December 28, 2004
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu
The spiritual and moving a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock perform at UCSB Campbell Hall
Summary Facts:
- Sweet Honey in the Rock
- The Grammy Award-winning, six-women strong a cappella ensemble
- Rooted in a commitment to create music from the rich textures of African American legacy and traditions
- Saturday, January 29 / 4 pm
- UCSB Campbell Hall
- General public: $45 / UCSB students: $19
- $150 VIP seat and post-performance dinner with the artists in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the UCSB Women’s Center
- Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535
Adored by audiences everywhere, the Grammy Award-winning Sweet Honey in the Rock will bring their a cappella magic to UCSB Campbell Hall on Saturday, January 29 at 4 pm. Following the concert, the performers will take part in a fund-raising dinner celebrating the 30th anniversary of the UCSB Women’s Center. The ensemble, with deep musical roots in the sacred music of the black church—spirituals, hymns, gospel—as well as jazz and blues, join their powerful voices, along with hand percussion instruments, to create a blend of lyrics, movement and narrative that point the finger at injustice, encourage activism, and sing the praises of love. The Washington Post calls Sweet Honey “soulful, spirited, sumptuous and stirring.”
Founded by Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973 at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, Sweet Honey in the Rock has been a vital and innovative presence in the music culture of Washington, D.C. and in communities of conscience around the world. The group has been a path, a way, a discipline and a process, as Bernice Johnson Reagon wrote in the book We Who Believe in Freedom—Sweet Honey in the Rock Still on the Journey (1993), a chronicle of this extraordinary African-American female vocal group. Indeed, Sweet Honey has been a glorious, evolving process of growth and change throughout its existence. Now entering its fourth decade, the ensemble moves forward following Bernice Johnson Reagon’s retirement in February 2004. Continuing the legacy begun thirty-one years ago, the group’s current members are Louise Robinson, Aisha Kahlil, Arnaé, Shirley Childress Saxton, Carol Maillard, Nitanju Bolade Casel and Ysaye Maria Barnwell.
The group’s name comes from Psalms 81:16: “He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.” Honey—an ancient substance, sweet and nurturing. Rock—an elemental strength, enduring the winds of time. The metaphor of sweet honey in the rock completely captures these African American women whose repertoire is steeped in the sacred music of the Black church, the clarion calls of the civil rights movement and songs of the struggle for justice everywhere.
Sweet Honey just completed a whirlwind, year-long 30th anniversary celebration. The past season began in January 2003 with the release of the group’s 17th recording The Women Gather. About the release Amazon.com claimed, “While technically proficient a cappella singers, Sweet Honey are so much more than a study in vocal pizzazz. The women do indeed gather and tell stories for the generations, chronicling modern life and its struggles and victories. Sweet Honey mask nothing emotionally and draw the listener into each saga....After three decades, Sweet Honey are as relevant and fresh as ever.”
In fall 2003 the Smithsonian Institution honored Sweet Honey in the Rock by requesting a donation of artifacts from the group for its permanent collection. In a ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Sweet Honey officially signed a deed of gift presenting costumes, instruments, posters and recordings to the Institution’s Performing Arts Collection.
After a recent concert the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote: “Imagine seven of the most beautiful, diversely talented, highly intellectual, socially aware, justice-seeking, creative women you ever have met in one room. Imagine they share their stories of life: the essence of love and loss, the joy of anticipation and the sorrow of disappointment. They share their hope for the future: yours, mine, ours. Imagine. They open their mouths, and then, incredibly, they sing some of the most beautiful music you’ve ever heard. That is Sweet Honey in the Rock.”
Sweet Honey in the Rock is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by KCSB 91.9 FM and the Franciscan Inn. The concert is generously supported by Kelly Le Brock and Fredric Steck. Tickets are $45 for the general public and $19 for UCSB students who must show valid ID at ticket purchase and the evening of the show. Patrons may also purchase a $150 VIP seat and post-performance benefit dinner with the artists in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the UCSB Women’s Center.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.