Centenary Artists Reunite for Special Concert

SHREVEPORT, La.—The Texas Street Art Series presents "Music Among Friends" Sunday, March 30 beginning at 2:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Shreveport.

Three opera and concert artists with ties to the Centenary College Choir will perform together in this gala concert, featuring opera favorites as Porgy and Bess, La Boheme, Tosca, Carmen, Rigoletto, Eugene Onegin, Faust and many more.

Anne Heath-Welch, soprano, '75, Gregory Warren, tenor, '98, and J. Raymond Fielder, baritone, '78 will come together singing a group of arias each, three duets, and a trio with full symphony accompaniment under the direction of Dr. Will Andress, former longtime director of the Centenary Choir.

All three performers were featured soloists with the Centenary College Choir in their collegiate days and also were soloists with the First United Methodist Church of Shreveport. Anne and Raymond were originally residents of Shreveport and Greg of Longview, Texas.

Heath-Welch lived and performed in Europe for 21 years. Based in London, she sang as principal soprano for English National Opera in London. She was also as principal soprano for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Welsh National Opera, and the Scottish Opera performing roles in operas such as La Boheme, Fidelio, Forza del Destino, La Traviata and more. She returned to the United States in 2005 and resides in Houston. She is currently an adjunct professor of voice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

Warren continued vocal study at Indiana State University after graduating from Centenary College and later completed his masters degree at Texas Tech University. As a young artist in the Placido Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program with the Washington National Opera, he performed many leading roles including L'Elisir D'Amore, Gianni Schicchi, and La Fille du Regiment. This season he is performing with the Los Angeles Opera, the Washington National Opera, San Antonio Opera, the New Jersey Opera Theatre, and will perform with Opera Amsterdam in Amsterdam.

For more than 25 years Fielder has been heard in opera, music theatre, oratorio and concert throughout the United States and Europe. On the operatic stage he has been heard in La Bohem, La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Tales of Hoffman among others. In Europe Fielder has been heard in the Luneberg Staadt Theatre, Hanover Opera, and as guest artist wit the Theatre des Westens in Berlin. The Music Theatre Stage has featured Raymond in the German premier of Hal Princes' acclaimed Hamburg production of The Phantom of the Opera which broke all attendance records in Europe where he appeared more than 425 times.

The concert is FREE and open to the public. For more information please call 318.429.6887.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrates 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.