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DESCRIPTION:On Feb. 23 during Black History Month\, North Central College
  will feature &ldquo\;Deep River: A Spiritual Journey\,&rdquo\; a live m
 usical presentation and original narrative about African slaves who live
 d along the Great River before the Civil War.The free program will begin
  at 7 p.m. Thursday\, Feb. 23\, in North Central&rsquo\;s Koten Chapel a
 t Kiekhofer Hall\, 329 E. School St.\, Naperville.&ldquo\;Deep River: A 
 Spiritual Journey&rdquo\; is also the title of a CD\, recorded in 1999\,
  and features soloist Henry Pleas\, an accomplished tenor who&rsquo\;s s
 tudied and performed worldwide\, pianist Chris Garofalo and the Rev. Dr.
  Sylvia Pleas\, narrator and creator of the original story in &ldquo\;De
 ep River.&rdquo\; These same artists will perform Feb. 23.Sylvia crafted
  the story as an encouragement for her son\, tenor Henry Pleas\, who\, d
 uring his teenage years\, was not proud of his name or musical talents. 
 Her story of fiction centers on an adult slave\, also named Henry\, who 
 had a strong baritone voice and sang spirituals at evening worship servi
 ces in his church along the Great River. Henry had a hard life and was b
 rutally beaten whenever he tried to write his name&mdash\;something he l
 onged to learn to do. Henry heard other slaves talk about a place called
  freedom train landing across the water where everyone lived free and pr
 oud. He dreamed of going there someday. Unknown to Henry\, whenever he s
 ang his preacher&rsquo\;s favorite song\, &ldquo\;Deep River\,&rdquo\; i
 t was a signal to certain slaves to escape for the freedom train landing
 . For years\, Henry sang his song while other slaves made their way acro
 ss the river by boat and to freedom.As Sylvia narrates her story\, piano
  accompaniment and Henry&rsquo\;s soulful songs intermingle throughout t
 he program for a moving presentation. At home on the operatic stage and 
 intimate recital halls\, Henry has sung under conductors Helmut Rilling\
 , Christoph Eschenbach\, James Conlon\, Bruno Bartoletti and Roger Norri
 ngton and performed the title role in Offenbach&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Tales o
 f Hoffman\,&rdquo\; Turriddu in &ldquo\;Cavalleria Rusticana&rdquo\; and
  Don Jose in &ldquo\;Carmen.&rdquo\; He has also appeared as soloist in 
 presentations of Beethoven&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Missa Solemnis\,&rdquo\; Han
 del&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Messiah\,&rdquo\; Mozart&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;Requiem\,
 &rdquo\; Vaughan Williams&rsquo\; &ldquo\;Hodie&rdquo\; and the extended
  cantata\, &ldquo\;Done Made my Vow&rdquo\; by American composer Adolphu
 s Hailstork with the Grand Rapids Symphony. His recent performances with
  Chamber Opera Chicago in &ldquo\;Maria la O&rdquo\; were described as &
 ldquo\;riveting&rdquo\; by ChicagoClassicalReview.com. For more informat
 ion visit henrypleas.com.As a pianist\, Garofalo has performed in the Ch
 icago area for many years and composed works for solo piano\, voice and 
 choral ensembles. He received a master of arts degree in piano performan
 ce from the Manhattan School of Music and is director of music at the Un
 itarian Church of Hinsdale and maintains a private teaching studio.Sylvi
 a is a retired United Methodist pastor with master&rsquo\;s and doctoral
  degrees from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She&rsquo\;s a 1
 978 graduate of North Central College and the mother of Dorothy Pleas\, 
 North Central&rsquo\;s director of multicultural affairs. This program i
 s supported by North Central College&rsquo\;s offices of institutional a
 dvancement and ministry and service. Nicor and Sara Lee are co-sponsors 
 of this and other Black History Month events at North Central. CDs of &l
 dquo\;Deep River&rdquo\; will be available for sale the night of the per
 formance.
URL:http://naperville.patch.com/events/north-central-college-presents-mus
 ical-narration-deep-river-during-black-history-month
SUMMARY:North Central College presents musical narration “Deep River”
  during Black History Month
LOCATION:329 E School St\, Naperville\, IL 60540: 329 E School St\, Naper
 ville\, IL
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