No Cowards in Our Band
A Semi-Staged Musical Drama
Saturday, Nov. 2, 7pm
For Tickets, click HERE
Hudson Hall
327 Warren St
Hudson, NY 12534
Concept and Libretto: Anthony Knight, Jr.
Musical Arrangement: Orrin Evans
Director: Michael Hofmann
Masud Olufani as Frederick Douglass
Nia Drummond, soprano
Edward Washingington II, tenor
Gregory Sheppard, bass
No Cowards in Our Band is a musical drama telling the story of renowned activist and abolitionist Frederick Douglass(1818-1895) through his own words. With the performance just days before the 2024 Presidential Election, the piece is a striking reminder of the power of the pen, the voice, and the vote.
Based on a libretto by Anthony Knight, Jr. and interwoven with Negro spirituals arranged by GRAMMY-nominated jazz artist Orrin Evans, No Cowards in Our Band stars actor, artist, and TV personality Masud Olufani as Frederick Douglass performing with a trio of opera singers, the “moving and electrifying performer” (Wall Street Journal) Nia Drummond, soprano – who went viral last year for a rendition of Happy Birthday that made Busta Rhymes cry – Metropolitan Opera tenor Edward Washington II, and Opera Ebony and Syracuse Opera’s Gregory Sheppard, bass.
Tickets:
Tier 1: Reserved Seating, $45 (plus $5 fee)
Tier 2: General Admission, Mid-Center Section/Side Aisle, Front Mezzanine, $30 (plus $5 fee)
Tier 3: General Admission, Rear and Side Seating, far sides may be partially obstructed, $19 (plus $3 fee)
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Frederick Douglass, Masud Olufani
Masud Mahungbay Olufani is an Atlanta based multidisciplinary artist. He is a graduate of Morehouse College, and The Savannah College of Art and Design where he earned an M.F.A. in sculpture in 2013. His multidisciplinary practice explores the resonance of memory; the narrative traditions of African and African American folklore; and methodologies of constructive resilience implemented by marginalized communities to maintain cohesion and ensure survival.
Masud has exhibited his work in group and solo shows nationally and internationally. He is a featured artist in the 2024 Dakar Biennial in Senegal, West Africa. He is a 2023-24’ Midtown Alliance Artist in Residence in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the 2021-22’ inaugural Visual Arts Fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The artist has completed residencies at The Vermont Studio Center; The Hambidge Center for Arts and Sciences; and Creative Currents in Portobello, Panama. He is a 2017 Southern Arts Prize State Fellow; a recipient of a 2015 and 2018 Idea Capital Grant; a Southwest Airlines Art and Social Engagement grant; and a recipient of 2015-16’ MOCA GA Working Artist Project Grant.
Nia Drummond, soprano
A native of Brooklyn, Nia Drummond is a Voice Performance major studying with Shinobu Takagi at the State University of New York at Fredonia. She has appeared as a solo performer at the Apollo Theater in New York City and the New World Center in Miami.
Earning positive reviews in both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, Nia has been described as a “moving and electrifying performer.” In addition to her credits as a solo artist, Ms. Drummond has performed with award-winning ensembles such as the Grammy honored Brooklyn Youth Chorus and Young People’s Chorus of New York City. She has also appeared as a background vocalist for the likes of Sir Elton John, Bette Midler, Fantasia Barrino, John Legend, and in choruses under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, the late Lorin Maazel, James Levine, and others.
Ms. Drummond has performed in competitions and concert series in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, and Austria. Additionally, her opera credits include Mother Superior in Hess’ “Felice” with the Hillman Opera Company, title role in Picker’s “Therese Raquin” and Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” under the baton of Glenn Coretese with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Her masterclass credits include work with Renée Fleming, Ruth Falcon, Kim Burrell, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Jake Heggie.
Edward Washington, tenor
American tenor Edward Washington II was born in England, raised in Saudi Arabia and lives in New York City. He studied voice at Stetson University and then attended Morgan State University for his Master’s degree. He performed with Orlando Opera, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Opera Orlando, International Festival of the Voice, New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Edward has appeared in numerous operas and he has premiered a number of new songs by American composer/arrangers.
Edward soloed in concert with the United States Air Force Band, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Morgan State University Choir, and the American Spiritual Ensemble. He was a featured vocalist twice at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Edward Washington II was formerly the Music and Education director of the “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation based in Orlando, Florida and directed their ensemble “Master Singers.” He still is a proud ambassador for the foundation. He is also a proud brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Gregory Sheppard, bass
American bass, Gregory Sheppard has been heard in opera, concert and recital throughout the US and in Europe and Canada. Mr.Sheppard holds degrees from Syracuse University and New York University. Among the companies with which he has performed include San Francisco Opera and the Western Opera Tour, New York City Opera, Denver Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New Haven Symphony, and many more.
In addition to his other accolades, Mr.Sheppard was a Metropolitan National Council Auditions Finalist and study grant recipient and has also received the Syracuse Opera Artist of the Year Award, Jan Peerce Scholarship, and Syracuse University Faculty Award, Friday Music Clubs Young Artists Award, Sullivan Foundation grant and numerous others.
Concept and Libretto: Anthony Knight
Anthony Knight, Jr. has dedicated his life to education, history, and Black culture. He is a former museum educator and is currently a historic preservation professional and the Founder/CEO of The Baton Foundation — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves the emotional, intellectual, and cultural needs of Black boys ages 11 – 17.
Mr. Knight did well in school, particularly English, Spanish, and history. Eventually, he graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in Spanish. After living abroad, he returned to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C., where he enrolled in a graduate program in museum education at The George Washington University.
Over the next 20-plus years, Knight would hold various education-related and leadership positions and consultancies in museums and historical societies. In 2015, Anthony officially left the museum field to start The Baton Foundation. As he sees it, the next chapter of his life’s work will be dedicated not only to ensuring that Black people better understand and value the tremendous history and culture into which they were born, but also to use writing as the means by which this work is carried out. Mr. Knight was born and raised in Queens, NYC.
Michael Hofmann, director
Michael Hofmann is an opera stage director, administrator, performer, and artist based in Hudson, New York. His frequent experience with premiere works and devised performances has positioned him as a specialist in contemporary opera direction dedicated to genuine, engaging, and accessible storytelling. Hudson audiences last saw Hofmann’s work with the U.S. premiere of Hao Weiya’s Painted Skin for the China Now Music Festival with performances at Hudson Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center in October 2022. He is the Audience & Member Services Manager at the Fisher Center at Bard, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Hudson Festival Orchestra (President), Clarion Concerts (Treasurer), Columbia Opportunities, and The Friends of First Presbyterian
Musical Arrangement: Orrin Evans
Esteemed, Grammy-nominated Philadelphia musician, Orrin Evans has been active in the jazz music scene for several years. As a deft tune deconstructor, he traverses a broad timeline of the vocabularies of swinging, blues-infused hardcore jazz and spiritual jazz/avant garde jazz traditions, as well as the Euro-canon, with the intuitive spontaneity of an ear player. He projects an instantly recognizable sound, sometimes eliciting flowing rubato poetry. Evans’ stylistically polyglot compositions – influenced by the expansive, individuality-first Black Music culture of his native Philadelphia and by a decade playing Charles Mingus’ beyond-category music in the Mingus Big Band – similarly postulate an environment of “structured freedom” that instigates the personnel to push the envelope in all his multifarious leader and collaborative projects. Mr. Evans’ music and style displays the cohesion and creative confidence of old friends, mirroring the leader’s predisposition for finding beauty in the heat of the moment.
Mr. Evans also has extensive experience as an educator. For a full year, he curated a weekly jazz curriculum in Philadelphia public schools, sponsored by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts’ Jazz Standards programming division. For three years he instructed high school students at Germantown Friends School. He’s served on the faculty of Connecticut’s Litchfield Jazz Camp since 2013 and the Kimmel Center Jazz Camp.