Kenneth Kiesler, conductor
Johannesburg | Pretoria | Soweto | Cape Town
Bernstein – Gershwin – Dawson – Nyamezele
CONCERT PROGRAM
On the Waterfront Suite Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990)
Porgy and Bess George Gershwin (1898 – 1937)
Summertime Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano
I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ Daniel Washington, bass-baritone
My Man’s Gone Now Karen Slack, soprano
Bess, You Is My Woman Now Karen Slack, soprano | Daniel Washington, bass-baritone
— Intermission —
Negro Folk Symphony William Dawson (1899 – 1990)
Deep River Carl Davis (1936 – 2023)
Daniel Washington, bass-baritone
Witness Hale Smith (1925 – 2009)
Karen Slack, soprano | Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano
Bawo Thixo Somandla arr. Sidumo Nyamezele
Plea for Africa TBA
Karen Slack, soprano | Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano | Daniel Washington, bass-baritone
PERFORMANCES
PRETORIA | Wednesday, 21 May | 19h00
At the Aula, University of Pretoria
SOWETO | Friday, 23 May | 19h00
Regina Mundi RC Church
JOHANNESBURG | Saturday, 24 May | 16h00
Linder Auditorium, Wits
CAPE TOWN | Monday, 26 May | 19h00
Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre
CAPE TOWN | Tuesday, 27 May | 19h30
Cape Town City Hall
ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA –
The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, led by its music director Kenneth Kiesler since 1995, has been recognized by its 2005 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Album (William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience); The American Prize in Orchestral Performance in 2011; two Adventurous Programming Awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); GRAMMY nomination for its 2014 premiere recording of Darius Milhaud’s L’Orestie d’Eschyle, critical acclaim for its recording of music by Vítězslava Kaprálová, and when its recording of James P. Johnson’s operas De Organizer and The Dreamy Kid earned a coveted place among the “New York Times Best Classical Albums of 2023.”
Under the auspices of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the UMSO serves as a training ground for gifted young musicians, many of whom go on to significant careers in major symphony orchestras, opera houses, and chamber music ensembles, and as leading educators. The UMSO has also been at the core of U-M’s distinguished and renowned graduate program in orchestral conducting, ranked number one in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report since 1997.
UMSO tours have included performances at the festivals of Salzburg and Evian, and at Carnegie Hall. The orchestra has premiered dozens of new works by contemporary composers, five of which have been part of its ten-year commissioning and recording initiative known as MORE (Michigan Orchestra Repertoire for Equity). The UMSO has also played the American premieres of recently discovered music by Felix Mendelssohn, Josef Joachim, and Vítězslava Kaprálová, and has several recordings currently available on Naxos, Equilibrium, Pierian and Centaur. Audiences are invited to watch and listen to UMSO performances, conducted by Kenneth Kiesler, on YouTube.
Learn more: www.smtd.umich.edu
KENNETH KIESLER – Conductor
Kenneth Kiesler, GRAMMY nominee and winner of the 2024 American Prize National Arts Award “honoring a very few artists whose philosophy and exceptional professional accomplishments are evidence of sustained artistic excellence…” has led over 100 orchestras across six continents, including the Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Utah Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Detroit Symphony, New Jersey Symphony. Osaka Philharmonic, Queensland Symphony, and Chamber Orchestra of Paris, and the Meadowbrook, Atlantic and Aspen Music Festivals.
His many opera performances, including Britten’s Peter Grimes and Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Bright Sheng’s The Silver River at the Victoria Theatre in Singapore. As music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (1980–2000), he led debuts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and was named Conductor Laureate for life. Kiesler has given dozens of premieres, and founded MORE (Michigan Orchestra Repertoire for Equity), the ten-year commissioning initiative now in its 6th year.
His many recordings include Milhaud’s L’Orestie d’Eschyle which was nominated for a GRAMMY Award, and James P. Johnson’s De Organizer and The Dreamy Kid which won a coveted place among The New York Times Best Classical Music Albums of 2023. Kiesler’s teachers included Carlo Maria Giulini, Pierre Boulez, Erich Leinsdorf, John Nelson, Fiora Contino, Julius Herford, and James Wimer. He was director of the conducting programmes of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. He leads the renowned orchestral conducting programs at the University of Michigan and the Conductors Retreat at Medomak.
ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS
Karen Slack
soprano, USA
Karen Slack, praised for her “sizeable voice that captured all of the vacillating emotions” (The New York Times), is one of the nation’s most celebrated sopranos and a leading advocate for diversity in classical music (Trilloquy).
A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack’s dynamic career spans performance, curation, and advocacy. Her debut album, Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price (Azica Records), earned a 2025 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
In 2024-2025, Slack premieres African Queens, a groundbreaking recital of new art songs celebrating the legacy of African queens, with performances at major festivals including Ravinia, Aspen, Tanglewood, and 92NY.
Recent highlights include her New York Philharmonic debut and collaborations with the Dallas Symphony, Chamber Music Detroit, and multiple world premieres by composers like Shawn Okpebholo and Damien Geter. Notable past performances include starring in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls.
Dedicated to new works by living composers, Slack serves as Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera and Artist-in-Residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago (2024-2025). She is also a faculty member at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Goitsemang Lehobye
soprano, South Africa
Goitsemang Lehobye, a native of Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, is an accomplished soprano recognized for her versatility and artistry. Inspired by the South African Black Tie Opera Ensemble, she began her musical journey through their “Incubator” Scheme, progressing from chorus member to soloist.
Lehobye’s formal training includes studies at the University of Cape Town under Hanna van Niekerk and Prof. Kamal Khan, where she delivered acclaimed performances in roles such as Violetta in La Traviata and Mimi in La Bohème. In 2017, she furthered her studies at the University of Michigan with Professor Daniel Washington, where she earned the prestigious Friends of Opera Anna Chapekis Award.
Her operatic and concert career has taken her to stages around the world. Highlights include her portrayal of Serena in Cape Town Opera’s Porgy and Bess during a tour to Argentina, and her soloist performances with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. She has premiered works by South African composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen, including Harmonia Ubuntu with the Minnesota Orchestra during their historic first tour to South Africa, and participated in the reopening of Cape Town City Hall with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.
Lehobye’s international engagements include performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, featuring Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos and Osvaldo Golijov’s Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra. She also premiered Bongani Ndodana-Breen’s song cycles and performed in gala concerts alongside opera luminaries such as Johan Botha and Neil Schicoff.
Recent achievements include her critically acclaimed portrayal of Mimi in La Bohème at the University of Michigan and her 2023 role as the cover for Aida with Finger Lakes Opera. In 2021, she brought the role of Miranda Parker to life in Adolphus Hailstork’s Rise for Freedom.
Goitsemang Lehobye continues to captivate audiences with her performances, embodying a rich blend of South African roots and classical artistry.
Daniel Washington
bass-baritone, USA
Daniel A. Washington is a renowned bass-baritone and tenured Professor of Music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, & Dance, as well as an Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town. An expert in African American classical music, spirituals, and Porgy and Bess, he is an award-winning artist, teacher, and mentor with an illustrious career spanning major opera houses and concert stages worldwide.
Washington’s operatic highlights include debuts at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Teatro Massimo in Sicily, and Theater des Westens in Berlin, as well as creating the role of Steven Biko in the Royal Opera’s Biko. Concert appearances include performances with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra. His recordings feature works by Black composers, including Nobody is Somebody and spirituals, as well as operatic roles such as Pizarro in Fidelio and Tarquinio in Respighi’s Lucretia.
A sought-after mentor and clinician, Washington’s students achieve success with major opera companies, competitions, and festivals worldwide. He is an active leader in the National Association of Negro Musicians and the founder of the Lucy Washington Annual Vocal Competition in his hometown of Summerville, South Carolina.
About Classical Movements
The premier concert tour company for the world’s great orchestras and choirs, Classical Movements creates meaningful cultural experiences through music in 147 countries. An industry leader for Three Decades, Classical Movements organizes more than 60 tours every year, producing some 200 concerts every season. Producer of the Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival. In addition Classical Movements’ Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program has commissioned over 104 works from Grammy, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. Winner of Americans for the Arts’ BCA10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts Award, since its founding in 1992, as a truly global company, Classical Movements remains committed to facilitating cultural diplomacy across the world—promoting peace through the medium of music.