Composer and pianist Adrienne Torf will appear in concert with Voices of the Revolution, a Lansing-based group of spoken word artists and gospel singers celebrating the quest for freedom and dignity through spoken word and song. The performance will take place Sunday, April 21 st .
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30pm.
The concert is a fundraiser. Torf, who is flying from California for the event, has invited “the Voices” to travel to Washington D.C. this spring to perform in the Theater Alliance production of Poetry for the People: the June Jordan Experience. This Helen Hayes Award-winning show is an intimate portrait of poet, essayist, activist and teacher June Jordan, told through her poetry, letters, interviews and conversations, including selections from her nineteen-year artistic collaboration with Torf. For one weekend run, Voices of the Revolution will join the cast of six and Torf in performances specially adapted to include them.
The UrbanBeat performance will include a mix of new and old: selections from Jordan’s and Torf’s award-winning album COLLABORATION, as well as newer work, both from Torf and VOTR.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, $10 for students w/ ID.
Adrienne Torf is a composer and pianist. Her piano and synthesizer work appear on two solo albums, plus one in collaboration with her artistic collaborator, the great African American poet, essayist, and activist June Jordan, and more than a dozen commercial releases by other artists. Recent projects include the Theater Alliance / IN Series Washington DC, production of Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience, which was awarded the 2023 Helen Hayes Theater Award for “Outstanding New Play or Musical Adaptation,” and the September 2022 Sedona, AZ production of Torf’s original ensemble piece for instruments and spoken word, “The Awesome Difficult Work of Love.”
Voices of the Revolution is an eclectic group of feminist voices celebrating the quest for freedom and dignity through spoken word and song. Based primarily in Lansing, their work features their own poetry as well as poets such as June Jordan, Pat Parker, and Ntozake Shange. The group includes poets Kim Griffin, Susan Harris, Laurie Hollinger, Tari Muñiz, Lisa Sarno, Ruelaine Stokes and singers Shelia Burks and Rose Jangmi Cooper.