Reading The Score by Raoul Abdul

"Works by pioneering Black composer presented at  Carnegie Hall

...On Friday evening, the soprano Karen Parks made a selection of [Harry T.] Burleigh's arrangements of spirituals and some of his art songs the centerpiece of a program entitled "Nobody Knows" at Weill Recital Hall/Carnegie Hall. Her artistic collaborators were the pianist Wayne Sanders and cellist Seth Woods. The house was sold out.

Of special interest were Burleigh's seldom-heard art songs "Oh! Rock me, Julie" and "His Helmet's Blaze" and a transcription of his setting of the spiritual "Nobody Knows" for voice and cello by Carlos Simon.  Parks not only sang these works beautifully, but offered highly individual interpretive insights into the texts.

The program also included arrangements of spirituals and art songs by [other African-American composers]. These were executed to perfection by Parks and her remarkable pianist, Sanders.

Deserving of special mention was the handling of the dialect in the spirituals which always poses a problem for concert artists.  Parks brought authenticity to her pronunciation of texts. Nothing sounded artificial. The audience, which included a number of singers rewarded her with much applause throughout the evening."

Julia’s Jottings: On February 17th

we had the privilege of presenting

Karen Parks in concert at Spivey Hall.

Karen performed a fabulous

concert and our own Portia Hawkins 

accompanied her beautifully

All who attended enjoyed a

wonderful treat.

CD Review - Steve Hicken:

Sequenza/21 - The Contemporary Classical Music Community

Ms. Parks has a rich and creamy voice, strong intonation and diction, and a highly developed sense of drama and phrasing.  These performances communicate a clear understanding of the relationship between text and music in both the spirituals and the songs. She also illuminates the differences between the genres without erecting an artificial aesthetic wall between them. This debut [CD] reveals Karen Parks as an artist to keep an eye on.

BLOG REVIEWS

Excerpts from other REVIEWS

"moving performance...ended in a standing ovation from a very large crowd." "...soprano Karen Parks' high, ethereal tones were like a lullaby."  -  W. Glackin

The Sacramento Bee (CA)

"...standard of singing throughout is very high, with Karen Parks' Cindy Lou particularly appealing; there are a few 'straight' Michaelas who could take a lesson from her 'My Joe' ... "  - CD Review

"...As Joe's neglected Cindy Lou [Carmen Jones] she makes a song like My Joe flow like lilting honey." 

- M. Shulman

"Evening Standard" (London)

"..lovely treatment and strong range successfully conveys the deep emotional content of the material" - P. Stewart

"Global Citizen" Fullerton, CA

"...splendid singing...soprano Karen Parks made

an especially strong impression." J.R. Oestreich       

"The NY Times"