Aretha: A Tribute
January 25, 2025 / 7:30 p.m.
This high-energy, dazzling tribute to the Queen of Soul features Drama Desk Award nominee Capathia Jenkins and three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist Ryan Shaw performing iconic favorites including “Respect,” “Think,” “A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Amazing Grace,” and more. Program Various arr. Tompkins Aretha Overture Covey arr. Shoup Chain of Fools Bacharach / David arr. Waldin I Say a Little Prayer DeSylva / Brown / Henderson arr. Rhodes; Orch Stevens Birth of the Blues Wonder arr. Mossman Sir Duke Sager / Hamlisch arr. Raine Nobody Does It Better Traditional arr. Podd What a Friend We Have in Jesus / Climbing Higher Mountains Webb arr. Holcombe MacArthur Park Bates / Ward arr. Shoup America the Beautiful Redding arr. Holmes Respect – Intermission – Various arr. Norris Salute to Ray Charles Brown arr. Waldin I Got You (I Feel Good) Gordon arr. Holcombe Unforgettable Goffin / King / Wexler arr. Bachalis (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Cooke A Change is Gonna Come Wonder arr. Holman Isn't She Lovely Warren arr. Hampton At Last Woods / Campbell / Connelly arr. Shoup Try a Little Tenderness Traditional arr. Podd Amazing Grace Franklin / White arr. Shoup Think (from The Blues Brothers) Naima Burrs, Guest Conductor Naima Burrs, D.M.A, a violinist and conductor from Richmond, VA, has performed as a section violinist with many ensembles including the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra as well as serving as principal second violin with Opera on the James and as concertmaster of Summer Garden Opera. Burrs was selected as a participant in the Conducting Academy of the Domaine Forget International Music Festival (Québec, Canada), where she studied with Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera House and Philadelphia Orchestra. In January of 2022, Burrs was appointed Music Director of the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and concluded her tenure ...