UA Little Rock Professor to Perform in Special Black History Month Celebration

A UA Little Rock music professor will be a part of a special musical performance on Feb. 20 featuring internationally renowned opera star Kristin Lewis in celebration of Black History Month.

The Clinton Presidential Center is partnering with the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in celebration of Black History Month, hosting the ABHOF Distinguished Laureate Series XIV, honoring operatic soprano Kristin Lewis. Dr. Linda Holzer, university professor of music at UA Little Rock, will collaborate with Lewis at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center.

“It means so much to have the opportunity to join Kristin Lewis in performing selections by African American composers Harry Burleigh, Shelton Becton, and Moses Hogan,” Holzer said. “The program will begin with a conversation with Ms. Lewis, reflecting on her operatic career and the importance of the arts.”

A 2019 inductee of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, Lewis is a Little Rock native who has taken the opera world by storm as a lyrico-spinto soprano, best known and praised for her interpretations of composer Giuseppe Verdi‘s operatic heroines. She is the recipient of a bevy of awards, including Artist of the Year, Oscars of the Opera Award, the Opera Prize, and the Audience Award.

The 2015-16 opera season featured Lewis in her house debut at Carnegie Hall as Soprano Soloist with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, and she has performed in some of the most prestigious opera houses and theaters in the world, giving life to the works of some of the world’s most renowned composers. She created the Kristin Lewis Foundation, Inc., to shine a spotlight on younger musicians and to foster the discovery and appreciation of opera and musical cultures.

The Distinguished Laureate Series is free and open to the public, but registration is required.