Aretha: A tribute

Greensboro Symphony Orchestra
Aretha: A Tribute
Christopher Dragon, Music Director and Conductor

Capathia Jenkins & Ryan Shaw, vocals

Sponsored by Diversified Trust

This performance is expected to last approximately two hours and ten minutes with one twenty-minute intermission.

Refreshments and restrooms are located in the orchestra, mezzanine, and balcony-level lobbies.

A Tribute to the Queen of Soul, this program features symphony favorite Capathia Jenkins and three-time Grammy Award nominee Ryan Shaw performing such iconic hits as “Respect,” “Think,” “A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “Amazing Grace,” and many others.

Capathia Jenkins

Capathia Jenkins can definitely act but all those who know her also know that this diva can blow and blow and blow you right off this planet. This woman who grappling with two dueling passions each with a strong grip: acting and music, yet she refuses to pick one because they both represent her soul. Capathia approaches a song the same way she approaches a script, like an artist. She looks for the nuances, the secret hidden within the notes or text. She seeks the melody, harmony and rhythm. She asks herself: what am I trying to say? What do I want my audience to experience with me? She wants to take her audience on a journey.

This Brooklyn-born and raised actress most recently starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies’ on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’ which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short-Fame becomes me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night. LEARN MORE >

Ryan Shaw

Ryan Shaw is a three-time GRAMMY ® nominated artist who has shared the world stage with such artists as Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, John Legend, B.B. King and Jill Scott. His music has been featured on FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and ABC’s “Dancing with The Stars,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lincoln Heights” and the films My Blueberry Nights and Bride Wars As well as the ‘Sex and the City” soundtrack.

He starred as Judas in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Olivier Award-winning London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as the original Stevie Wonder in Motown: The Musical on Broadway, and on London’s West End as the Soul of Michael Jackson in Thriller Live. Shaw debuted at Radio City Music Hall in the Dream Concert benefit for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. His Carnegie Hall appearances include the Elton John and Bernie Taupin Tribute, A Celebration of The African American Cultural Legacy, and a Nat King Cole at 100 concert with the NY Pops. His concert schedule includes Nat King Cole at 100 with the National Symphony Orchestra, at The Kennedy Center and Nashville Symphony, as well as A Tribute to the Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin, with numerous orchestras throughout North America. His most recent album, Imagining Marvin, showcases Marvin Gaye hits alongside Shaw’s original songs and features GRAMMY Award winning co-writers and special guests.