Aretha: Queen of Soul

Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose flair for audience engagement and passion for performance have delighted audiences across North America.

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Lucas joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as resident conductor in 2009 and was subsequently appointed artist-in-residence and community ambassador, the first position of its kind in North America. He has appeared with the orchestra more than 150 times and has collaborated with artists Angela Cheng, Jens Lindemann, Sergei Babayan and Bill Eddins, and conducted in Carnegie Hall during the ESO’s participation in the 2012 Spring for Music festival. Lucas was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting by the Canada Council for the Arts and received a Citation Award from the City of Edmonton for his outstanding achievements in arts and culture.

With an ability to slide easily between styles and genres, Lucas has worked with a range of pop and crossover artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Folds, Chantal Kreviazuk, the Barenaked Ladies and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live and Cirque de la Symphony. Lucas has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in Canada and the United States, including this orchestra, the Grant Park Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Lucas received degrees in both flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Capathia Jenkins can definitely act but all those who know her also know that this diva can blow and blow and blow you right off this planet. This woman who grappling with two dueling passions each with a strong grip: acting and music, yet she refuses to pick one because they both represent her soul. Capathia approaches a song the same way she approaches a script, like an artist. She looks for the nuances, the secret hidden within the notes or text. She seeks the melody, harmony and rhythm. She asks herself: what am I trying to say? What do I want my audience to experience with me? She wants to take her audience on a journey.

This Brooklyn-born and raised actress most recently 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 orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, San Diego Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. She was a soloist with the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. In 2011 Capathia had the great honor of performing in the ‘Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba’ concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. Ms. Jenkins was a guest soloist with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and with the Cincinnati Pops.

Her Television credits include 30 Rock, the Practice, Law & Order SVU, the Sopranos, Law & Order. She can be seen in the 2012 film ‘Musical Chairs’ directed by Susan Seidelman. She can be heard on the following film soundtracks: Nine, Chicago, Legally Blonde 2.

Not every artist has the ability to command the stage as a vocalist or featured artist; Chelsea Cymone does. A Houston native, she has been singing since she was 5 years old. With a foundation deeply rooted in the Baptist church, Chelsea has been influenced by her family of singers.

Her love for classical music developed as a student of Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. After graduating high school, Chelsea attended Prairie View A&M University on scholarship from the school of music with a concentration in operatic performance. She quickly became a star and began to explore her options in music, singing as a background vocalist locally in Houston. As she honed her gift, doors began to open.

She has performed several times as the featured artist for Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Christmas and Thanksgiving parades. In 2018, she made her debut as a POPS soloist with the Houston Symphony, a relationship that highlights her talent. Chelsea has performed as a background vocalist for Gene Moore, Chante’ Moore, Mýa, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, Regina Belle, Kenny Latimore, and Ernest Walker Entertainment. She recently toured internationally with Grammy-nominated artist Ella Mai.

Chelsea hopes to bring a fresh sense of artistry to the music industry, aspiring to be a sought-after entertainer, vocalist, songwriter, and vocal producer while simultaneously working on original music. She has the ability to do it all while helping other artists pursue their dreams. She loves the stage and appreciates every opportunity to share her most vulnerable self with the audience as she pours her heart into every performance.

Singer-songwriter Tanika Keys is on a journey that has taken her from Houston’s Dancin’ in the Street … Motown & More Revue to the world-renowned Apollo stage. Her fine-tuned vocals captivate audiences across the globe.

Her musical beginnings started before she knew it. Her grandfather was Archie Bell of Houston’s Archie Bell and The Drells known for the 1968 chart-topping hit “Tighten Up.” Archie’s daughter, Tanika’s mother, kept the musical tradition alive at home. Since age 4, Tanika has been showcasing her sweet-sounding vocals throughout Houston and beyond.

Along the way, she developed an organic love for songwriting. Her thoughts became words that turned into phrases that grew into songs. The creative process “gave me a deeper level of confidence in my ability to shape how people feel,” she recalls. “I write and sing with one goal in mind; to make the listener feel. That’s so important to me. Happy, sad, joyful, angry, nostalgic, whatever it is. People remember how they feel.”

Striving to become a household name, she has joined superstars in the making, Lionel Shawn Taylor and Ron John. As the one and only first lady of their dynamic, hard-hitting trio Six Minutes ‘til Sunrise, fans can hear Tanika’s sultry sound on “Holiday” and “Let It Flow.” Her journey continues.

Raised in Houston, Ron John sang his first solo in church at age 5. With a classically trained pianist for a father and a singer for a mother, it was inevitable that Ron continue the family legacy of gracing the stage. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University and graduated with dual bachelor degrees in marketing and public relations. He is currently an educator.

Since graduation, Ron has kept busy honing his skills, lending his vocals as a studio singer for Kurt Carr and the Kurt Carr Singers and sharing the stage with Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Tramaine Hawkins, and Shirley Caesar, to name a few. As an accomplished musical theatre actor, he has performed all over the country, including Houston’s The Ensemble Theatre and the Dancin’ in the Street: Motown & More Revue. He is a founding member of the Houston-based national recording group, Six Minutes ’til Sunrise.

Ron is a member of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and serves as director for the Chapel youth choir and Psalms of David young adult choir.

Phillip has served as musical director for productions of Ain’t Misbehavin’, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Little Shop of Horrors, and Smokey Joe’s Café. Prior to venturing into professional theatre, Phillip worked as a  public school teacher.  Phillip served thousands of as an accompanist with Music Doing Good, Inc.

Phillip is a pianist of remarkable versatility. He has performed with Aretha Franklin, Delfeayo Marsalis, Melissa Manchester, Rita Moreno, Omari Tau and for Presidents George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton. Phillip is in great demand as a gospel musician.  He served as an accompanist for the late Glenn Burleigh, composer of Order My Steps. Mr. Hall provided piano accompaniment for a choir assembled to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s 90^th birthday in Mthatha, South Africa. Phillip is starting his twenty-second year as a staff musician of the Jones Memorial United Methodist Church (Houston).  He is the proud founder/accompanist of The Phillip Hall Singers, a chorale dedicated to showcasing various genres.