Fellows

A VISIONARY LIBRETTIST, BARITONE & ARTS ADMINISTRATOR

Librettist Jarrod Lee creates stories for Opera that are rooted in the experience of being Black, Gay and American; adding to the canon of stories written by Black Americans which are rarely seen on the operatic stage.

As an opera singer, Jarrod has performed with multiple opera companies such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera and Washington National Opera, to name a few. An advocate for new works, Jarrod premiered the role of Joe Louis in Shadowboxer by Frank Proto and John Chenault, and Levi in the Afro-Futurist opera ballet Cloud Nebula by composer Scott Patterson, choreographer Preston Andrew and associate director Eric T. Styles.

As an Arts Administrator, Jarrod is the Director of Project Managers for the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) and co-founder of the Black Classical Music Archive, an online searchable database for everything Black in Classical Music.

The Journey to You: In a desperate plea to be heard and understood, lovers seek relief from the noise of life and find a sense of home in the solitude and stillness of abandoned lifestyles captured in photos by William Christenberry. Living moments captured in a still photograph can spark conversations by conjuring unassuming shared experiences on a journey to empathy. By librettist Jarrod Lee and composer Dr. Timothy Amukele with commission by the Alliance for New Music-Theatre, D.C. Watch Journey to You on Youtube.