CarnegieHall.org: Bass-Baritone Justin Hopkins & Pianist Bruce Levingston Perform "Repast" Based on The Story of Booker Wright, Monday, April 4, 2016

Repast is based on the life of Booker Wright
(New York Times: Photo from Booker Wright Family)

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story is a documentary film about Booker Wright, a waiter who sang the menu in a Greenwood, Mississippi restaurant catering to White patrons, as well as operating his own establishment called "Booker's Place" in an African American neighborhood.  Wikipedia recounts the story of his participation in a documentary shown on NBC Television, and the repercussions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker's_Place:_A_Mississippi_Story

Kevin Young is a poet who wrote
the libretto of the oratorio Repast

http://kevinyoungpoetry.com/

(HugoHouse.org)

Nolan Gasser is Composer of Repast
http://www.nolangasser.com/

Justin Hopkins, Bass-Baritone
http://www.justinhopkinsopera.com/

Bruce Levingston, Piano

Carnegie Hall

                       Premiere Commission celebrates its 15th anniversary with a special concert in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Pianist Bruce Levingston performs solo premieres of works by composers Nolan Gasser and James Matheson, as well as works by Philip Glass and Franz Schubert. He is joined by baritone Justin Hopkins for the New York City premiere of Repast, an oratorio based on the life of the Mississippi civil rights figure Booker Wright with a libretto by PEN/Faulkner Award-winner Kevin Young. This work and its premiere have been co-commissioned and co-sponsored by Premiere Commission and Southern Foodways Association.

Performers

• Bruce Levingston, Piano
  Guest Artist: Justin Hopkins, Baritone

Program

• NOLAN GASSER Repast (NY Premiere)
• JAMES MATHESON Windows (World Premiere)
And works by Schubert and Philip Glass

Comment by email:
Hey there Bill, Thank you so much for the wonderful blog post about the concert!  We're very excited to share it with the New York audience, and this press will certainly help in getting more people there to see it.  I will be posting it on all of my social media in the coming days.  Thanks again!!
Very best, Justin Hopkins