Amber Mercomes is paying her dues in a busy opera world
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer, Long Beach Press-Telegram
Article Launched: 06/26/2008 07:39:29 PM PDT
“Amber Mercomes is doing three things at once - patting her hair after a shower, negotiating on a telephone conference call and answering a knock at the door of her Long Beach apartment. Life can be like that for an itinerant opera singer. Whether she is preparing for the next gig, chatting up donors or art groups for special projects or finding time to talk with the press, Mercomes, 24, is happiest when she's on the go.
Two years removed from a music degree at Pepperdine University, where the Kansas City native was transformed from a would-be rhythm-and-blues singer to an emerging opera soprano, Mercomes is seeking to make her stamp in the entertainment world.” “On Sunday, Mercomes will be the featured vocalist at the Museum of Latin American Art, where she will sing as part of a show presented by Long Beach-based Music Without Borders.
“Mercomes will sing 'Nocturna Rosa,' with music by Carlos Chavez, from a poem by Xavier Villaurrutia. The poem will be read in Spanish and English before the performance. She will also do a pair of selections by African-American classical composer William Grant Still, including 'The Breath of a Rose,' from a poem by Langston Hughes, and a couple of Negro spirituals.
“Later this year, she will sing at Lincoln Center in New York as part of a tribute to Anderson, who helped blaze the trail for women such as herself. The singer recently earned a callback for an audition to sing in Hong Kong Disneyland's 'Lion King' show.” Full Post
Amber MercomesAfrican American Soprano
Breath of a Rose
William Grant Still
Music Without Borders
African American Composer
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