LIVESTREAM EVENTS

Artist Bio:

Victor J. Gaddie was born in Little Rock Arkansas, but has been a Houston native since the age of ten. He currently resides in the Northwest area of Houston, Texas. 

Victor is a self taught artist drawing most of his inspiration from life experiences. Working with acrylics and water soluble oils, he loves to create the testimony of peoples story told through their faces. Through the mentor ship of Michael Ewing and Ron Gordon, Victor strives to prefect his artistic skills. Currently, he is perfecting the technique of hyperrealism. Victor draws his creative influences from religion and the continent of Africa. He also has been inspired by John Biggers, Charles White, Michael Angelo, and Kenda Whiley. 

Victor J Gaddie was deemed as the "Painting Prophet"  by veteran host Deborah Duncan of KHOU Channel 11’s “Great Day Houston”.  Victor has a goal and a promise that his artwork will be displayed throughout the world as a testament that dreams do come true and promises will be fulfilled. He looks forward to opportunities to showcase his work and collaborate with other artists. 

 A Recital of Art Songs and Spirituals by African American Female Composers and Works for Solo Piano

ARTISTS BIOS  

Dr. Jolie Rocke, native New Yorker and renowned soprano is sharing the gift of song across the world. She has performed as a featured soloist in opera and concert tours of the USA, Europe and Far North Queensland Australia. She was a young artist for two seasons with Houston Ebony Opera Guild. Hartford Courant writer and critic Owen McNally marveled, "…a gifted, versatile vocalist who's as much at home soaring on opera arias and celestial hymns as she is getting down with funky blues and earthy jazz, just might, at long last, have the whole world in her hands thanks to her soulful album, Rock of Ages: Hymns for the Soul." Her other recording projects include, Jolie Rocke Brown in Concert and E’en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come, which are all available through cdbaby.com, iTunes.com, amazon.com and other media outlets.   

Jolie received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Connecticut, a Masters of Early Childhood Education from Loyola College in Baltimore, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School. She has taught at Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University (TX), Manchester Community College (CT), and the University of Connecticut. In addition actively performing, presenting master classes and lectures nationally, Dr. Rocke is an Artist in Residence at St. Peter United Church of Christ, Owner of Rocke Vocal Studio, and Co-founder of Equity Arts Enterprises, both based in Houston, TX.

CHELSEA de SOUZA 

Chelsea de Souza is a Steinway Young Artist from Mumbai, India. She has won four All-India piano competitions. Chelsea has been interviewed on NBC TV, performed live on public radio in Kansas and Florida, and appeared in concerts across the US, Belgium, Germany, France and India. A musician of varied interests, both solo and collaborative, Chelsea performed with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble on tour, and was part of Oberlin’s Performance and Improvisation Series for two years, including a Young Artist residency with the Detroit String and Wind Society in 2015. She was a regular pianist with Peabody’s contemporary ensembles ‘Now Hear This’ and the Peabody Modern Orchestra, and performed with the award-winning chamber ensemble “Alarm Will Sound” during their 2018 residency at the Peabody Institute. 

Chelsea is a committed performer of music by living composers, and has premiered numerous works for solo piano and small ensemble by composers at the Oberlin Conservatory, Peabody Institute and Shepherd School. Most recently, she was awarded a 2020 Project Grant by New Music USA for her project “Blurred Origins: Redefining Culture through Music”, supporting the commission of a new work for cello and piano that refocuses discussions of culture around the individual. As a singer, she was co-director of Oberlin’s longest-running all-female a cappella group ‘Nothing But Treble’.

Chelsea holds Bachelor’s degrees in Politics and in Piano Performance and Vocal Accompanying from Oberlin College and Conservatory, and a Master’s degree in piano performance from the Peabody Institute. She is now pursuing her doctorate at the Shepherd School of Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker, and is a Young Artist with the DACAMERA Chamber Music and Jazz Series in Houston.

Music: Its relationship to seven girls as part of a desegregation experiment in a New York City school 

Desegregation of the New York City Schools: A Story of the Silk StockingSisters explores the use of young black and brown children to eliminate segregation in an urban public school to meet the challenges of equal educational opportunity in the North during the mid-twentieth century. Author Theresa J. Canada, herself part of the experiment, tells the story of the desegregation of PS 6―an elite New York City public school―through the narratives of seven of the girls who desegregated the school. While all of the names within each narrative have been changed, the book follows the author as well as the stories of her elementary school classmates.

BIO

Dr. Theresa Canada

Dr.  Canada is a Professor in the Education and Educational Psychology Department at Western Connecticut State University. She served as chairperson of the department from July 2007 until September 2011. Research interests include cultural diversity in teacher education and counselor education programs, early childhood/adolescent development, equity, and urban education.
 

Dr. Canada has presented papers and conducted webinars and workshops at national and international conferences. Her television credits include Dateline NBC, The Discovery Channel, and local cable television stations.  She has been a board member of several national and local organizations. Certifications and licenses include N, K 1-6 Teacher (NYS - permanent), School District Administrator (NYS - permanent), National Certified Counselor, Board Certified - TeleMental Health Provider, and Licensed Professional Counselor (CT).
 

A native New Yorker, Dr. Canada travels extensively and speaks some French and Spanish. She received her B.A. and Ed.D degrees from the University of Rochester, M.A., and M.Ed. degrees from Columbia University, Teachers College.

Triumph Over Triple Negative: Arts & Healing Part I

Features: Music Performance, Storytelling and a Panel Discussion 

This two-part program is made possible with a grant from the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs through the Houston Arts Alliance. EAE business partners, Dr. Jolie Rocke and Maryland Grier-Union are long-term breast cancer survivors who are passionate about the positive impact of the arts and healing on individuals and communities. Dr. Rocke’s fight with cancer emphasizes the statistics that show prevalence and high mortality rates of Triple Negative Breast Cancer among African American and Hispanic women, while Grier-Union’s fight with breast cancer occurred in her 20s and accounts for less than 5 percent of all cases. Research shows that storytelling, singing and other arts experiences promote healing and comfort to survivors, their families and supportive community. 

Join us as we share the stories of our journey to healing; music from the inspirational project Rock of Ages: Hymns for the Soul; the work of Venita Graves, survivor and founder of Beauty Beyond Breast Cancer; research on reconstructive surgery options for black women by Dr. Shahnjayla Connors of the Center for Community-Engaged Translational Research (CCETR) and Project CHURCH at MD Anderson; and Sarah Rossi, Music Therapist of the Houston Methodist Hospital Center for Performing Arts Medicine. 

Arts & Healing Part 2, a production entitled, “Triumph over Triple Negative,” will premiere March 2021. We look forward to celebrating stories of survival; sharing our passions for making a difference; uplifting audiences through music and the arts; and informing and educating our community on recent research, treatment, services and resources.  

CO-SPONSORS: Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs through the Houston Arts Alliance, St. Peter United (Houston), Rocke Vocal Studio, JolieRocke.com

"Expressions of Love:  An Evening of Hymns"
Equity Arts Enterprises presents its sixth concert in the Second Saturdays series. November's online concert will feature the talented baritone Miles Wilson-Toliver who will perform hymns of love. Arrangements will include songs by the great Thomas A. Dorsey, Howard E. Smith, and P. P. Bliss, to name a few.  Mr. Wilson-Toliver will be accompanied by Wayne Dixon on piano. 

Bio
Miles Wilson-Toliver, a native of Hartford, Connecticut is gaining ground nationally with “a clear bodied baritone voice that greatly improves any piece in which he sings,” as reported by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. While maintaining a presence in European festivals and concert tours, he has performed with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Opera. His roles include Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Giove in Cavalli’s La Calisto, Dancairo in Bizet’s Carmen, Eugene Johnson in Richards’ Blind Injustice, and City from the new opera by Dwayne Fulton, A Gathering of Sons. He is equally at home with other genres highlighting his versatility as Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate; on the oratorio and concert stage in Mozart’s Requiem; and his most recent project “How I Crossed Over,” a concert that highlights his African American heritage and explores gospel, musical theatre, and classical genres. His passion for music shines through in each performance. His Miles & Friends Mentoring Program based in Cincinnati, Ohio affords him the opportunity to strongly impact aspiring young singers and the communities he serves. Mr. Wilson-Toliver is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University nearing the completion of his Master’s degree at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.