Music in the Nave - a Brief History
St. Andrew's Music in the Nave Concert Series began in the fall of 2010 under the very able leadership of Judy Messer. The series brings musicians from many genres to the parish for performances that range from student piano recitals to cabarets, and from folk & jazz concerts to holiday sing-ins of Handel’s oratorio, The Messiah. The much heralded local ensembles The Kent Singers and the Sherman Chamber Ensemble are frequent performers.
Past performers include Tom Rush, Livingston Taylor, the Manhattan String Quartet, the Yale Whiffenpoofs, vocalist Lynn Henderson, Chorus Angelicus, jazz vibraphonist Diana Herold, singer/guitarist George Potts, pianist Russell Hirshfield, jazz singer Wanda Houston, pianist Margarita Nuller, The Rosewood Chamber Ensemble and the Wyckham Consort, and local resident and music legend Steve Katz - a founding member of the influential rock band, Blood Sweat & Tears.
Past performers include Tom Rush, Livingston Taylor, the Manhattan String Quartet, the Yale Whiffenpoofs, vocalist Lynn Henderson, Chorus Angelicus, jazz vibraphonist Diana Herold, singer/guitarist George Potts, pianist Russell Hirshfield, jazz singer Wanda Houston, pianist Margarita Nuller, The Rosewood Chamber Ensemble and the Wyckham Consort, and local resident and music legend Steve Katz - a founding member of the influential rock band, Blood Sweat & Tears.
Wanda Houston & Friends Perform Gospel in Kent
Music in the Nave will present Wanda Houston & Friends: An Afternoon of Gospel, on Saturday, March 7th
with vocalists Wanda Houston, Janice Dempsey and Angela Clemmons
Accompanied by pianist Michael Brown.
From age three, Wanda Houston sang gospel as part of her family’s Houston Singers and later
joined Broadway Inspirational Voices, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2005. A vocalist
of wide-ranging talents, she has shared the stage with Barbara Streisand, Patti Austin, and
Céline Dion, and toured with Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, and The Platters.
Janice Dempsey, who began her career as "Little Janice, the Gospel Singing Baby,” released
three R&B albums on Epic and Geffen Records, recorded with George Shearing and Edgar
Winter, toured as a backup singer to Melba Moore, and worked in various capacities with Tom
Jones, Roberta Flack, Mick Jagger, and Smokey Robinson.
Angela Clemmons grew up singing for and directing the choirs in her father's church, and she
currently directs two community gospel choirs which she founded. As a pop artist, her 1982
single, “Give Me Just a Little More Time,” rose to no. 5 on the dance charts and, as a backup
singer, worked with Céline Dion, Cyndi Lauper, Vanessa Williams and George Benson.
Pianist Michael Brown is the Gospel Choir Director of Sacred Heart University
and Director ofMusic at the Litchfield Congregational Church.
The concert is on Saturday, March 7th at 3 pm at St. Andrew’s Parish
Tickets are $20 and available on Eventbrite
with the link https://bit.ly/WandaHouston
Music in the Nave will present Wanda Houston & Friends: An Afternoon of Gospel, on Saturday, March 7th
with vocalists Wanda Houston, Janice Dempsey and Angela Clemmons
Accompanied by pianist Michael Brown.
From age three, Wanda Houston sang gospel as part of her family’s Houston Singers and later
joined Broadway Inspirational Voices, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2005. A vocalist
of wide-ranging talents, she has shared the stage with Barbara Streisand, Patti Austin, and
Céline Dion, and toured with Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, and The Platters.
Janice Dempsey, who began her career as "Little Janice, the Gospel Singing Baby,” released
three R&B albums on Epic and Geffen Records, recorded with George Shearing and Edgar
Winter, toured as a backup singer to Melba Moore, and worked in various capacities with Tom
Jones, Roberta Flack, Mick Jagger, and Smokey Robinson.
Angela Clemmons grew up singing for and directing the choirs in her father's church, and she
currently directs two community gospel choirs which she founded. As a pop artist, her 1982
single, “Give Me Just a Little More Time,” rose to no. 5 on the dance charts and, as a backup
singer, worked with Céline Dion, Cyndi Lauper, Vanessa Williams and George Benson.
Pianist Michael Brown is the Gospel Choir Director of Sacred Heart University
and Director ofMusic at the Litchfield Congregational Church.
The concert is on Saturday, March 7th at 3 pm at St. Andrew’s Parish
Tickets are $20 and available on Eventbrite
with the link https://bit.ly/WandaHouston
