By Pansy Johnson
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
Multi-genre recording artist Damien Sneed will bring his tour, “We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.” to the University of Central Arkansas’s Reynolds Performance Hall on Monday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Sneed is a pianist, organist, conductor, composer, producer, arranger, vocal coach, professor and arts educator. He has worked with legends such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Burrell and many others. He also served as the musical director for season four of Sunday Best, an award-winning gospel singing competition show. He is a recipient of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, an award presented annually to emerging Black and Latino leaders in classical music.
The “We Shall Overcome” event will tie together a living lineage of music and culture that will include gospel, modern gospel, classical, jazz, Broadway and spirituals. Inspired by the words and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Sneed, along with additional vocalists and instrumentalists will showcase repertoire from across the African-American music traditions and generations of civil rights activists and defenders with interwoven spoken word from King’s recorded speeches.
“I look forward to honoring the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in my upcoming tour as well as many other great artists and public figures who used their voices and their art to let the world know that one day we will truly overcome,” Sneed said.
Tickets are $30-$40 for adults and $10 for children and students and may be purchased at Reynolds Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., online at uca.edu/Reynolds, and by calling UCA Ticket Central at (501) 450-3265, or toll-free at (866) 810-0012.
For more information, contact Amanda Horton, director of Reynolds Performance Hall, at ahorton@uca.edu or (501) 450-3682.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators, and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.
