I Wanna Be Ready: Spirituals Arranged By Courtney Carey The Concert Chorale, Justin Michael Austin, Jeryl Cunningham-Fleming, Joseph Joubert & Courtney Carey
- Traditional:
- 1 Traditional: I Want to Be Ready 03:17
- 2 Traditional: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Chile 04:38
- 3 Traditional: My God is So High 02:10
- 4 Traditional: I Ain’t Got Weary Yet 03:22
- 5 Traditional: Oh, De Blin’ Man Stood on the Road an’ Cried 04:23
- 6 Traditional: Soon I Will Be Done 03:09
- 7 Traditional: Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel? 03:34
- 8 Traditional: Calvary 02:52
- 9 Traditional: I Wanna Be Ready 03:38
- 10 Traditional: In Bright Mansions Above 04:04
- 11 Traditional: Lord, I Want Two Wings 02:02
- 12 Traditional: You Can Tell the World 03:19
Info for I Wanna Be Ready: Spirituals Arranged By Courtney Carey
Few things have informed and inspired as much music as humanity’s search for God. Acclaimed baritone, arranger, and conductor Courtney Carey explores the relation between the worldly and the divine on I WANNA BE READY, a set of 12 spirituals arranged for different instrumentations — and each piece packs a punch.
Six of them are songs for a solo voice (soprano or baritone) and piano, and Carey, being a trained vocalist himself, deploys this setup to its fullest effect, allowing for powerful brilliance. The other half are choral pieces, which are furnished with extra layers of depth and vigor by the splendidly expressive Concert Chorale ensemble. Even individually, these spirituals would be remarkable; together, they are a tour de force.
Rodari Simpson, tenor
Justin Michael Austin, baritone
Jeryl Cunningham-Fleming, soprano
Joseph Joubert, piano
The Concert Chorale
Courtney Carey, conductor
Courtney Carey
A native of Memphis TN, baritone Courtney D. Carey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Morehouse College in Atlanta GA, Master of Music degree in Conducting from Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY, and the Professional Studies Diploma in Voice from Mannes College of Music in New York NY. Carey made his operatic debut in the summer of 2003 as Morales in Bizet’s Carmen and Hermann in Offenbach’s Hoffmans Erazaehlungen with the Komische KammerOper Muenchen in Munich, Germany. Since his debut, Carey has sung principal and supporting roles in Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, Die Zauberfloete, My Fair Lady, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte.
Carey is the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Arleen Auger Memorial Scholarship, named in honor of the famed soprano Arleen Auger and a Classical Studies grant from the Hester Fund for Classical Music Studies. In addition to his vocal endeavors, Carey is a published composer/arranger with choral arrangements published by both GIA Publications, Inc. and Roger Dean Music Publishing Company. Carey is the Founder/Artistic Director of Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow a New York-based performing arts organization committed to presenting high-quality classical music performances.
Justin Austin
Praised in Opera News as “a gentle actor and elegant musician” and in The Wall Street Journal for his “mellifluous baritone,” baritone Justin Austin has been performing professionally since the age of four. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, to professional opera singer parents, Austin began his singing career as a boy soprano performing at venues such as Teatro Real, Bregenzer Festspiele, Lincoln Center, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While working with directors such as Götz Friedrich and Tazewell Thompson, he was able to realize early on his love for music and performance.
Austin made his house debut at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2021-2022 season as Marcellus in the company premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet, while also covering the leading role of Charles Blow in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones. Other important performances include George Armstrong in Lynn Nottage’s and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center, Des Moines Metro Opera as Thomas McKeller in Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oratorio Society of New York.
As a multifaceted musician, Austin performs a wide range of repertoire, from jazz, R&B, and musical theater, to opera and oratorio. He has collaborated with multiple groups and artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, 30 Seconds to Mars, John Cale, Ricky Ian Gordon, Damien Sneed, Kanye West, and jazz legends Reggie Workman, Hugh Masekela, and Wynton Marsalis.
Jeryl Cunningham-Fleming
vocal artistry has been heard in more than 10 countries and on four continents. Her versatile and vibrant voice, paired with her fervent advocacy of African American music, makes her a favored soloist for leading ensembles, including the Boys Choir of Harlem and the American Spiritual Ensemble, and prestigious venues, including the United Nations and Lincoln Center. Cunningham-Fleming’s repertoire encompasses opera, oratorio, choral masterworks, jazz, and art song. But, interpretation of the African American spiritual is a high point of her artistry, drawing on her rich heritage. Cunningham-Fleming is a regular soloist and Assistant Director with the American Spiritual Ensemble that performs classic spirituals, opera, jazz, and Broadway tunes highlighting the black experience in concerts in the United States, Europe, and South America.
Joseph Joubert
is a hugely versatile musician whose wide-ranging accomplishments and talent as a pianist, arranger, orchestrator, Broadway conductor, and music director have taken him around the world. Most recently Joubert was musical director and orchestrator for Harriet Tubman star Cynthia Erivo in three sold out Tokyo performances. His Broadway orchestration credits include: The Color Purple (Drama Desk Nomination), Disaster, Violet (Drama Desk Nomination), Leap of Faith, and Caroline or Change. He was Musical Director for Berry Gordy’s Motown The Musical and was assistant conductor for Nice Work If You Can Get It and Billy Elliot. He was also a guest conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Christmas Concert featuring Take 6. He appeared in the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Porgy and Bess as the piano-player Jasbo Brown. Critics have hailed Joubert’s “sensitive and supportive” performances as an accompanist and the “uncommon tonal beauty” of his playing. He has collaborated with such classical singers as Denyce Graves, Esther Hinds, and more and performed with Kathleen Battle at the White House for President Bill Clinton as well as Carnegie Hall.
The Concert Chorale
is the official choral ensemble of Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow. Established in 2014, the Chorale performs a wide range of choral repertoire from early Baroque classics through 21st-century choral literature. The Concert Chorale has performed for enthusiastic audiences at New York’s Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and the Langston Hughes Auditorium at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
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