Babson College Names Soprano Karen Slack Artist-in-Residence, Presenting 'Who I am Beyond My Voice'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations 
katy@primoartists.com | 212.837.8466 

 
Babson College, Top Business School for Entrepreneurship,
Names Soprano Karen Slack Artist-in-Residence

Who I am Beyond My Voice | March 19-22, 2024

Career Trajectory Talk - The Entrepreneurial Life of an Artist:
Personal Brand and Building a Career 
Carling-Sorenson Theater – Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 5:00pm

Free Solo Recital: Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice
Carling-Sorenson Theater – Friday, March 22, 2024 at 7:00pm

Masterclasses for Students, Class Visits, and More

“Exceptional interpretive instincts and superb vocal technique” – Musical America

www.sopranokarenslack.com 
 

Wellesley, MA (February 1, 2024) – Celebrated for her “tonal radiance” (Chicago Tribune) and “soaring power” (Sydney Morning Herald), soprano and entrepreneur Karen Slack will appear for Who I am Beyond My Voice: Karen Slack in Residence at Babson College in Wellesley, MA from Tuesday, March 19 through Friday, March 22, 2024. A sought-after performer, collaborator, curator and artistic advisor – known for her fiery charisma and groundbreaking approach to engagement – Slack will offer a series of workshops, class visits and speaking engagements during her visit to Babson. Her residency culminates in a free public performance of her critically acclaimed recital Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 7:00pm. All listed events will be held at Babson’s Carling-Sorenson Theater.

"Karen is a world-renowned performer, collaborator, curator, and artistic advisor who embodies the entrepreneurial spirit well,” says Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA ’92, PhD, who first introduced Slack to the Babson community with a virtual event three years ago. “We are delighted that she will return to Babson for a multi-day residency. Karen's commitment to identifying new and creative ways to impact our world is special and is a testament to her inspiring warmth and humanity. Her residency will inspire us as we continue to explore the qualities needed to add value to society.”   

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 5:00pm, Slack and Babson Associate Professor of Marketing Anjali S. Bal will host a talk that is free and open to the public, titled The Entrepreneurial Life of an Artist: Personal Brand and Building a Career. The conversation will explore the evolution of Slack’s personal brand as a facet of her powerhouse career, and the importance of artists having an entrepreneurial mindset. She draws on experiences including her role as Co-Chair of OPERA America’s Women’s Opera Network – where she represents singers and BIPOC artists looking to transition into arts administration – and her creation of the Facebook Live talk show #KikiKonversations, a forum connecting artists and industry leaders for lively and meaningful conversations. Registration is required at babsonarts.org.

On Friday, March 22, 2024 at 7:00pm, Slack performs her solo recital Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice. Created by Slack in the summer of 2020 – at the height of the pandemic and just following the police murder of George Floyd – this program is rooted in the idea that only with love can there be liberty and justice for all. At the center of the program is a piece commissioned from composer Scott Gendel, based on Langston Hughes’ raw yet hopeful poem “The Kids Who Die.” To complement Gendel’s piece, Slack has curated a rich and moving program including pieces by American composers H.T. Burleigh, Clayton White, Undine Smith Moore, H. Leslie Adams, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adolphus Hailstork and Jake Heggie. Together, these carefully chosen selections highlight our shared humanity even in the face of bitter divisions. Registration for this free concert at babsonarts.org is encouraged; walk-ins are welcome.

Slack also will hold a masterclass for Babson students on March 19, 2024 at 4:00PM. Besides sharing her insights on preparation and performance skills, Slack will offer individual critiques to each student on a single prepared performance piece. The session concludes with a Q&A for the whole group.

Who I am Beyond My Voice: Karen Slack in Residence

Masterclass with Karen Slack
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Entrepreneurial Life of an Artist: Personal Brand and Building a Career
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 5:00pm
Carling-Sorenson Theater, Babson College | Wellesley, MA
Free admission, registration required
Link: www.babson.edu/babsonarts/

Recital: Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice
Friday, March 22, 2024 at 7:00pm 
Carling-Sorenson Theater, Babson College | Wellesley, MA
Free admission, registration encouraged
Link: www.babson.edu/babsonarts/

Program:
Clayton White – Over My Head
Undine Smith Moore – Love Let the Wind Cry… How I Adore Thee
Undine Smith Moore – I Want to Die While You Love Me
H.T. Burleigh – Lovely Dark and Lowly One
Ricky Ian Gordon – My People
Scott Gendel – Kids Who Die
H. Leslie Adams – Prayer

Jake Heggie – “Eleanor Roosevelt: Marian Anderson’s Mink Coat” from Iconic Legacies: First Ladies of the Smithsonian

Adolphus Hailstork (Text by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) – Songs from Love and Justice 
     i. Decisions
     ii. Love

Traditional – Selection of Spirituals

About Karen Slack
Known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News), Karen Slack is “not only one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing and making spaces in classical music” (Trilloquy). A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack is an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Artists, and holds a faculty position at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. 

Highlights of Slack’s 2023-2024 season include her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall, and her debut as a guest artist with Chamber Music Detroit, where she will give masterclasses and perform two programs: her acclaimed solo recital Of Thee I Sing and a program alongside the Pacifica Quartet. She performs in two productions of Shawn Okpebholo’s Songs in Flight, returns to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, returns to Colombia for the Festival Internacional de Música Sacra Bogotá, and continues her collaboration with the Pacifica Quartet at the Denver Friends of Chamber Music. Slack also embarks upon an ambitious new recording project in collaboration with ONEComposer and pianist Michelle Cann, to be released later this season on Azica Records.

Slack has amassed a body of work reflecting her dedication to premiering works by living composers, with particular focus on using her platform to elevate works by Black artists. In recent seasons, she premiered Songs in Flight at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, appeared in two separate world premieres by Hannibal Lokumbe with the Nashville Symphony and Oklahoma City Philharmonic; debuted Jasmine Barnes’ Songs of Paul with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; premiered Damien Geter’s Justice Symphony with the Fresno Symphony and The Washington Chorus; and made her Houston Grand Opera debut in the premiere of Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney's A Snowy Day.

When the pandemic limited live performances, Slack was featured in digital performances with Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera; starred in a new production of Driving While Black, presented by UrbanArias; and launched a digital talk show, #kikikonversations. She co-created and performed in #saytheirnames – Women of the Movement, a film recital and production in partnership with Philadelphia’s Lyric Fest, performed in recital for Opera Philadelphia. Appearing alongside actor/narrator Liev Schreiber, she was the featured vocalist in Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s Speaking Truth to Power, hosted on Idagio. 

She has performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Scottish Opera, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Austin Opera, New Orleans Opera, Minnesota Opera, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Madison Opera, and Arizona Opera, among others. She has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Slack made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

A native Philadelphian, Slack is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, as well as the Adler Fellowship and the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera. For more information, please visit www.sopranokarenslack.com 

About Babson College  
Babson College prepares and empowers entrepreneurial leaders who create, grow and steward sustainable economic and social value everywhere. The institution is dedicated to shaping the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge, skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity and motivate teams in organizations of all types and sizes. An international leader in entrepreneurship education recognized globally by U.S. News & World Report, Babson’s undergraduate, graduate, executive programs, and partnership opportunities are tailored to the needs of our world. 

*Photo Credit: Kia Caldwell

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