Marian Anderson Celebration at WCSU Features Jobson, Thompson

DANBURY, CT — Internationally acclaimed vocalist Christine Jobson and pianist Gregory Thompson will perform at Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, Feb. 23, in a concert celebration honoring the legendary 20th century singer and longtime Danbury resident Marian Anderson.

The concert, which celebrates the 122nd anniversary of Anderson’s birth on Feb. 27, 1897, will be at 7 p.m. in the Veronica Hagman Concert Hall of the Visual and Performing Arts Center on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. General admission is $10; tickets may be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com/e/marian-anderson-celebration-with-christine-jobson-gregory-thompson-tickets-54411023837 or by calling (203) 837-8732. Tickets at a fee of $5 for WCSU faculty and staff and free for WCSU students with ID are available at the VPAC box office.

Jobson has performed operatic roles in productions of “La Boheme,” “Porgy and Bess” and “Signor Deluso” and has appeared as a soprano soloist and concert singer across the United States and in Russia, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Bermuda. She has a particular interest in the preservation and dissemination of vocal music written by African American composers including spirituals, anthems, art song, gospel and hymns. She is pursuing studies for a doctoral degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at the Frost School of Music of the University of Miami, where she has been awarded the Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award to support her development as a young artist.

Recipient of a D.M.A. in Piano Performance from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Thompson has performed as a solo and collaborative artist in the United States, Europe and Asia at venues including Carnegie Hall in New York and the Schloss Leopoldskron palace in Salzburg, Austria. His performances with orchestras and chamber ensembles in concert have featured works by Bach, Grieg, Liszt, Schumann, Beethoven, Mozart and many other composers. He also has performed widely as a recitalist at universities across the United States and internationally. He has been praised by the New York Times for his “intuitive feeling for phrase shapes” and his ability to “make a melodic line sing and inflect it with delicate rubato effects.” He also is a veteran music educator who currently serves as associate professor of music at Winston-Salem State University and has held previous faculty positions at several colleges in North and South Carolina.

WCSU recently announced its intention to name the School of Visual and Performing Arts and the Visual and Performing Arts Center in honor of Marian Anderson. The naming project currently in progress seeks to recognize Anderson’s accomplishments in music and civil rights, as well as the memory of her years of activity in Danbury.