For the past 25 years, a highlight of Black History Month in Houston has been Houston Ebony Opera Guild’s ANNUAL AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC GALA: A Concert Celebrating the African AmericanContribution to Classical Music. This year’s program will be devoted to the music of Roland Marvin Carter, a leading American composer and choral conductor who turns75 in 2017. Carter, who is highly recognized as an authority on the performance and preservation of African American music traditions, is especially renowned for both his arrangements of Spirituals and original compositions.  His works have been performed by major choral ensembles and orchestras throughout the country.

A special feature of Carter’s upcoming concert with Houston Ebony Opera Guild (HEOG) will be several art songs for solo voice performed by soprano Gail Robinson-Oturu, the concert’s guest soloist. As it has done since his first visit here in 1995, the HEOG Chorus will sing both familiar and new works from Carter’s vast body of choral music.  A. Jan Taylor is responsible for choral preparation of this program; pianists John L. Cornelius II and Lucian Zidaru are the accompanists. Jason Oby is the organization’s artistic director.

Entitled “Hold Fast to Dreams” after the eponymous work by Carter, AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC GALA 2017 will be held at 4 p.m., Sunday, February 26, 2017 at Westbury United Methodist Church, 5200 Willowbend Boulevard at West Bellfort, Houston, Texas 77096.  Tickets price: $30 in advance/$35 at the door.  For a group of 10 or more persons, the price is $20 per ticket. Tickets are available:

• online at www.houstonebonymusic.org;
• from Friends of Houston Ebony Opera Guild at 713-335-3800;
• by phone and by appointment at Third World Imports, 3011 Caroline Street, Houston, Texas 77004 (713-526-1980).

For additional information, please call 713-335-3800 or visit houstonebonymusic.org.  Dr. Jason Oby, artistic director of Houston Ebony Opera Guild, is available for interviews.

The AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC GALA has been sponsored annually by Friends of Houston Ebony Opera Guild (FHEOG) since 1992.  The current chairperson of FHEOG is Linda Hollins.

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