The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, in partnership with Miami gospel radio station WMBM 1490 AM and with generous support from Beverly and Bill Parker, announces its first ever NEW GOSPEL TALENT SEARCH to engage the community in discovering Miami’s next top gospel artists. The Arsht Center is searching for aspiring local gospel singers, quartets, and choirs (ages 16-25) who have promising artistic talent to audition for a chance to perform on stage at the Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall. The winners will open the 2011-2012 grand finale FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS concert on April 29, 2012 at 4:00 p.m., headlined by Grammy-nominated contemporary gospel artist J MOSS, who has become one of the most powerful forces in urban gospel music by combining traditional spiritual messages with modern arrangements and hip-hop beats. Hosted by WPLG Channel 10 ABC anchor Calvin Hughes, the concert also features the FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS series’ soul-stirring resident ensemble, MIAMI MASS CHOIR, and culminates the 2011-2012 FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYSseries in the Arsht Center’s John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.
The NEW GOSPEL TALENT SEARCH is open to the entire community, but all interested participants are required to register in advance by sending an email to youngartist@arshtcenter.org or calling 786-468-2450. The audition process will take place on March 2 and 3, 2012 in the Peacock Foundation Education Center of the Adrienne Arsht Center. Three winners will be selected, one from each of the following categories: Best Soloist; Best Quartet; and Best Gospel Choir. In addition to the unforgettable opportunity to perform on the stage of Miami’s premier, world-class performing arts center, the three winners will receive free studio time, as well as a Professional Development Weekend of master classes and workshops with professionals and coaches in the gospel music industry. The panel of judges will be comprised of local and national gospel music industry professionals and performers. They will be looking for the best and brightest young gospel talent Miami has to offer.
“It is with great excitement that we offer this incredible experience to the young singers in our community as we fulfill our mission to discover and support our exceptional local talent,” said M. John Richard, President and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. “Our New Gospel Talent Search provides participants valuable performance, recording, educational, and professional development opportunities and further demonstrates our commitment to nurture South Florida’s talented artists, many of whom may want to pursue a career in the performing arts.”
“FIRST ACCESS PASSES” for the April 29 FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS:
Admission is FREE. First Access Passes for the FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS performance on April 29, 2012, featuring J MOSS, and showcasing the winners of the Arsht Center’s NEW GOSPEL TALENT SEARCH will be available six weeks prior to the concert.
First Access Passes can be reserved by calling the Adrienne Arsht Center box office at 305-949-6722 or online at www.arshtcenter.org (limit four per person). The passes provide patrons with first access to seating in the theater until 3:45 p.m. Seating is “first come, first served” for the performance and passes do not guarantee a seat.
STAND-BY LINE:
Patrons who do not have a First Access Pass may join the Stand-by Line beginning at 3 p.m. outside the theater. Seating, if available, will be opened at 3:45 p.m. to patrons in the stand-by line.
Sign up for the Adrienne Arsht Center email list at www.arshtcenter.org to be notified when FREE First Access Passes become available for each of the FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS concerts.
Born and raised in Detroit, J MOSS hails from gospel music royalty as the nephew of gospel’s legendary Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, the cousin of her daughters – the inimitable Clark Sisters – and the son of Bill Moss, Sr., founder of the popular ‘70s gospel act Bill Moss & the Celestials. In his youth, MOSS spent time most of his time touring as a part-time singer with the Celestials, and later with the Clark Sisters, as well as with his brother, Bill Jr., in a singing duo called The Moss Brothers. More recently, he has toured the country opening for the illustrious CeCe Winans on the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, and served as a judge on the Gospel Music Channel’s Gospel Dream program. Combining traditional spiritual messages with modern arrangements and hip hop beats, J MOSS has performed groundbreaking work with Trin-i-Tee 5:7, Hezekiah Walker, Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child) and helped bring an accessible style of gospel music to a new generation of general urban audiences. As a partner in urban contemporary’s powerhouse production company — PAJAM, J MOSS has been the co-writer and author behind some of the biggest artists in both gospel and secular music. PAJAM produced gospel music’s most prolific hit-makers and J MOSS subsequently attained increasing recognition within the industry. His recording J MOSS Project was released in 2004, and he received a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Gospel Album in 2006. His third album release, Just James, spawned two gospel hits, including Restored/I Gave It Up and Rebuild and its 2010 remix single.
The Adrienne Arsht Center’s extraordinarily popular FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS series has been supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation since the inaugural 2008-2009 season, and received a three-year, $150,000 grant to continue the series into the Center’s 2013-2014 season. A generous donation from Beverly and Bill Parker and a grant from the Funding Arts Network is also supporting the 2011-2012 season.
“Free Gospel Sundays is proof positive of the undeniable power of song to bring people together,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/arts. “The event is a must for all South Florida residents.”