Soprano opera singer Renée Fleming is holding a three-day "American Voices" festival of performances and panel discussions, the Associated Press reports. "Exploring the past, present and future of American singing," they will have the top singers and professionals in the music industry performing and teaching.
Sara Bareilles, Ben Folds, bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss, Broadway star Sutton Foster and Josh Groban are some who will perform with the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.
Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds will also be hosting a Pop/Rock Master Session with "pre-selected young singers." The two musicians were judges together on NBC's The Sing-Off. They've also collaborated together on an EP.
Allison Krauss will teach the Country Master session along with Dr. Thomas Cleveland, a vocologist at Vanderbilt University. Sutton Foster will coach the Musical Theatre Master Session. And in keeping with the theme, Gospel Singer Kim Burrell will fittingly teach the Gospel Session.
There will be music business symposium sessions as well. Manager of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica, Peter Mensch will head up one, CEO of Universal Music Nashville, Mike Dungan will as well.
If you are in the Washington D.C. area, you can still get tickets to attend the festival, which starts tomorrow, Friday November 22nd and goes until Sunday the 24th. The highlight of the weekend promises to be the Saturday night performance.
The Kennedy Center is a "living memorial" to the late John F. Kennedy. The 50-year anniversary of his death is on the first day of the festival. All in all, these days will also celebrate jazz, country, Broadway, gospel, popular and classical music of past and present.
Have you seen any of these musicians live? Who would you attend the show for?
