Dr. Chris Ludwa got tired of waiting for change. So, with the help of co-producer Dr. Everett McCorvey, a fellow voice professor (University of Kentucky), the Kalamazoo College professor and leader of the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Chorus updated a beloved Bach cantata, "Wachet Auf," with words of inspiration to marginalized communities and people of color.
Ludwa says his second call was to Dr. Rhea Olivaccé, a soprano soloist with an international career and a professor of voice at Western Michigan University. In an interview with Cara Lieurance, Ludwa, Olivaccé and McCorvey share stories about the experience of turning this new setting into a multi-national, multi-racial production. The premiere of the filmed performance, which brings together Olivaccé, tenor Lawrence Brownlee, and bass soloist Kyle Ketelsen, spoken-word artists, and a chorus and orchestra of diverse musicians from the US and the UK, is at 4 pm on Sunday, April 11 on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JMLSkRUTco
