Westport, CT -- The Klein announces the return of Footsteps of Peace, a highly acclaimed concert featuring musician Joel A. Martin along with other renowned artists in an evening of jazz, rap, classical and gospel music. This extraordinary event will take place on Friday, April 28th at 8 p.m. Among the artists scheduled to perform are: Eugene Friesen, cellist; Jolie Rocke Brown, gospel jazz singer; Sharon Clark, jazz singer.
Special guest artists are Roshay and AJ, an 18-year-old Puerto Rican rap duo from Holyoke, MA, who will present a positive "Stop The Violence" message.
Corporate sponsors are People’s United Bank and PSEG,while media sponsors are Hearst Media, WEBE/WICC and WSHU.
Footsteps of Peace is a national initiative for peace in our communities and promotes the eradication of racism celebrated in performances of original music, signing, art, and the spoken word. The two-hour concert will both enlighten, entertain and inspire the voices of change, peace, mutual concern, respect and trust.
Each year Footsteps of Peace pays tribute to a world humanitarian and this April we will honor Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Civil Rights Activist. Justice Marshall was the first African-American Justice of the Supreme Court and was instrumental in ending legal segregation.
In honor of Justice Marshall, Jose Nadeau, a live visual artist, will paint a portrait of Thurgood Marshall on stage during the concert.
This show’s purpose is to bring the community together. In addition to the concert, The Klein is conducting an essay contest throughout the Bridgeport Public Schools. Students are encouraged to submit a one-page essay stating what freedom means to them and how we can achieve this as a country and society. Each participating student will receive two free tickets to the concert and judges will award two winners from each category (Middle School and High School) with a $100 scholarship.
Joel A. Martin brings his versatility in orchestrating, directing, and performing to Footsteps of Peace. His focus is to bring the message of peace and love through music to people everywhere.
Martin, a pianist, composer and producer, is the creator & trademark owner of Jazzical®, a marriage of classical and jazz. He has performed his innovative Jazzical compositions around the world, in Paris, London, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Russia & Kyrgyzstan. He has toured with and written music for Grammy Award Winners Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Jaimoe (co-founder, Allman Bros. Band), and the Cab Calloway Orchestra. As a classical pianist, Martin has performed with the NY Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, El Paso Symphony, Hartford Symphony, and Springfield Symphony Orchestra.
He recently released his 7th Jazzical® CD honoring multiple Oscar/ Grammy/Tony Award-winning Disney and Broadway composer, Alan Mencken, (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, etc.) with a live concert at Birdland in NYC.
Tickets to the event cost $15 - $50 and can be purchased at The Klein box office at 910 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport from 10 am to 4 pm weekdays as well as online (www.theklein.org) and by phone (800) 424-0160 extension 2. Group discounts are available through the Connecticut AARP website.