices rise.
Madeline Beitel Olivera, Mezzo-Soprano
Prayer – Leslie Adams
Opera Carolina Chorus
I, Too, Sing America – Undine Smith Moore (Langston Hughes)
Kendrick Williams, Baritone, South Carolina State University Chorus & Yaneisha Tedder, Flutist
Lord, How Come Me Here – Evelyn Simpson-Cureton
South Carolina State University Chorus
Precious Lord – Roland Carter
II. REFLECTIONS – Remembering Ourselves
Personal memory and collective identity—voices shaped by experience and hope.
Kendrick Williams, Baritone
A Dream Wasted (from Highway 1, U.S.A.) – William Grant Still
Johnnie Felder, Tenor
If I Can Help Somebody – Nathan Carter
South Carolina State University Chorus
Examine Me – Cedric Dent
Way Over in Beulah Land – Stacy V. Gibbs
Madeline Beitel Olivera, Mezzo-Soprano
My God Is So High – Hall Johnson
III. RESONANCE – Hidden Voices, Living Legacies
Pioneers whose music shaped America’s classical voice—heard, reclaimed, and renewed.
Kimberly Butler, Sopran, CC Cooper, Mezzo-Soprano & Opera Carolina Chorus
A Real Slow Drag (from Treemonisha) – Scott Joplin
Music of Life – B. E. Boykin
Fan Yang, Soprano, Inayah Raheem, Mezzo-Soprano
Scandalize My Name – Traditional Spiritual
Inayah Raheem, Mezzo-Soprano
Night – Florence Price
Elliott Brown, Tenor
Till I Wake – H.T. Burleigh
IV. RISE – Unity and New Visions
Community as catalyst—new voices carrying the song forward.
Elliott Brown, Tenor Hold Fast to Dreams – Florence Price
Johnnie Felder, Tenor Come By Here – Damien Sneed
Queen’s University – Royal Voices
Bitter Laurel (Selections) – Margaret Bonds
V. EPILOGUE – Legacy and Light
The past illuminated in the present—voices that continue to guide the future.
Skyler Green, Tenor
Quanto è bella from The Elixir of Love – Gaetano Donizetti
Fan Yang & Friends
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands – Traditional Spiritual
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ARTISTS & ENSEMBLES
Featured Soloists:
Fan Yang • Inayah Raheem • Madeline Beitel Olivera
Elliott Brown • Johnnie Felder • Skyler Green • Kendrick Williams
Pianists: Emily Jarrell Urbanek • John Richardson
Opera Carolina Chorus – Director: Emily Jarrell Urbanek
South Carolina State University Chorus – Director: Dr. Johnnie Felder
Queen’s University – Royal Voices – Director: Dr. Justin Smith
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Opera Carolina thanks our artists, collaborators, educators, and community partners for their commitment to excellence, equity, and artistic legacy.
We are grateful to our donors and sponsors whose generosity makes this celebration possible.
General Director
Shanté Williams
Artistic Director & Deputy General Director
Claudio Ferri
Music Director & Principal Conductor
Stefano Vignati