Songs of Love & Hope

Join us on Sat, June 21 at 7pm for Songs of Love and Hope, a captivating Vocal and Piano Duo Concert that traverses a rich musical landscape. Dr. Jay Fluellen, pianist and Perry Brisbon, tenor will weave together a diverse selection of pieces from multiple genres, including classical works, heartfelt African American spirituals, uplifting gospel, and vibrant jazz.

Audiences will hear compositions by esteemed artists such as Scott Joplin, Charles Gounod, Hall Johnson, Richard Smallwood, Undine Smith Moore, Jay Fluellen and others.

This concert will showcase the profound ways in which music fosters connection and builds a sense of community.

Free admission
Free will offering

Jay Fluellen, D. M. A. is a Philadelphia-born musician known as a composer, college professor, educator, accompanist, pianist, singer, and organist/choir director. He has a doctorate in music composition from Temple University and his certification in music from Eastern University. Dr. Fluellen has taught in the School District of Philadelphia as a classroom music teacher for the past 20 years. Since October 2023, he has served as the musical director for the Marian Anderson Historical Society, Jillian Patricia Pirtle CEO, and has curated 16 concert programs with a roster of 8 professional singers and 3 professional instrumentalists in venues across the city of Philadelphia, including; The Crystal Tea Room, Tindley Temple, The Church of the Four Chaplains, the Mary Louise Curtis Branch of the Settlement School of Music, among other locations.

Fluellen has taught college-level courses in music composition, written and aural theory, music history, piano, and conducting at the following institutions; Morgan State University, Lincoln University, Montgomery County Community College, University of the Arts, and Community College of Philadelphia. He has been commissioned by various performers and institutions, including; The Main Line Symphony, The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, LiveConnections, The Bucks County Choral Society, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Network for New Music, Relâche, Singing City, Traci Hall Dance Co., The Settlement School of Music, Trinity Episcopal Church, Swarthmore, bass; John Alston, and soprano; Martha Sullivan, among others. Since January 1997, he has been co-minister of music, with Walt Blocker, at the historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Fr. Martini Shaw, rector.

Perry Brisbon attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received a Master of Opera degree, and Temple University, where he received a B.A. in Vocal Performance and Professional Studies Certificate via Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Presently, Perry teaches private voice, conducts the University Choir and Turning Point, lectures vocal pedagogy, choral conducting, and music history, and serves as the Fine and Performing Arts Recruitment Manager at Eastern University, Saint Davids, PA.

Perry has enjoyed international success as an operatic tenor, performing roles such as Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte,” Hoffmann in Tales of Hoffmann,  Count Almaviva in Barber of Seville, Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess, Tchekalinsky in Pique Dame,  Joe in Carmen Jones, and Zoogy in Romulus Hunt by Carly Simon. He has also made appearances at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Teatro Municipal in Sao Paulo, Teatro Solis in Montevideo, the Orlando Opera Company, Edmonton Opera(Alberta, Canada), Opera Ebony/Opera North, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the Kennedy Center, Lake George Opera Festival, the Biennale Festival in Munich, Germany, Port City Music Festival, as well as Ashlawn Opera Festival. Mr. Brisbon has been honored to work with several notable composers, directors, and conductors, including Gian Carlo Menotti, John DeMain, Karen Keltner, Francesca Zambello, Mark Lamos, Wesley Balk, and Tania León. Equally comfortable in recital and oratorio, he has appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Undine Smith-Moore’s Scene From the Life of a Martyr, the South New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the Lancaster Symphony, among others. He has also performed lead roles in musicals such as Jim in Big River and The Phantom in the premiere of The Phantom of the 17th Street Playground for equity theater companies.

Honors include: Winner of the Luciano Pavarotti/Opera Company of Philadelphia International Voice Competition, recipient of the Richard Gold Memorial Award from the Shoshona Foundation, winner of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award for The Mid-Atlantic Region, twice a First Place winner of the Mario Lanza Competition, recipient of the Licia Albanese-Puccini Grant, recipient of the Philadelphia Music Foundation Grant, and winner of both the W. Russell Johnson Award and the Esther Boyer Student Soloist Award from Temple University. Most recently, Mr. Brisbon has been featured in the acclaimed book by author Elaine Mack: Black Classical Musicians of Philadelphia. 

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