Don’t Miss Out – Free Tickets Available Now!

Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Grace Church, 950 Broad St, Newark, NJ
(Snow Date: Sunday, March 2)

Join us for a special collaboration with renowned pianist/composer Patricio Molina and operatic soprano Cheryl Warfield, founder of the Manhattan Opera Repertory Ensemble (MORE Opera), for a dramatic exploration of song, folk music, opera, and spirituals performed by MORE Opera soloists and musicians from the community. This adaptation of MORE Opera’s Angelitos Negros program, featuring a Discovery exploration by Maestro George Marriner Maull, showcases the musical traditions of Black and Latino cultures in celebration of Black History Month.

This concert is free, but we ask that you please register using the link below. Join us after the concert for a reception to meet the musicians!

RESERVE SEATS

About Angelitos Negros

In 2021, MORE Opera, under the leadership of founder and soprano Cheryl Warfield, presented an outdoor concert titled Angelitos Negros for African American and Latino communities in Upper Manhattan and Harlem that had been hard hit by the COVID pandemic. The program, designed to bridge communities, was inspired by a poignant moment in the 1948 Mexican film of the same name in which a young child asks why there are no paintings by the great masters of black angels. MORE Opera’s Angelitos Negros showcased opera, musical theatre, and Caribbean folk music in tribute to the eleven African American and Latino recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement in opera ranging from 1978 (Marian Anderson) to 2021 (Justino Diaz).

An acclaimed second iteration of Angelitos Negros was presented in December 2023, with composer/pianist Dr. Patricio Molina as musical director. The goal of this performance was to continue bridging African American and Latino communities, with an additional focus on classical songs from indigenous cultures and countries in South America.

In February 2025, a third adaptation of Angelitos Negros will be presented in Newark, NJ and will showcase a collaboration amongst Cheryl Warfield, Patricio Molina, and George Marriner Maull of The Discovery Orchestra. This adaption, being performed in recognition of Black History Month, will again feature songs from African American and Latino traditions, and will include a Discovery Concert exploration of the traditional Dominican poem set to music, “Hay una Antilla en Medio del Mar Caribe,” arranged by Patricio Molina.

Sponsored by the NJ Arts & Culture Renewal Fund, Sandra Braddy-Hall, Dyan Bryson, and Robert & Sandra Brown Sherman.

The Discovery Orchestra makes every effort to accommodate the needs of individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities for all of its programs and events, as well as at its administrative office. Upon request, and with 2 weeks’ notice, specific accommodations will be made subject to our available resources for live events. Large print programs, braille materials, and audio-described services may also be available with a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice. Additional accessibility information can be found here.