Amazing Grace: The American Spiritual

Soloists

Reginald Mobley is a world-renowned countertenor for baroque, classical and modern repertoire. In March 2020, he became the first ever programming consultant for the Handel and Haydn Society following several years of leading H+H in his community engaging Every Voice concerts. Recent engagements have included concerts and recordings with organisations such as Opera Lafayette, Miller Theatre (Columbia University), Blue Heron in Boston, Chatham baroque in Pittsburgh, Washington Bach Consort. Most of the recordings are available online. In the coming years, Reginald will perform with groups including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Bach Akademie Australia.

JanaeSound harnesses an unforgettable voice that is known to stir the soul. Currently based in Portland, Maine, JanaeSound has performed at the Heart Soul & Substance Festival, Sunaana Winter Music Festival, Bitter End (NYC), Pianos (NYC), Delancey (NYC), Nuyorican Poets Cafe (NYC), AllRoads Music Festival, Harvest Moon Festival, Federal Frenzy (OH), The Mint (LA), Hotel Café (LA, BMI Showcase), House of Blues (Foundation room, Chicago), Continental Club (TX), and has opened for Flo Rida. Janaesound has appeared in Maine Biz, Maine Today, Bangor Daily News, Old Port Magazine, and Portland Magazine.

Nathaniel Menifield is a Maine native and lyric baritone earning high praise for his work on both the concert and operatic stages. His frequent collaborations with the Portland Choral Art Society and the Portland Symphony Orchestra have led to performances as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem; in the 2015 New England premiere of Robert Cohen’s Alzheimer’s Stories; and in Carl Rütti’s striking 21st-century work, In Paradisum. Frequently in demand as a teacher, guest conductor, adjudicator, and performer, Mr. Menifield attended Harvard College, where he sang with the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and the Kuumba Singers. He also earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from the University of Southern Maine School of Music and holds the Master of Arts degree in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from the Stanford Graduate School of Education. He is a high school music educator and choral director in Southern Maine.

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Jill Duson is a "serial volunteer" and recently retired after 21 years in elected office in the City of Portland, during which she served two terms as Mayor, 19 years as an At-Large City Councilor, and 3 years on the Portland School Board. A retired attorney, Duson has served in a variety of executive leadership positions in Maine State Government, including Director of the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services and Director of Compliance at the Maine Human Rights Commission. Currently a member of the advisory circle of the Indigo Arts Alliance, Duson expects to add 1 or 2 additional volunteer commitments to her plate in the Spring.

PROJECTED ART

Daniel Minter is an American artist known for his work in the mediums of painting and assemblage. His overall body of work often deals with themes of displacement and diaspora, ordinary/extraordinary blackness; spirituality in the Afro-Atlantic world; and the (re)creation of meanings of home. Minter works in varied media – canvas, wood, metal, paper. twine, rocks, nails, paint. His work has been featured in numerous institutions and galleries including the Portland Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, The Charles H. Wright Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Bates College, University of Southern Maine, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, The David C. Driskell Center and the Northwest African American Art Museum.