ÆPEX Fest: New Art Songs by Black Women Composers
Single event: $35 ($20 student w/ID; in-person purchase)
Festival pass: $60 general, $99 VIP
- Olivia Johnson, mezzo-soprano
- Steven McGhee, piano
- Jasmine James, cello
Jasmine Barnes — Selected works
B.E. Boykin — Selected works
Fresh off her performance in the cast of the Detroit Opera's acclaimed production of Anthony Davis's X, mezzo-soprano Olivia Johnson delivers a hand-picked selection of music by living Black women composers along with poetry readings in a concert you cannot hear anywhere else.
The performance's featured composers include Regine Harria Baiocchi, Jasmine Barnes, and B.E. Boykin. Olivia will be joined onstage by pianist Steven McGhee and cellist Jasmine James.
COVID-19 Protocols: All attendees must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination OR negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of the given performance in order to gain admission. Tight-fitting KN95/N95 masks are required indoors at all times.
About ÆPEX Contemporary Performance
ÆPEX Contemporary Performance is a concert presenting organization based in Ypsilanti, MI that is dedicated to celebrating the music of rarely-performed and underrepresented 20th and 21st century composers. Founded in 2015, ÆPEX has organized more than 30 concerts and community music events and programmed the music of more than 110 composers from around the world.
https://aepexcontemporary.org/ourstoryAbout Olivia Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Olivia Johnson, born in Jacksonville, NC, is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned her Master’s degree while studying under Professor George Shirley. In 2022, Olivia participated in productions with the Seattle Opera and Detroit Opera. She was the resident mezzo-soprano at Toledo Opera in Toledo, Ohio for the 20/21 season. In October 2020, Ms. Johnson appeared with Michigan Opera Theatre as the second Rheinmaiden, Wellgunde, under the direction of Sharon Yuval in his re-imagining of Wagner’s Ring Cycle in the modern adaptation, Twilight: Gods.
https://www.mezzoliviajohnson.com/