Aretha: Queen of Soul

Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose performances have delighted audiences across North America. He has collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Folds, The Canadian Brass and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live, Cirque de la Symphony, and the groundbreaking symphonic debut of R&B duo Dvsn as part of the global Red Bull Music Festival.

Waldin has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in the U.S. and Canada, including the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Modesto Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony.

Having joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as Resident Conductor in 2009, Waldin was subsequently appointed Artist-in-Residence and Community Ambassador – the first position of its kind in North America. He appeared with the ESO over 150 times and conducted in Carnegie Hall during the orchestra’s participation in the 2012 Spring for Music Festival. In recognition of his accomplishments, he was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestral Conducting and received a Citation Award from the City of Edmonton for outstanding achievements in arts and culture.

A native of Toronto, Canada, Waldin holds degrees in flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, Capathia Jenkins, most recently released the critically acclaimed CD Phenomenal Woman the Maya Angelou Songs with her collaborator Louis Rosen and they Sold Out the world-famous Birdland Theatre in NYC for 3 nights.

She starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short-Fame Becomes Me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night.  In 2007 she went back to Off-Broadway and starred in (mis) Understanding Mammy-The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.

An active concert artist, Ms. Jenkins has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops (with John Morris Russell), Philly Pops, Atlanta Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and many others.  She was a soloist with the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic multiple times.  Capathia had the great honor of performing in the ‘Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba’ concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. She has appeared several times at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops and also sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress.  In the summer of 2021, Ms. Jenkins will perform her solo show with The Cleveland Orchestra, Wyoming Symphony, and at the Chatauqua Institute.

Her upcoming engagements include a return to the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Chicago Philharmonic, and The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall with Steven Reineke, among many others.

Her Television credits include 30 Rock, the Practice, Law & Order SVU, the Sopranos, Law & Order. She can be seen in the film ‘Musical Chairs’ directed by Susan Seidelman. Ms. Jenkins was also seen in The Wiz in a live performance on NBC.  She can be heard on the following film soundtracks: Nine, Chicago, Legally Blonde 2.

Ryan Shaw is a three-time GRAMMY® nominated artist for his solo projects, Columbia Records’ This is Ryan Shaw, his In Between and Dynotone’s Real Love.

He has shared the world stage with such artists as Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, John Legend, B.B. King and Jill Scott. His music has been featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance and ABC’s Dancing with The Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, and Lincoln Heights, and the films My Blueberry Nights and Bride Wars and the Sex and the City soundtrack. Ryan has been a featured guest on national TV talk shows and has starred as Judas in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Olivier Award-winning London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as the original Stevie Wonder in Motown: The Musical on Broadway, and on London’s West End as the Soul of Michael Jackson in Thriller Live. Ryan’s new album, Imagining Marvin, showcases Marvin Gaye hits alongside Ryan’s original songs and features multi-GRAMMY Award-winning co-writers and special guests.

As a concert soloist, Ryan Shaw made his Radio City Music Hall debut at the Dream Concert benefit to build the Martin Luther King Jr National Monument in Washington DC.  His Carnegie Hall appearances include an Elton John and Bernie Taupin Tribute, A Celebration of The African American Cultural Legacy, and a Nat King Cole 100th concert with the NY Pops. Ryan has also been honored to be the second artist in history to be asked to perform a return engagement at the Central Park Summer Stage Gala (second to Stevie Wonder).  He has also been a featured artist with the Houston Symphony for their R&B Mixtape concert as well as the soloist for the Houston Symphony’s 4th of July Celebration.  Ryan has also performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, Philly Pops, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Harrisburg Symphony, Helena Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Wilmington Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Springfield Symphony, and Gulf Coast Symphony.  Upcoming concert engagements include Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Allentown Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

By means of highlighting the artistic and vocal versatility of some of the most talented vocalists in the Greater Houston area, The Phillip Hall Singers (PHS) strives to engage diverse audiences through quality performances of multi-genred choral music.

​Founded in 2015, PHS is the brain child of well-known Houston area educator and pianist, Phillip Hall, whose vision for the group originally began as a heartfelt wish to provide more opportunities for young singers to highlight their abilities to sing many different genres of music. By intentionally programming and performing concerts that feature music spanning from lite classical, jazz and Broadway to Blues, R&B, and gospel, PHS is able to act as a unifying force to all those who attend performances, regardless of age, gender, culture, ethnicity or socio-economic background, bringing truth to the idea that music is the “great unifier.”

Under the creative and artistic direction of Mr. Hall and the group’s conductor, Charles Harrison, PHS hosts concerts that highlight and celebrate the vast diversity of the City of Houston, both through the music selections presented and the versatility of the singers in the group. Able to perform in venues as large as concert halls to those as small as parlors, The Phillip Hall Singers endeavor to bring diversity, versatility, and the joy of music to all its audiences. With your continued support, PHS can soar to new musical heights in its quest to serve the musical needs of Houston’s most promising young vocalists and the communities from which they hail.