Jackson Free Press: 'Phyllis Lewis-Hale keeps classical opera alive in Jackson'

[“Phyllis Lewis-Hale keeps classical opera alive in Jackson” (Jackson State University)]

JacksonFreePress.com

“Passion for Classics

by Valerie Wells

June 8, 2011

Mozart, Puccini and Rossini live when Phyllis Lewis-Hale sings. The lyric soprano hits the notes intended and fills auditoriums with her passion. The opera singer and music scholar stresses the classics to her students at Jackson State University. 'You can sing gospel, you can sing pop beautifully, and I respect those styles, but you must also respect the classical style,' she says. 'You must respect the hard work and dedication and scholastic work that goes into it.'

“Beyond the European composers, Lewis-Hale cares deeply about African American composers of classical music. Her academic work and mission is preserving these works and keeping them circulating in choirs and music halls all over the world. In October, the Mississippi Humanities Council awarded Lewis-Hale the 2010 Teacher and Scholar Award for her research on the relevance and infusion of 20th-century African American composers such as William Grant Still, Ulysses Kay and Dorothy Rudd Moore.

“She takes the responsibility seriously of keeping the classics alive as an applied voice instructor and director of JSU's Opera Workshop Program. Lewis-Hale, 45, grew up in Jackson and started out at JSU studying accounting. She auditioned for a choir scholarship to help pay for school. Her professors and instructors pushed her during those early years to take opera seriously. 'They took me aside and said, “Why aren't you majoring in music?” They encouraged me to pursue a career in music. Halfway into my sophomore year, I changed majors,' she says.

“As a young woman, she won the International Monteverdi/Bellini Vocal Competition in Italy, leading to a professional career singing throughout Europe and Asia. Back in the states, she sang with numerous city symphonies and groups. She had leading roles in productions with the Indianapolis Opera, Opera Memphis, the Houston Ebony Opera and the Brevard Music Center Opera Theater of North Carolina. The Opera/South Company of Jackson, however, has a special place in her history.

"'Not a lot of opportunities for blacks to perform in mainstream productions existed,' she says. Opera/South began in 1970. Jackson State University, Utica Junior College and Tougaloo College started the performance company that specialized in the music of black composers such as Mississippi native William Grant Still. Black opera singers from all over the country came to Mississippi to get the chance to perform a variety of roles. That experience helped the careers of Kathleen Battle and others who became international stars.”

“Lewis-Hale says she found her love in teaching, but she is still a professional performer. She sings mostly outside of Mississippi, traveling to recitals and concerts. She also makes it to New York City three times a year to work with a coach, she says. 'You cannot have a music career without an ear, without other ears.'" [William Grant Still (1895-1978) and Ulysses Simpson Kay, Jr. (1917-1995) are profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List for each by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory]