Internationally known soprano Indra Thomas to debut CD during concert at Shorter University

October 25, 2012 - Internationally acclaimed soprano Indra Thomas will debut selections from her new CD, Great Day! Indra Thomas Sings Spirituals, during an upcoming concert at Shorter University. The event will be held Friday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Brookes Chapel and is open to the public at no charge.

Thomas, a 1993 graduate of Shorter, has built a successful career performing in operas around the globe. She is considered one of the foremost Aida in the world today, having recently performed the role during a nationally televised performance in France, with the Hamburgische Staatsoper, at the Bregenz Festival in Austria, at the Palau De Les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain, and at the Avignon Music Festival. She made her New York recital debut during the 2010-2011 season at Weill Recital Hall.

The Great Day! CD was produced by Delos Recordings and is available through iTunes and Amazon at a promotional price until Nov. 1. The CD will be available in stores on Oct. 30. The CD also features pianist Sandra Lutters, whose opera career spans 30 years and includes credits as conductor, stage designer and director, prompter, costume designer, composer/arranger, coach, and accompanist. The CD features an arrangement of “This Little Light of Mine,” arranged by Ms. Lutters especially for Ms. Thomas and this recording.

The Great Day! CD is a project rooted in family and faith and reflects Thomas’ early development as a singer.

“This CD is very close to my heart for many reasons,” Thomas said. “I am a minister’s daughter and was born and raised in Atlanta. My mother, a gifted amateur singer, was my first voice teacher, and she taught me spirituals and hymns at an early age. While in my teens, I had the great fortune of singing ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’ – a hymn my mother taught me as a child, coincidentally – in the funeral scene of the Academy-Award winning film Driving Miss Daisy. That scene was shot in the very church my father pastored for 30 years and in which I was baptized. It is from this nurturing inspiration I chose to make a CD of sacred spirituals in honor of my loving family.”

In addition, Thomas added that having Rome be part of the CD’s debut is also very special to her. “I have been singing in the Greater Rome area for many years,” she said. “Whether at churches or with the Symphony or at a Shorter function, I have always considered the Rome community my extended family.”

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