Sistah not sister
Above: LIFT EVERY VOICE: Morning Brown, Inc. founder and operatic soprano Angela Brown takes the stage wearing the opening lyrics of the Black national anthem. Brown founded Morning Brown, Inc. to inspire students with her operatic talents. “From concert presentations to roundtable discussions, Morning Brown partners with organizations that choose how their audiences experience, learn, and enjoy classical music,” the Morning Brown, Inc. website states. Photo courtesy of Dave Marr
Operatic soprano and Morning Brown, Inc. founder Angela Brown will visit CCHS during her visit to Athens as the 2023 Delta Visiting Chair for the Willson Center.
Opera soprano Angela Brown was named the Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding by the University of Georgia Willson Center for Humanities and Arts on Jan. 23. The Willson Center established the Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding award in 1997 with the help of the Delta Air Lines Foundation. The award is awarded to anyone who is an involved scholar that exemplifies innovation and is willing and able to share the wealth of their knowledge.
According to Willson Center Communications Director Dave Marr, the Willson Center’s promise is to share its wealth with the Athens community through outreach. “We’re the state’s flagship public research university,” Marr said. “Part of our mandate is to share our wealth of resources, but we feel a special obligation to the (Athens) community.”
Marr believes Brown, operatic soprano and Morning Brown, Inc. founder, is the best person to carry out the Willson Center’s commitment to Athens, and the rightful 2023 Delta Visiting Chair of Global Understanding. “She devotes the majority of her professional time and energy to finding ways to share the treasures of (classical music),” Marr said. “That’s (the Willson Center’s) priority and that’s hers too, (and) I’m really excited for what she’s gonna bring to audiences while she’s (in Athens).”
In addition to her speaking and teaching at UGA, Brown will bring her vocal talents to CCHS on Feb. 24 at her performance and discussion with members of the iliad Editorial Board and music students. “We always try to do something in the public schools,” Marr said. “And when we have opportunities to bring activities, resources, and people straight to community, we try to do that,”
Brown has made it her mission to encourage students in various communities throughout the world using her knowledge of classical music and voice.
“Through Morning Brown’s programming, Angela is determined to mentor and inspire emerging multicultural opera singers, plant a seed of promise for potential opera singers, and expose as many people as possible to this art form so they develop a sense of belonging in classical music audiences, on stages and behind the scenes,” the Morning Brown, Inc. website states.
Above: TAKING IT IN: iliad Editor-in-Chief Kaija Gilbertson Hall gives closing remarks during the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey’s visit in the Clarke Central High School Media Center on April 22, 2022. Gilbertson Hall will facilitate the operatic soprano and Morning Brown, Inc. founder Angela Brown’s visit with CCHS Media Specialist Angie Pendley. “I feel like I can learn things from even hearing her sing,” Gilbertson Hall said. “I’m really excited to hear her voice, (and) I think that will be learning in its own,” Photo by Lucas Donnelly
CCHS Media Specialist Angie Pendley has worked collaboratively to organize this event. “I’m taking the lead on this,” Pendley said. “(I’m) working with (the) music department and then ( iliad Editor-in-Chief) Kaija (Gilbertson Hall) as far as hosting (and) moderating.”
Gilbertson Hall is excited to facilitate the discussion with Brown and hopes the audience will be motivated by Brown’s message and accomplishments. “I’m really excited for the visit,” Gilbertson Hall said. “I think it’s going to be a success. It’s important for students to see people’s unique creativities, (it) can be really inspiring for students.”
Pendley also hopes that Brown will leave a lasting impact on the students of CCHS. “I’m hoping that (she) does leave a forever impact,” Pendley said. “I want our kids to recognize that there are adults in this building that work really hard to bring them different opportunities.”
By Salai Diekumpuna