'Our Lincoln' Goes to Washington
CONTACT:Whitney Hale or Kristen Marshall, (859) 257-1754 ext. 229
FOR RELEASE
'Our Lincoln' Goes to Washington
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2008) – Audience members who enjoyed the "Our Lincoln" program presented last February at the Singletary Center for the Arts will be excited to hear that a variation of the same program is heading to our nation's capital. On Feb. 2, 2009, a cast of more than 300 performers will tell the story of our 16th president when the Kentucky Humanities Council and the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre team up again to present "Our Lincoln" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Nearly all of the performances from the original program staged in the Bluegrass will be presented on the national stage, as well as some exciting new additions.
Soloists from the UK Opera Theatre program will be featured alongside the 150 voice Lexington Singers performing selections from "River of Time," an original new folk opera about Lincoln as a young man. Additionally, the UK Symphony Orchestra will be featured in a performance of composer Aaron Copland's "A Lincoln Portrait" with nationally recognized classical and multi-genre violinist and composer Mark O'Connor and narrated by radio and television personality Nick Clooney.
Other performances being presented as part of "Our Lincoln" feature the American Spiritual Ensemble with conductor Everett McCorvey; Metropolitan Opera soprano Angela Brown; former National Public Radio host Bob Edwards; Kentucky's poet laureate Jane Gentry Vance; the Kentucky Repertory Theatre; the Lexington Vintage Dance Society; UK alumnus and successful opera tenor Gregory Turay; and the Kentucky Chautauqua actors.
"The Kennedy Center is the perfect venue for the level of talent and virtuosity that embody the 'Our Lincoln' program,'" remarked McCorvey, director and executive producer of the UK Opera Theatre and founder of the American Spiritual Ensemble. "In keeping with all that the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has come to mean in the arena of arts and humanities, 'Our Lincoln' will be an exciting celebration of the heart, soul and legacy of Abraham Lincoln."
The program's popularity already is drawing citizens from the Bluegrass to the nation's capital. Individuals interested in attending "Our Lincoln" at the Kennedy Center can even book packages by visiting the UK Alumni Association Web site online at and typing the keyword - Lincoln.
"We are amazed by the response local audiences are already having to the Kennedy Center presentation of 'Our Lincoln,'" said Joan Rue, program coordinator for UK Opera Theatre. "We sold all the box seats we were allotted very quickly and the excitement surrounding this program just continues to build."
To learn more about the program "Our Lincoln" or to purchase tickets to the performance at the Kennedy Center, visit OurLincoln.org or to purchase tickets for groups of 10 or more e-mail .
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