The Howard County Center of African American Culture’s Black History Month Celebration Concert is set for 6-8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 5, at the Smith Theater at Howard Community College in Columbia.
The concert will feature performances by five artists who will share how each piece connects to Black culture, according to a news release. Genres include art song, contemporary choral, gospel, jazz and spirituals.
Performers include Denise Diggs, an actor and teacher at the Baltimore School for the Arts; Duane Moody, an associate professor of voice at the Berklee College of Music in Boston; Everett Williams Jr., a piano performer from the Washington, D.C. area;singer Lorree Kay Montgomery-Slye; and the Oakland Mills High School Choir.
Nat Alston, executive director of the center, said the concert will serve as an opportunity to celebrate Black culture through art and music and highlight Black talent.
“We hope [the concert] will be a celebration (and) showcase a variety of talent that’s in the African American community as it relates to our culture as far as gospel music, as far as poetry and other things that are indicative of the African American community,” he said.
Marcus “Sankofa” Nicks, curator at the center, said he hopes the community will leave the concert knowing more about Black history in the county, state and beyond.
“We want people to really understand what Black History Month is, what it means, where it came from, what are its roots, what are its origins and not just for Black people or African Americans, but for those of all walks of life, those of all ethnicities and all backgrounds,” he said.
Tickets for the concert are $50 per person and can be purchased in person or online at hccaac.org.