Norman, friends promote power of arts during benefit concert

A concert with a concept, the Jessye Norman and Friends performance featured wildly disparate performances bound by a unifying theme: inspiration.

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Jazz great Wycliffe Gordon was among the performers at Friday night's concert. Mr. Gordon was born in Waynesboro, Ga.

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Michael Holahan/Staff

Jessye Norman performs with Mark Markham at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Augusta during a benefit for the school that bears her name.

The benefit for the Jessye Norman School of the Arts was held Friday night at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

It featured performances by opera legend Jessye Norman, Jazz at Lincoln Center alumni Damien Sneed and Wycliffe Gordon, Broadway actress De'Adre Aziza, pianist Mark Markham and vocalist Lawrence Hamilton.

Though each found fame on the international stage, several of the artists, including Ms. Norman, Mr. Sneed, Mr. Gordon and Ms. Aziza, have ties to Augusta.

"The talent here is incredible," said new Symphony Orchestra Augusta music director Shizuo Z Kuwahara, making one of his first appearances on the Augusta music scene. "This is so great."

The concert opened with a performance of the Sound of Music standard Climb Every Mountain. The song, which featured a virtuosic display of Ms. Norman's talent, also served as something of a mission statement.

The performances that followed -- Ms. Aziza's monologues punctuated by smoky jazz classics, Mr. Gordon's ode to Ain't Misbehavin' -- all revolved around the things that brought each artist to music and the things that continue to inspire them. Throughout the evening, Ms. Norman preached the gospel of both the concert and the Jessye Norman School.

"It's so important that these children know that they have this inner voice," she said. "It's a voice we want to hear when they sing for us. A voice we want to hear when they dance for us, when they paint and perform for us. It's so important."

Ms. Norman sent a clear message with the first two numbers of the second act: You'll Never Walk Alone from Carousel and Somewhere from West Side Story.

She followed the anthems of self-worth and realization with a plea to the audience to support the Jessye Norman School.

"It's easy to see something like this being done," she said. "It's easy to watch, to observe. But we need to help them, help these students, help this school."

The show also featured a light-hearted duet with Ms. Norman and baritone Mr. Hamilton. The evening wrapped with a full ensemble version of Amazing Grace, with Ms. Norman singing the lead.

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.