This CD is a celebration of the Negro Spiritual honoring the contributions of Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, and Roland Hayes. It pays tribute to a unique musical form which is indigenous to America but embraced by concert goers around the world.

11 MP3 Songs in this album (34:01) !
Related styles: CLASSICAL: Vocal Music, SPIRITUAL: Spirituals

People who are interested in The Three Tenors should consider this download.


Details:
THE TENORS COOK, DIXON & YOUNG-FORMERLY OF THE THREE MOâ TENORS

The tenors Cook, Dixon & Young who are best known for their starring roles in PBS Great Performances âThe Three Mo' Tenorsâ Live in Concert and Cook, Dixon & Young Live In Concert releases their latest musical offering celebrating the Negro Spiritual and honoring the contributions of Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, and Roland Hayes.

For more than a decade tenors Victor Trent Cook, Rodrick Dixon, and Thomas Young have been singing together as an ensemble. Their vocal artistry has delighted millions of fans across the country and around the globe. They have been featured on PBS most prestigious Great Performances as well as countless other national and international broadcast appearances. Additionally, each has enjoyed a distinguished career of his own. Victor Trent Cook received a Tony Award nomination for "Smokey Joe's Cafe," Rodrick Dixon has been a featured performer in several roles with the Los Angeles, Michigan, Lyric Opera of Chicago and in Broadway's "Ragtime," and GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Thomas Young has appeared as a soloist in major concert halls around the world; he also created operatic roles for contemporary composers like John Adams and Anthony Davis. Together they are one of the most versatile and virtuosic groups performing today.

The trio first formed in 1999 and gained national prominence on PBS GREAT PERFORMANCES as the surprise hit of My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs (March 2001), they returned in August to GREAT PERFORMANCES live in Concert at New York's famed Hammerstein Ballroom as The Three Moâ Tenors. Then in 2004 Cook, Dixon & Young Live In Concert: Volume One was their third PBS GREAT PERFORMANCE showcase. This time they were singing under their own names Cook, Dixon & Young. To date they have appeared in six nationally broadcasted PBS Specials and toured extensively across the US and abroad receiving critical acclaim wherever they perform. ("A runaway phenomenon," The Cincinnati Enquirer; "Vastly entertaining," The Chicago Tribune; "They have the talent to sing anything, and sing it well," The Chicago Daily Herald).

About the artists:

VICTOR TRENT COOK

A native New Yorker, Mr. Cook began singing at the age of three in his home church, The House of David. Upon discovering his unique talent he was enrolled in the Brooklyn Boys Chorus School of Musical Training, under the direction of James McCarthy. Participating in its concert choir enabled Cook to travel throughout the United States and Rome, where he sang for the Pope. He then was selected to sing the boy alto solo in Leonard Bernsteinâs âChichester Psalmsâ with the New York Philharmonic,directed by Zubin Mehta, his first professional endeavor. Mr. Cookâs journey continued with singing as boy soprano soloist with renowned conductors such as James Levine and Seiji Ozawa, and performing in the worldâs most famous venues, such as The White House, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center. He was discovered by a New York commercial agent, which led to his introduction to theatrical mogul Joseph Papp. Papp embraced Cookâs abilities and opened the door for him to appear in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including The Haggahdah, Romance in Hard Times, Little Mighty, Moby Dick, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He eventually went from Off-Broadway to his first Broadway production, Donât Get God Started, for which he received raves reviews. He also competed 10 consecutive times on âStar Search,â where his repeated wins led him to gain the title of Star Search 1998 â$100,000 Male Vocal Champion!â The exposure cause Mr. Cook to be approached by various record labels and he ultimately signed with CBS Records. While recording his CBS Records debut album he performed throughout Europe and Japan, where he starred in such renowned shows as Body and Soul and Harlem Symphony. Next, having acquired a thirst for television, he decided to come back to the States to try his luck on the small screen. He won roles on various soaps, including All My Children. Mr. Cook also made guest and feature appearances on such hit shows as The Days & Night Of Molly Dodd, The Arsenio Hall Show, and more recently the Today Show and the Rosie OâDonnell Show. He also made room for the big screen, appearing in two featured films, Haginâwith the Homeboys and Starlight. Mr. Cookâs film projects were New York-based, which kept Broadwayâs temptation close. He starred in such hits as St. Louis Woman, opposite Vanessa Williams, and Smokey Joeâs Café, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.


RODRICK DIXON

Rodrick Dixonâs dramatic stage presence and stunning vocal qualities have established him as one of the rising stars in opera, contemporary opera, oratorio, concerts and recitals.

In 2009, Mr. Dixon will make his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut as Oedipus Rex and return to the Cincinnati May Festival. In 2008 for the Los Angeles Opera and Philadelphia Orchestra, Rodrick Dixon delivered a powerfully gripping performance as the Dwarf in the opera Der Zwerg conducted by James Conlon. Opera News considered his portrayal of the Dwarf a triumph! In the spring and summer of 08â at the Cincinnati May Festival, he performed the Beethoven 9th, appeared as Trabuco in the concert version of La Forza del Destino and reunited with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Millennium Park for a Gala Concert celebrating the city of Chicagoâs 2016 Olympic bid.

In 2007, Rodrick Dixon made his LA Opera debut as Walther von der Vogelweide in Wagnerâs Tannhaeuser and performed excerpts of Korngoldâs Die Tote Stadt and Schuloffâs Flammen for Recovered Voices. He returned to the May Festival to sing Rossiniâs Stabat Mater; appeared as Lenski in Todi Music Festivalâs summer production of Eugene Onegin; and filmed the PBS special The United States Air Force 60th Anniversary: A Musical Celebration. The rest of the 2007 season included duet recitals with Soprano Alfreda Burke for the Umbria Music Festival in Italy, concerts in Anchorage, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Tennessee, Detroit, Toronto, Dayton and Chicago. He participated as a guest soloist for the Cincinnati Symphonyâs New Yearâs Eve Celebration.

Mr. Dixonâs additional opera credits include Michigan Opera Theaterâs and Todi Music Festivalâs La Fille Du Regiment (Tonio). He made his debut in Portland Operaâs Les Contes dâHoffmann (Hoffmann); Columbus Operaâs world premiere Vanqui (Prince); Virginia Operaâs Porgy & Bess (Sportinâ Life). In 1992, he joined the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. His Lyric Opera of Chicago credits include appearances in Don Quichote, Il Trovatore, McTeague, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Boheme, La Traviata, and Prince in the world premiere of The Song of Majnun. As a Lyric Opera center member, he participated in The Rossini Gala at the Ravinia Festival and a series of concerts at the Chatele Theater in Paris.

Other notable symphony engagements include Rachmaninoffâs The Bells (Op.35) and Orffâs Carmina Burana for the May Festival. He performed the Beethoven 9th Symphony and a concert of Opera & Broadway for the Vail Music Festival, under the baton of Marin Alsop. From 2001-2004 he made orchestral appearances with the Tenors Cook, Dixon & Young at Atlanta Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Dayton Symphony, Denver Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Chicago Symphony at Millennium Park; Elgin Symphony, Rackham Symphony Chorus and the Concordia Orchestra at Lincoln Center. Mr. Dixon received rave reviews for his Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert broadcast honoring Roland Hayes on WFMT-FM/Chicago.


THOMAS YOUNG

Grammy-award winning lyric tenor Thomas Young has appeared as a principal soloist in the major concert halls and opera houses of some 30 countries, and under the baton of, among others, Zubin Mehta, Roger Norrington, Simon Rattle, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In addition to his distinguished performance career, Mr. Young serves as a tenured Professor of Music at Sarah Lawrence College and is in demand as a conductor, clinician and master class specialist.

Known for his unique dramatic and musical intelligence, as well as beauty of tone and exceptional technique, Mr. Young is recognized as todayâs foremost interpreter of tenor roles in contemporary opera. Mr. Young made his Chicago Lyric Opera debut in the world premiere of Anthony Davisâ Amistad as the Trickster God, a role written for him by Mr. Davis. Mr. Young made his New York City Opera debut singing the dual roles of Street and Elijah Muhammad in his first collaboration with Davis for the world premiere of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. After this âbrilliantly chameleonic performanceâ (Donal Henahan â The New York Times), New York City Opera invited him back to sing Aron in Schoenbergâs Moses und Aron and then Desportes in Zimmermannâs Die Soldaten. Anthony Davis went on to compose another role for Mr. Young in the science-fiction opera Under the Double Moon, which premiered at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

Marking his San Francisco Opera debut in John Adamsâ The Death of Klinghoffer, Mr. Young created the role of Molqi and the role of Jonathan Rumor for the world premiere at the Opera de la Monnale in Brussels. Under the direction of Peter Sellars and baton of Kent Nagano, performances followed at the Opera de Lyon, Vienna Festival, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Called on 48 hours notice, Mr. Young made his Covent Garden debut as the rebel Schwalb in Hindemithâs Mathis der Mahler, again under the direction of Peter Sellars with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting.

Mr. Young sang Polo in Tan Dunâs Marco Polo at the Hong Kong Festival, a role which he created for the Biennale Festival in Munich. Performances followed in Glasgow, London, Amsterdam, Torino and Tokyo. Mr. Youngâs work at the Netherlands Opera includes Stravinskyâs Biblical Pieces under the direction of Peter Sellars with Reinbert de Leeuw conducting, Birtwistleâs Punch and Judy, Schoenbergâs Von Heute auf Morgan directed by Pierre Audi and conducted by Oliver Knussen, and Shostakovichâs Lady Macbeth of Mtensk directed by David Poutney. Other roles include Stravinskyâs Oedipus Rex in the title role, Gounodâs Faust in the title role, the U.S. premiere of Rossiniâs Armida in the role of Rinaldo at Tulsa Opera, Handelâs Imeneo at New York Cityâs Town Hall and Gershwinâs Porgy and Bess in the role of Sportinâ Life at Houston Grand Opera.

Mr. Young was called on 48 hours notice to sing Aron in Schoenbergâs Moses und Aron at the Maggio Musicale Florentino Festival in Florence. Under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Mr. Youngâs singing was â⦠just short of miraculousâ (Corriere della Sera).

Mr. Youngâs North American concert appearances include performances in Blitzsteinâs Airborne Symphony and Schmidtâs The Book of Seven Seals with the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall; Beethovenâs Ninth Symphony with the Brooklyn Philharmonic conducted by Dennis Russell Davies at Brooklyn Academy of Music and Avery Fisher Hall; Mozartâs Great Mass in C conducted by Lukas Foss at Brooklyn Academy of Music; Too Hot to Handel, written for Mr. Young, and Duke Ellingtonâs Sacred Songs with Concordia Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop at Alice Tully Hall; J.S. Bachâs Mass in B Minor and Beethovenâs Missa Solemnis with the Long Island Philharmonic conducted by Christopher Keene; Mahlerâs Das Lied von der Erde with St. Lukes Chamber Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe conducting; Mozartâs Messiah with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Andrew Parrott; Elliot Carterâs In Sleep In Thunder with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Oliver Knussen conducting. His collaboration with Julius Hemphill and the World Saxophone Quartet resulted in the world premiere of Saxophone Opera âLong Tonguesâ at The Apollo in New York City.

Mr. Youngâs national tours include Jesus Christ Superstar in the role of Judas and The Wiz as The Wiz. Regional musical theatre appearances include Pippin as the Leading Player, Evita as Che, and Sweet Charity as Daddy Brubeck. He has also received critical and public acclaim in âStand Up Shakespeareâ directed by Oscar and Tony award-winning Mike Nichols, in New York City.

He has performed jazz concerts with Tito Puente, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Grady Tate and Doc Cheatham. Mr. Young has been a featured performer with Ann-Margaret at Caesarâs Palace Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Television appearances include featured performer on âDays and Nights of Molly Doddâ with Blair Brown, âAidaâs Brothers and Sistersâ on PBS and âThe Mitch Miller Showâ on CBS.

Recent engagements include touring, recording and performing as part of the well known ensemble Three Moâ Tenors and now as Cook Dixon & Young; Michael Tipettâs A Child of our Time under the direction of Sir Roger Norrington and Poulencâs Les Mamelles de Tiresias in concert version conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, both with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Kurt Weillâs Street Scene in the role of Sam Kaplan with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Lawrence Foster conducting; Stravinskyâs The Flood at Carnegie Hall with the London Sinfonietta under the direction of Oliver Knussen; Bernsteinâs Mass as the Celebrant with the Cincinnati Orchestra, James Conlon conducting; Verdiâs Requiem with the Colorado Symphony, Marin Alsop conducting; and a staged production of Tan Dunâs Marco Polo in the role of Polo at the Zagreb Bennale in Croatia. Mr. Young was also a guest performer at the Willa Awards, Shakespeare Theatre, Washington DC to honor Dame Judith Dench.

Mr. Youngâs recordings include the Grammy-nominated X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, on Gramavison; John Adamsâ Grammy-nominated The Death of Klinghoffer on Elektra/Nonesuch; Tan Dunâs Marco Polo on SONY, named Opera of the Year by Opera Magazine; and George Gershwinâs Blue Monday on Telarc. Mr. Young can be heard as a featured soloist on Nancy Wilsonâs album âLife, Love, and Harmonyâ. Most recently, he can be heard on the multi-Grammy award winning recording of William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Leonard Slatkin conducting, and Too Hot to Handel, Marin Alsop conducting, both on Naxos.

Mr. Youngâs own recordings include High Standards and Claire de Lune, Sister Moon on ESSAY Records; and A Star in the East, A Spiritual Christmas on Ocean Records. Mr. Young is the singing voice of Mighty Mouse on Ralph Bakshiâs animated series.