Details:

Season Finale: Porgy and Bess
Peace Concert Hall
Saturday, May 16 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 17 at 3:00 pm

Conclude the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s “American Season” with a powerful concert performance of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.
DeAndre Simmons and Laquita Mitchell take star turns as Porgy and Bess, with timeless classics like “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” American mezzo-soprano Kate Jackman is our soloist for Copland’s poignant and delightful Old American Songs, alternating with a chorus of Greenville’s finest singers led by William Burgess.

PROGRAM
USA Flag Aaron Copland: Old American Songs
USA Flag George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, A Concert of Songs

CONDUCTOR
Lee Mills, Music Director

GUEST
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Kate Jackman, mezzo-soprano
DeAndre Simmons, baritone
Chorusmaster: William Burgess

Click the images below to learn more about our soloists.

Soprano Laquita Mitchell consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide, having recently been nominated for a Grammy for her contribution as the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York. This season, she makes her long-awaited début as Aida with Dayton Opera. Ms. Mitchell also joins California Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Charleston Symphony for Sanctuary Road, the Bilkent Symphony in Turkey for a concert of American songs, and Austin Symphony to sing Bess in a concert production of Porgy and Bess. In future seasons, Ms. Mitchell will make appearances at Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Greenville Symphony Orchestra.

Last season, Mitchell returned to the role of Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with New Orleans Opera and Portland Opera and reprised her lauded performance of Sanctuary Road with Virginia Opera, Princeton Pro Musica, and the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. In addition, Mitchell appeared in concert with Saint Thomas Church for Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, Chattanooga Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the Cleveland Orchestra for their community chamber concert series, the Waterbury Symphony for their performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and Bard Summerscape to sing Verveine in Viardot’s chamber opera Le dernier sorcier.

A native of New York City, Ms. Mitchell was a 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner and was awarded a Sara Tucker Award. She was also the First Prize Winner of the Wiener Kammeroper’s Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, making her the first American to win this competition in more than twenty years. Additionally, Ms. Mitchell was the First Prize Winner of the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, as well as the winner of the Audience Choice award. Ms. Mitchell holds a Master of Music degree and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music and completed undergraduate studies at Westminster Choir College.

American mezzo-soprano Kate Jackman is a multifaceted performer, renowned for her magnetic stage presence and “rich, burning tone.”(Washington Classical Review)

In the 2024-2025 season, Kate sang the role of Federica in Washington Concert Opera’s highly acclaimed production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller. “Her appearance, deportment and voice, which was stirring across the register, glided effortlessly through the music with notable tonal sheen” (Opera News)

In other seasons, Kate has proven “winningly wily and dauntless” in repertoire ranging from Baroque to Verismo, and classic repertoire to new works and several premieres. Her roles include Bradamante in Alcina with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto and with Maryland Opera, Prince Orlofsky in several productions of Die Fledermaus, and the lead role of Jennie the Terrier in Oliver Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop! at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. Kate has also premiered several roles in operas by Michael Ching, Robert Paterson, Douglas Buchanan, and Joshua Bornfield.

In addition to her roles, Kate is a prolific concert soloist and recitalist. She has performed as a soloist at The Kennedy Center, The Baltimore Symphony, and over international broadcasting at The Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C.. She has also presented recitals at some of the most prestigious venues in the country, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Seiji Ozawa Hall at The Tanglewood Music Center.

This season, Kate will return to Maryland Opera to sing Suzuki their upcoming production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Kate will also make her debuts with Orlando Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and Greenville Symphony, singing Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs.

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American bass, DeAndre Simmons, having been hailed as being the performances “class act” by the Los Angeles Times, continues to gain recognition for his beautifully velvet voice, incisive musicianship and captivating stage presence. He has performed with such great opera houses and orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, San Diego Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl under Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and Bramwell Tovey, Columbia Pro Cantare, Opera Panama, Pacific Opera Victoria, Castleton Festival under Maestro Lorin Maazel, Santa Barbara Symphony, London Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony under Michael Stern and others throughout Europe and the U.K. He performs a healthy mix of opera and concert repertoire ranging from Handel to Mozart to Rossini and to Verdi and Wagner.

In addition to his operatic roles, DeAndre regularly performs both plays and musicals. Most recently starring as the Narrator in EVERY BRILLIANT THING (CCAE Theatricals) and Montrellous in CLYDES(Moxie Theatre). His recent musical credits include Boatman in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGEand Ken in AINT MISBEHAVIN,(CCAE Theatricals), Caiaphas in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and Kerchak in TARZAN(Moonlight Theatre). Other theatre credits include playing Malvolio in TWELFTH NIGHT, Father in CHILDREN OF EDEN. His portrayal of Sweeney Todd in Sondheim’s masterpiece was voted TOP TEN BEST SHOWS in San Diego 2024 by the San Diego Union Tribune and he played Professor Bhear in LITTLE WOMEN (Moxie Theatre). Having spent years under the tutelage of the great Barbara Cook, he frequently performs the music of musical theatre and the American Songbook in recitals, pops concerts and cabaret. DeAndre’s 2024/2025 season include an American Songbook recital with Opera in the Park Portland, Marchese/Baron in LA TRAVIATA (Opera in the Park Portland), Sweeney Todd in SWEENEY TODD(SDMT)First Soldier in SALOME and Marchese D’Obigny in

LA TRAVIATA (San Diego Opera) and a recital tour of arias, songs and spirituals by composers of the African Diaspora titled “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” in Portland, OR, San Diego and Palm Springs. He rounds out his season with both lieder and American songbook recitals around the country.

An alumnus of The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, DeAndre is a pupil of Fred Carama and has been protégé of James Morris and Barbara Cook.

Pre-Concert Conversation
Free for concert ticketholders, one hour before the performance inside Peace Concert Hall.  Join Music Director Lee Mills, Executive Director Jessica Satava, and special guests for an engaging exploration of the composer’s ideas, musical themes, and history of the music you’re about to hear.

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About the Peace Center Concert Hall

The Peace Concert Hall seats 2,115 and features state of the art acoustics. It boasts technology capable of catering to the most complex production requirements. The Concert Hall is the venue of choice for Broadway tours, large concerts, lectures, dance performances, and comedy events, among others.

Address
Located on the SW corner of Broad St. and Main St.
Downtown Greenville, South Carolina
Phone: (864) 467-3000