Juneteenth Celebration: Grammy Winner Will Liverman!

Pictured Above: Will Liverman Photo Credit: Contributed.

Newsroom Post: PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Princeton, NJ – On Monday, June 19, at 7 pm at Morven Museum & Garden, the Princeton Festival caps a day of events celebrating Juneteenth with a special performance by GRAMMY Award-winning, Metropolitan Opera star Will Liverman. The baritone performs art songs set to texts by Laurence Hope, Langston Hughes, and Louise C. Wallace, with music by Black composers, including Damien Sneed, Margaret Bonds, and Florence Price, with pianist Kevin Miller.

Leading up to the vocal recital are a community Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony and the opening of the “Beyond Freedom” art installation at Morven’s Stockton Education Center featuring a talk by Arts Against Racism founder Rhinold Lamar Ponder. The Juneteenth Celebration is presented in partnership with the Municipality of Princeton.

Pictured Above: Will Liverman Photo Credit: Contributed.

Will Liverman had his “breakout performance” as Charles in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, during the Met’s 2021-22 season. With this role, he won the 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. The Met announced that Liverman is to star in Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X in the fall of 2023. This production is the second opera by a Black composer in the company’s history. Liverman is accompanied by American pianist and collaborator Kevin J. Miller. Most recently, Miller worked with international tenor Joseph Calleja and Nadine Sierra in a recital at the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also featured on NPR’s TIny Desk Concert Series while accompanying Joseph Calleja.

Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) Executive Director Marc Uys and administrative head of the Princeton Festival says of the organization’s collaboration with the Municipality of Princeton, “It’s a great partnership as we are looking to foster a sense of community pride coupled with arts relevancy.” At noon, the Municipality of Princeton invites the community to join officials during a brief flag-raising ceremony commemorating Juneteenth, outdoors at 1 Monument Hall.

The “Beyond Freedom” exhibit opens at 2pm with Arts Against Racism founder Rhinold Lamar Ponder’s talk entitled, “Reclaiming Humanity Through Art.” The talk is a discussion of the role of the arts and creatives in the perpetual efforts to restate and reclaim the humanity of those impacted by the legacy of slavery and its aftermath. The free exhibit will be open to the public until 6pm Monday, and again on Wednesday, June 21, 5-7pm and Saturday, June 24, 4-6:30pm.

Tickets for the Will Liverman performance at Morven Museum and Garden are $20 for general admission, youths 5-17 receive a 50% discount with an adult purchase. Visit the Princeton Symphony Orchestra webpage at princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 497-0020.

The Princeton Festival is the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s flagship summer program showcasing the
performing arts. Founded in 2004, the Princeton Festival quickly established a reputation for artistic
excellence and innovative programming. Every year in June, thousands of people from the mid-Atlantic
region and beyond come to the Festival to enjoy the quality and variety of its programs. Offerings
include opera, musical theater, dance, orchestra and chamber music, and a constantly evolving selection
of other genres, including jazz, world music, choral concerts, and country music. The Festival has long-
standing partnerships with public libraries and local churches, and promotes life-long learning in the arts
through free educational lectures presented to a wide and diverse community.