RAISE YOUR VOICES

“This portrait relates to how segments of the population are marginalized and mistreated. It is created with the idea of taking back the ‘gaze.’ The subject in the portraits looks out defiantly and challenges the viewer.”

Jacqueline Hoysted is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, curator, and activist based in Montgomery County, Maryland. Her work has been displayed in exhibitions across the US and featured in the Washington Post, Washington City Paper, HuffPost, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Reno Gazette-Journal.

Jacqueline is the recipient of grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Maryland State Arts Council, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She is also a co-founder of ArtWatch, a DC artist collective focused on positive political activism that realized the One House project (2017 & 2018), a collaboration of 300 DMV artists standing up for equality and inclusion.

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Interview

“The subject of the piece is a reflection of a fragment of myself – the piece of the puzzle that does not always fit, but surely belongs. As a biracial first generation American, I often question my own cultural identity, contemplating the inconsistency between how I see myself versus the reality of how I am seen. ‘Shard’ represents a fraction of who I am within the vast continuum of what it means to be American.”

Céline Chu Gauchey is a French-Chinese artist specializing in acrylic portraits. As a biracial first generation American, her portraits capture the intricate duality of a human’s sense of self. Each piece represents the dichotomous relationship every person has between what they want to be and who they really are.

Céline is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, and based in New York City. Céline is also a photographer, with a primary focus on landscapes. She graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with degrees in Economics and Psychology, and currently works as a software engineer.

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Interview

“As the United States continues to struggle where underrepresented communities fit within a queerphobic and a racist country, we must never forget our history as we continue to push forward. Collectively, our struggles empower us to create a better tomorrow that is filled with equality, equity, and inclusion. These images are a testament to the past and present as we find voice and bring sweeping systemic changes to an ever-changing world.”

As a gay artist and educator whose mixed media and fiber pieces integrate hand- and machine-constructed processes, Gregory encourages viewers to reflect on social justice and think about their own privilege and how they might affect change.

Raised in a multi-ethnic, multinational family, Gregory faced adversity throughout his life that shaped his development, social activism, and education. While working at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American Art, he was empowered to use his artistic voice to create opportunities for dialogue and to address modern day concerns.

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Interview

“This is a cultural study of a strongly sunlit man displaying both his religious and political faiths, in some ways at odds with each other, based on a photo I took on a street in Havana, Cuba.”

As a fine artist, photographer and graphic designer for more than 40 years, James has honed his creative skills within a wide variety of fine and digital art disciplines. After a successful career as a designer, illustrator, and art director for such firms as NBC and CNBC, he created large mural installations for hospitals and universities including NY Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, and the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

His works in acrylic on canvas focus on contemporary realism in a wide variety of subject matter, with the emotive powers of light and form being his principle concern.

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“This is a self-portrait of me and my wife in our home in an intimate moment. This painting shows the love and intensity of a lesbian relationship. We are not two women to be gazed at by male viewers, but rather to be identified with by LGBTQ viewers.”

Joan Cox is a figurative painter. Her work focuses on painting intimate relationships between women. She seeks to portray dynamic, complex, sensual, sexual, and loving relationships between women—normalizing them. Joan’s socially relevant paintings open up dialogue through a complex investigation of cultural norms, sexual identity, and body politics.

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Joan is a painter and photographer, as well as a graphic designer and writer. She earned a BFA from Towson University and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Her work has been shown nationally and can be found in a host of private collections.

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“My painting ‘Steeled’ is about the isolation you feel while being cast as the other. My model and I had a conversation about some specific incidents in our lives that made us feel that when it happened again, next time we would be more prepared, steel ourselves to the situation. The overall grayness of the palette, the turbulent sky, the jagged rock outcropping as well as the cocoon-like pose wrapped up in a shawl are intended to contribute to this feeling.”

Judith Peck is a Washington, DC-area allegorical figurative artist who has made it her life’s work to paint about current issues and healing, using a variety of methods and experimental techniques to achieve a diverse range of visual and tactile results that validate a strong narrative.

Judith’s paintings have been featured in magazines like American Art Collector, Poets /Artists, The Artist’s Magazine, iARTisas, Combustus, and the books Tradition and Transformation and The Ashen Rainbow by Ori Z. Soltes, as well as The Kress Project published by the Georgia Museum of Art.

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“I think this piece is a strong example of my portrait painting. The young man looks strong, physically present, yet vulnerable. He is not afraid to show us his strengths and weaknesses. He is fully human. Just like me. Just like you.”

Linda is a full-time artist, painting both en plein air and in her studio in Alexandria, Virginia. Although her primary medium is oil, she explores other painting media including watercolor and encaustics, or hot wax painting. She shows extensively in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and is represented in many private collections, as well as in the permanent collection of the Museum of Encaustic Art in Santa Fe.

Linda earned a BFA from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MFA from George Washington University. She also studied at the University of Vienna in Austria.

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“I am a male born into a female body. I wrap my breasts to hide my female form. I live in a hostile environment where nobody understands and I fear for my life.”

After attending The Alberta College of Art and Design from 1977 to 1980, Terry pursued a career in the commercial art industry, as an illuminated sign designer and magazine art director. As Terry’s reputation and client list grew with his fine arts paintings, he decided to leave the advertising world to devote himself to fine art painting full time and hasn’t looked back since.

His latest series is “Trans4mations”, which was inspired by a family member’s announcement as being transgender. These paintings are a testimony to Terry’s passion for creativity as he explores and processes the trials, tribulations, and joys of gender identity and diversity through the lens of a cisgender heterosexual man.

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“This piece is inspired by mental health in the black community, and how black men rarely have a safe space to be vulnerable and express themselves. The name of the piece is inspired by Nina Simone’s version of ‘Strange Fruit.’”

Nicole is an artist from Nairobi, Kenya, and currently based in Northern Virginia. She studied at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned a BFA in communication arts. Her work is primarily in digital and acrylic painting, though she explores other mediums when necessary to tell her story.

Nicole’s African heritage is a vital source of inspiration for her work. The richness of her culture is prevalent through the color, texture, and themes of her pieces. Her art is also a way for her to be politically active and raise consciousness through creative expression.

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Painting: Virginia

Bold, dramatic, with an exquisite attention to detail, Ethan Soledad (b. 1999) is a Filipino-American composer whose work aims to express emotions in their most raw form. An experienced singer, he incorporates drama in his work, emphasizing the importance of silence and one’s perception of time. Ethan’s music draws from a wide palette of compositional styles and colors ranging from impressionism and neoclassicism to post-minimalism and the avant-garde. His musical style is marked by unapologetic expression, dynamic extremes, and the ability to do more with less but never shying away from doing more with more.

Ethan is a teacher at the Shepherd School of Music pre-college program, teaching music theory, composition, and aural skills to advanced high school students. Additionally, he is a young artist at DACAMERA Houston, engaging in outreach programs with Harris County elementary and middle schools. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Music at Florida State University 2021 and is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Composition at Rice University studying under Shah-Hui Chen and Karim Al-Zand. His previous composition teachers include Lily Ugay and Orlando Jacinto Garcia.

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Painting: Shard

Cole Reyes (b. 1998) is a Brooklyn-based composer, educator, conductor, and performer originally from the Chicagoland area. His music explores the intersection between personal experience and the greater world beyond through explorations of timbre and pulse. He has collaborated with artists such as the JACK Quartet, Del Sol Quartet, Transient Canvas, the Rhythm Method Quartet, Juventas New Music Ensemble, the Bergamot Quartet, BlackBox Ensemble, Inversion Da Capo, Dashon Burton, Hypercube, KC VITAs, and Unheard-of//Ensemble. He has received commissions from the National Orchestral Institute, the _______ Experiment, Sascha Grossing, and the Six Degrees Singers among others. His music has been awarded by groups such as Zodiac Trio, IL-ACDA, the National Flute Association, Lux Choir, newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Huntsville Master Chorale, and the San Francisco Choral Artists and many others. Cole received his undergraduate degrees in music and mathematics from Washington State University in St. Louis. While there, he studied with Christopher Stark and LJ White. He holds a master’s degree in Concert Music Composition from New York University where he studied with Robert Holstein, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe.

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Painting: Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Dr. Joshua Fishbein composes and arranges vocal and instrumental music, with special emphasis on choral music. He has won awards from the American Choral Directors Association, the American Composers Forum, BMI, the Cantate Chamber Singers, Chorus America, Chorus Austin, The Esoterics, the Guild of Temple Musicians, the National Lutheran Choir, and several others. Professional vocal ensembles, such as Cantus, Chicago a cappella, The Thirteen, Volti, and Washington Master Chorale, have premiered Fishbein’s original music. Steeped in Jewish music, he has composed numerous Jewish and interfaith musical settings for chorus and solo voice. Currently, Dr. Fishbein is an adjunct faculty member of The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he taught at The College of New Jersey, Towson University, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Fishbein also serves as Director of Music and Arts at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville, MD, and Musician at Temple Micah in Washington, DC. He holds degrees in music from the University of California Los Angeles, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Carnegie Mellon University. E.C. Schirmer Music Company, Hal Leonard Corporation, Transcontinental Music Publications, and Yelton Rhodes Music publish his compositions.

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Painting: Man with Tattoo, Havana

Ismael Huerta, 28 years old, is from Villa Alemana. His first steps in music were at school, with Andes folk music. As he wasn’t born into a family of musicians, he never thought of the possibility of dedicating his life to music, that is why, after finishing high school he started studies of engineering at Universidad de Valparaiso. Four years later, after the death of his father, he decided, against all odds, to dedicate 100% to his passion, music. 

Eager to learn, he decided to study musical composition at Universidad de Chile, beginning his studies in the year 2017. Nowadays, he is attending his seventh year of studying with teacher Pablo Délano, as a master composer.

Ismael considers himself a cinema lover, and also, a fan of folk music. In his compositions, he accentuates melodies and harmonies, trying always to conceal music from the past and present. Up to the present, Ismael has won six awards, Chilean and foreign, and his dream for his future is to be able to study film music or composition abroad.

Painting: Night Hunger

Richard Clawson studied music composition/theory under Dr Carl Alette at the University of South Alabama.  As a full time church musician for nearly three decades, he has written more than 100 pieces of music for liturgical use.   His musical journey has taken him to the orchestra pit of numerous theatrical productions as well as the accompanist seat for cabaret acts. He also served as composer-in-residence for teatro la fragua based in El Progresso, Honduras. A singing member of OurSong: Atlanta’s lgbt chorus since 2012, he has had the honor of composing several pieces for that ensemble – including a commissioned piece for their 20th anniversary season. Richard has also served on the OurSong board of directors for the past five years and is currently its vice president. He has enjoyed a long friendship and working relationship with internationally renowned soprano Jennifer Holloway who has premiered many of his works. He is grateful to his collaborator on “For Us”, fellow OurSong member Caroline Peacock, for finding the words to unlock the music. Inspiration begets inspiration which, in turn, begets inspiration! 

CAROLINE PEACOCK (Lyricist: For Us)

Caroline is an Episcopal priest and chaplain educator who directs the Spiritual Health program at Emory Winship Cancer Institute. She is the mother of three children through adoption. She studied musical theater at University of Michigan (2000), social work at CUNY Hunter College (2003) and received her theological training at General Theological Seminary (2013). Since 2017 Caroline has been a proud singing member of the Atlanta OurSong LGBTQIA chorus. She writes poetry and lyrics to feed her soul. 

Painting: Steeled

Matthew Felbein (born 2002) is a composer and educator from the Chicago suburbs. He has composed and arranged works for a wide variety of musical settings including choirs, concert bands, collegiate marching bands, varied instrumental ensembles, musical theatre, and solo works. His compositions placing second in the ACDA @ UIUC composition contest and third in the Illinois Music Educators Association composition contest. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Painting: See Me

Creating “exquisitely layered soundworlds” and writing music “brimming with youthful vitality” (Winnipeg Free Press), Chinese-Canadian composer Dr. Roydon Tse seeks to communicate to audiences from all backgrounds with music that reflects our lived experiences. 

His music has appeared on the stages of the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the Melbourne Recital Hall and been performed by ensembles such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, iSing! Suzhou, Brussels Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic, the Atlanta Opera, Vancouver Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Verona Quartet, Brno Philharmonic, City Opera Vancouver, Vancouver Bach Choir, and members of the Paris Opera and La Scala Orchestras. 

A winner of multiple accolades, they include seven SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, the Washington International Composition Prize (2015), Grand Prize from the iSing! Composition Competition, (2020) a Coups de Vents International Composition Prize (2021), Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Emerging Artist Award (2018), and the Johanna Metcalf Protégé Prize (2019). His career successes led to being named one of CBC Music’s Top “30 under 30” Classical Musicians in 2017. 

Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Tse studied music in England before graduating from the Universities of British Columbia and Toronto (D.M.A) in composition. He was a Toronto Symphony Orchestra NextGen composer for their 2020/21 season and an alumnus of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. Living in Toronto, he is as a teaching artist for the Canadian Opera Company and enjoys playing Blitz chess in his spare time. 

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Painting: Sleep With One Eye Open and Do Not Speak of It

Raymond Mueller is a composer and arts educator originally from Long Island. He studied music at Ithaca College, Five Towns College for the Performing Arts, and George Mason University, where he specialized in music composition and fine arts education.   

Raymond is known for creating unique musical experiences that shine a light on a wide range of social experiences, often giving voice to those who are marginalized. His music is commissioned and performed around the world.  

Throughout his career, Raymond has been dedicated to arts education and has worked as an educator and administrator in the United States and abroad. His commitment to creativity and keeping arts education thriving during the pandemic recently earned him the Arts Advocate Award from the Ohio Art Education Association.

Painting: Strange Fruit

Paul Leavitt made his debut as a concert pianist at 15 with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. A laureate of the International Steinway Competition for Young Talents in Paris, France in 1989, he holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase and a MM from The Juilliard School. As a pianist he has given concerts in prestigious venues such at the Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris, and has given solo organ recitals in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. He has given piano recitals for the Leschetizky Association in New York, took part in “Live Music by Living Composers” performing the premiere of his own works. 

Leavitt’s Magnificat for soloists, SATB chorus and orchestra was given its world premiere at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC in December 2012, with the National Gallery Orchestra and the composer on the podium. His Requiem, for chorus, soloists and orchestra, premiered under the direction of Dr. Thea Kano in February 2009. Cecelia Porter, contributing critic of the Washington Post, wrote, “Paul Leavitt’s Requiem should belong in every chorus’s repertoire. It is deeply expressive and skillfully written, and successfully combines the sense of overwhelming grief and consolation that suffuse the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi, Brahms and Fauré.” The New York City Master Chorale with Maestro Kano performed the European première of his Requiem at the Eglise St. Sulpice under the auspices of the Paris Rotary Club in April, 2011, followed by the premiere at Alice Tully Hall in May 2011.

Since 2014, Mr. Leavitt has been the conductor of the Arioso Chorale of the Friday Morning Music Club of Washington, DC. Since that time the Chorale has performed a substantial number of the major works for chorus, soloists and orchestra. In October 2017, Mr. Leavitt conducted the Hamburg premiere of this work, leading the Flottbek Kantorei and the Musici Emeriti Orchester in Hamburg, followed by the premiere in Vilnius with the Lithuanian National Ballet & Opera Orchestra under the baton of  Maetstro Robertas Šervenikas. The chorale performed the Italian premiere of his Requiem at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in July 2022. 

Leavitt’s choral works have been performed by Maestros Norman Scribner, creator and artistic director of The Choral Arts Society of Washington, J. Reilly Lewis, director of the Washington Bach Consort and the Cathedral Choral Society, and Scott Tucker, Dr. Mark Whitmire, NOVA Community Chorus and Ullyses James, Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra at Church of the Epiphany in WDC. He has also composed commissions for Choral Arts, the Congressional Chorus and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. Cantata Emmanuel, a work scored for four soloists, SATB chorus and orchestra, was commissioned by Church of the Reformation for their 140th anniversary celebration in November 2009 and performed with the composer on the podium. In 2021 two recent commissions were premiered by Choral Arts at the Kennedy Center. Leavitt’s discography includes Requiem and other choral works and Chopin: 4 Ballades, Barcarolle and Sonata in b minor. His compositions are available through Lumenaria Music Publishing.

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SONG: “WHEN I RISE UP”

Andrea Miller is a choreographer, creative director, and founder of the internationally renowned multidisciplinary organization GALLIM. A creator and collaborator for dance, film, fashion, and the visual arts, Miller is known for her exploration of the essential elements of human behavior and the alchemy of movement and performance. Miller is a Guggenheim, Sadler’s Wells, New York City Center, and Princess Grace Fellow, and was featured in Forbes as an entrepreneur and leader in the dance world. She is the first choreographer to be named Artist in Residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, creating two large scale works for The Temple of Dendur and the fifth floor of The Met Breuer. Her visual art collaborations include a sound, sculpture, and performance installation for Lincoln Center  processing the pandemic as well as works for The Glass House, Art Basel, Frieze Festival, Grace Farms, and Grand Central Station.

Andrea’s dance works are presented by leading institutions and festivals around the world including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, City Center, The Joyce, Jacob’s Pillow, BAM, Royal Albert Hall, Sadler’s Wells, London Royal Opera House, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Teatre Grec of Barcelona, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Canal Madrid, Teatro Nacional de Panamá, DanceHouse Vancouver, Spoleto Festival, and others.

Recent dance commissions include New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Bern Ballet, Noord Nederland Dans, Pennsylvania Ballet, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Rambert2, Ailey II, and The Juilliard School.

Film collaborations include celebrated directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, Xavier Dolan, Ezra Hurwitz, Bat-Sheva Guez, and long-time collaborator Ben Stamper.

Her collaborations in fashion and brands include multiple projects with Hermès as well as VOGUE, Bergdorf and Goodman, SportsMax, KSwiss, Lacoste, Target, Calvin Klein, Crate & Barrel, SLS Hotels Miami and Las Vegas, and Beautiful Destinations. Miller serves on the board of Chelsea Factory and The Doris Humphrey Foundation.

Andrea’s repertory, creative methodology and dance training have been taught through the GALLIM School of Movement as well as The Juilliard School, NYU, UC Kaufman, Harvard, Barnard, Marymount Manhattan, and others. She has been Adjunct Professor at Marymount Manhattan College and Barnard, and is currently guest faculty at The Juilliard School, where she is an alumna.

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SONG: “I AM (ONLY MINE)”

Matthew Cumbie (he/him/his) is a collaborative dancemaker, writer, and artist educator. His artistic research cultivates processes and experiences that are participatory and intergenerational, moving through known and unknown, and bring a poetic lens to a specifically queer experience. His choreography and dancemaking- considered “a blend of risk-taking with reliability, [and] a combination of uncertainty and wisdom,”- weaves together a physical vocabulary of momentum and clarity, revelatory moments, and a belief in a body’s capacity to meet each moment.

He has danced in the companies of Christian von Howard, Keith Thompson, Jill Sigman, Paloma McGregor, and Dance Exchange- an intergenerational dance organization founded by Liz Lerman- where he became an Associate Artistic Director and the Director of Programs and Communications. With Dance Exchange, he collaborated on and performed in works ranging in topic from the human genome to prayer and protest, on the highest point of the Great Smoky Mountains during a total solar eclipse, and with community organizers and activists after years of research and work in response to structures of racism and erasure in Dallas, Texas. In partnership with Dance Exchange, Matthew advanced his body of work Growing Our Own Gardens – an iterative intergenerational performance project rooted in queer world-making that partners with local LGBTQ+ and arts organizations, like the Rainbow History Project, the DC Center, and Dance Place, to catalyze intergenerational LGBTQ+ convenings and reflection. 

As an artist educator, Matthew helped develop and brand Cassie Meador’s Moving Field Guide: a program created in partnership with the US Forest Service that connects artists with scientists, naturalists, and environmental educators to help people learn about environmental issues. He has been an artist-educator with Jacob’s Pillow, including their Curriculum in Motion program, and continues integrating artistic approaches and facilitation strategies in classrooms and with teachers in PG County (Maryland) and Waterville, ME. He has been on faculty at Texas Woman’s University, Queensborough Community College, American University, and the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, and has been an invited speaker at the New York City Roundtable Arts in Education conference, the Advancing the Human Condition Symposium at Virginia Tech, and the LGBT Health and Art Making conference, in partnership with the Human Rights Commission and the GWU Health and Well-being graduate program. He was also selected to be a part of the inaugural APAP Leadership Fellowship cohort.Currently, he is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Colby College. He continues creating work independently and in collaboration with Betsy Miller and Tom Truss, and as a company member with Christopher K. Morgan & Artists. He supports the development of artists’ work as a professional fundraiser, specializing in online fundraising campaigns and grant writing, and is a certified practitioner of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. His work has been commissioned and supported by places like Dance Place, the Bates Dance Festival, Herman Melville’s Arrowhead, and Harvard University, and by the National Endowment for the Arts, the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, HumanitiesDC, the Arcus Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Somerville Arts Council. Originally from Houston, Matthew holds undergraduate degrees from Texas Lutheran University and Texas State University and an MFA in dance from Texas Woman’s University.

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SONG: “IT WAS NOT FATE”

Craig Cipollini’s background as a performer is primarily musical theater, having performed all over the United States and abroad. He toured with productions of A Chorus Line and 42nd Street, in addition to many regional, summer stock, and dinner theater credits. He was also a member of the DC Cowboys Dance Company, performing with the group for many years including performances with the group in Toronto and in Budapest, Hungary. He also performed with the Cowboys when they appeared on NBC-TV’s America’s Got Talent where they reached the Top 40. 

Craig has worked extensively as a director and choreographer. Some musicals he has directed and/or choreographed include Cabaret, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Will Rogers Follies, Annie, Hair, Carousel, Sugar Babies, Anything Goes, 42nd Street, and West Side Story, to name a few. He directed and choreographed One Night in New York! at the 2013 Capital Fringe Festival where the show won Best Overall Production and Best Choreography. He has been GMCW’s resident choreographer since 2006. He directed and choreographed GMCW’s productions of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Rocky Horror Show, Xanadu, and How To Succeed… as well as Men In Tights: A Pink Nutcracker (2010), Seven, Divas, A Gay Man’s Guide to Broadway, and That ʼ80s Show. He holds bachelor’s degrees in theater and art/visual communications, a master’s degree in arts management, and is also a freelance designer/illustrator.

SONG: “PAZ”

Solomon HaileSelassie is a director, stage manager, designer, and film maker. Since 2015, he has served as GMCW’s stage manager for our main stage concerts. He attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where he trained in both vocal music and theatre, Winston Salem State University, and New York Film Academy. He received his substantive professional training at The Studio Theatre and 2nd Stage. His recent directing credits include The Passage; Phones; Lunch; Dream, Girls; Waiting for Godot; The Shape of Things; Three in a Hallway (Ebenezer’s Ghosts); [Almost] William Shakespeare’s, National Lampoon’s, Family Guy’s, MTV’s: The Real Thanksgiving Vacation at Macbeth’s (working title); Punching People You Never Met; Georgia Avenue Nocturne; Hello | Brother; Sonata; A New Brain; Carrie: The Musical (assistant director); The Rocky Horror Show (assistant director); Twisted (assistant director).

Solomon was born and raised in DC and is proud to be a very-native son. He is the Resident Production Designer/Manager for the Library of Congress, the Resident Stage Manager for Longacre Lea, where he is a company member, and is the Founding Director of Artistic Collaboration for Annexus Theatre Company.  He continues to be a non-equity professional stage manager because he is committed to maintaining access to high quality stage managers for small, underfunded, or under recognized professional theatres. 

SONG: “FOR US”

James Ellzy began his dance training at Northwestern University in 1989.  He performed primarily in musical theater until starting with modern dance in 1999 in San Diego.  While in San Diego, he danced primarily with San Diego Dance Theatre and the California Ballet Company.  He also performed with Butterworth Dance Company and LaDiego Dance Theater. He directed the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego’s productions of Oliver Button is a Sissy and Nutcracker: Men in Tights. In 2004, he was invited to serve as one of the international judges for Showcase!, the Australian national dance competition. 

Since moving to DC in 2008, James has performed with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company and the DC Cowboys.  He serves many roles in GMCW depending on the concert: singer, dancer, dance captain, choreographer, stage director, and audition co-coordinator…and delights in them all! By day, James is a family physician at the Defense Health Agency.

SONG: “STEELED”

Krystal Butler began her training at Duke Ellington School of the Arts under the direction of Sandra Fortune and Charles Augins in Washington, D.C. She continued her education at Long Island University and earned a B.F.A. in Dance. Krystal was a scholarship student at Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive, American Dance Festival, Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts and Arke Danza. 

Krystal has danced for companies such as Forces of Nature Dance Theater and INSPIRIT, a dance company. Ms. Butler joined Pilobolus Dance Theater in 2010. She has toured and performed in over 35 countries with the shows, Magnifico Circus, Shadowland, and Shadowland 2 created by Pilobolus. In 2014, she joined the Pilobolus Dance Theater repertory company. 

After 10 years of tour life, Krystal is now a full-time licensed massage therapist and teaching artist. Krystal teaches various master classes and partnering workshops. In 2019, Ms. Butler had her first week-long dance residency at Oberlin College where she set work on the dance majors there. Krystal continues to explore, choreograph and share her love for the dance art form.

SONG: “DO YOU SEE ME?”

Michael J. Bobbitt is a theater director, choreographer, and playwright who has dedicated his professional career to arts leadership. He joined Mass Cultural Council as Executive Director in February 2021, and is the highest-ranking cultural official in Massachusetts state government. Upon joining the Agency, he was invited to serve on the Board of Directors for the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies’ (NASAA). As Executive Director Michael has led Mass Cultural Council through the development of its first-ever Racial Equity Plan; worked with staff, Council Members, and cultural sector advocates to secure and distribute a historic $60.1M in state pandemic relief funding; and overseen the drafting and adoption of the Agency’s FY24-FY26 strategic plan.

He previously served as Artistic Director of the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA; immediately prior he held the same position at the Adventure Theatre-MTC in Maryland for 12 years. While in Maryland, Michael led the organization to be a respected regional theatre training company, and a nationally influential professional Theatre for Young Audiences.

Michael gained experience in arts management by training at Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management, The National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, and Cornell University’s Diversity and Inclusion Certification Program. In July 2022 he completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has served as an Associate Professor of Theatre at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Howard University and volunteered on numerous nonprofit boards in Maryland and Massachusetts. In February 2023 Michael received the prestigious Kennedy Center Gold Medallion in recognition of his commitment to the arts and educational theatre and was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey to serve on her Advisory Council on Black Empowerment. In April 2023 he was recognized by Get Konnected! as one of Boston’s Most Influential Men of Color and invested into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre – one of the highest honors bestowed on American theater professionals. He is also the recipient of MassOpera’s Action Bearing Award and was recognized by Speak Out for his efforts to build a more inclusive cultural sector.

Michael has directed/choreographed at Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Center Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and the Washington National Opera. His national and international credits include the NY Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and the Olympics. As a writer his work was chosen for the NYC International Fringe Festival and The New York and Musical Theatre Festival. He has plays published by Concord Theatricals/Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatricals, and Plays for Young Audiences. Michael has received the Excel Leadership Award (Center for Nonprofit Advancement), the Emerging Leader Award (County Executive’s Excellence in the Arts and Humanities), and Person of the Year Award (Maryland Theatre Guide).

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SONG: “SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN”

Jessi Brown-White is an interdisciplinary artist, certified Reiki master, and teacher who specializes in using creative practices as transformational healing tools. She supports creatives and professionals facing challenging transitions – particularly those forced to reimagine their lives due to Long COVID, ME/CFS, and other chronic “mystery” illnesses. Jessi is the creator of The Body/Image/Object (BIO) Project for women – a creative healing initiative for autobiographical storytelling. Jessi is also co-founder of Dreamscapes Healing Arts, a collaborative virtual community of conscious, compassionate women taking healing into their own hands, literally. 

Jessi has a BA in Theater Performance from James Madison University and more than 25 years of experience in the visual and performing arts with extensive training in both the US and internationally. Her most rewarding public work as a Sing for Hope Piano Artist and Teacher brought hope, healing, and connection to millions of people on the streets and community spaces of New York City. A specialist in personal and collective transformation through creative self-expression, she is a vital resource for finding (and maintaining) inspiration and energy for initiating new ideas, exploring materials and processes, and learning how to shift perspectives on persistent problems. 

Jessi is currently wandering the US creating opportunities for art and healing everywhere she roams.

SONG: “STRANGE FRUIT”

Catherine’s choreography credits include: Trees (BLT – world premiere), Cabaret (RCP), American Spies (HUB Theatre), The Wedding Singer (NextStop Theatre), She Loves Me (TAP), Chess (KAT – WATCH nominee), Caroline, or Change (ESP), Annie (RCP – WATCH nominee), [title of show](LTA), Wonderful Town (RCP), Reefer Madness (DS – WATCH nominee), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (KAT), The Wild Party (DS), Side Show (ESP), Urinetown (RCP – WATCH recipient). 

Her performance credits include: Beyond, Creature, sIGht (Deviated Theatre), Piazolla (DancEthos), The Arabian Nights(SSS), Shift (Trajectory Dance Project), La Cage Aux Folles (MCP), A Chorus Line (RMT), 42nd Street, The Producers, and Guys and Dolls (TAP).