Fort Worth Opera Chorus
HIS LIGHT STILL SHINES
Meet Moses Hogan
Moses George Hogan was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 13, 1957, and manifested his musical talent at a young age. As a boy, he anticipated the sound of church bells and guided his uncle Edwin Hogan’s choir by waving his hands as they sang. He was a graduate of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and he also studied at New York’s Juilliard School of Music and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Throughout his life, he created a number of new original arrangements of classic spirituals, formed several celebrated choirs such as the Moses Hogan Singers and the Moses Hogan Chorale, and served as editor of the Oxford Book of Spirituals.
Hogan is still considered the world’s greatest arranger of spiritual music, and he wrote over 70 unique and influential choral pieces until his death in 2003 at the age of 45. His contemporary settings of spirituals, original compositions, and other works have been admired by audiences and commended by critics worldwide. Today, his arrangements are still being used as the foundation for high school, college and university choirs across the United States.
Meet the Artistic Team
ALFRELYNN J. ROBERTS
Music Director
Alfrelynn is a versatile performer, choral director, and vocal coach whose work includes stage, television and film. Since 2019, she has been the Chorus Master for Fort Worth Opera and concluded her first season to rave reviews for the choruses in Hansel & Gretel, the Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess, and the world premiere of Rachel Peters’ Companionship. She has served as the Artistic Director for the South Dallas Concert Choir for the last four seasons and conducted the choir for AT&T Performing Arts' production of the Underground Railroad featuring Kathleen Battle. Ms. Roberts is also the vocal and choral coach for five high schools in Dallas ISD.
Alfrelynn has performed for Opera Grand Rapids, Michigan Opera Theater, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as Prather Entertainment Group, What a Do, Farmer's Alley and Kalamazoo Civic Theaters. She was the featured soloist at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton and a commencement address featuring President Barack Obama.
"Singing with Moses Hogan was truly a highlight of my career. When I first performed His Light Still Shines with the Moses Hogan Singers, I was gripped by a text that challenged the decency of a just America…concepts poignant then and definitely now. Moses reminded us about the tenets of a decent society through his glorious work. In our new digital world, the Fort Worth Opera Chorus ably lends their talent to this amazing project…‘singing’ life into this changing world!"
CHARLENE LOTZ
Pianist
Charlene Lotz has been an active performer since her debut solo recital at the Fourth Bela Bartok International Piano Festival in Lima, Peru at the age of 14. She has played both solo recitals and concerto performances in the United States, South America, and Europe, and is highly sought-after as a collaborator. In 2019, Charlene was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Texas Christian University, studying with John Owings.
Meet the Narrators
Sheran Goodspeed Keyton
Manager of Education and Community Engagement | FWO
Joe Illick
Artistic Director | FWO
Kenj'a Brown
Chorister | FWO
Jake Rodriguez
Chorister | FWO
James Gooden
Chorister | FWO
Afton Battle
General Director | FWO
Nelson Claytor
Board Chair | FWO
Alfrelynn J. Roberts
Chorister | FWO
Meet the Chorus
Soprano
Rachael Maura Fant
Chrystle Hicks
Tracy Jones
Megan Koch
Kyuyim Lee
Jacquelyn Lengfelder
Adrienne Phipps
Alexandria Sewell
Erica Simmons
Katherine Smith
Nicole Stover
Lauren Urso
Mezzo
Kenj'a Brown
Walteria Caldwell
Xiaohan Chen
Avanti Dey
Amber Howell
Megan Liles
Sarah McDowell
Mudibu Rita Nsumbu
Sheila Randolph
Jillian Rangel
Yonina Robinson
Tenor
Michael Alonzo
Malcolm Beaty
Damond Cobin
Michael Hamilton
Lwazi Hlati
David Mejia
Ndumiso Nyoka
Kyle Spears
Jonathan Walker-VanKuren
Bass/Baritone
John Ban
Dante Davis
James Gooden
Benjamin Howard
Malcolm Payne Jr.
Jake Rodriguez
Tshilidzi Ndou