Music as the Message: Love’s Language

Love’s in Need of Love
Stevie Wonder

Billy Engel, vocals & guitar

Lyrics:
Good morn or evening friends
Here’s your friendly announcer
I have serious news to pass on to everybody
What I’m about to say
Could mean the world’s disaster
Could change your joy and laughter to tears and pain

It’s that
Love’s in need of love today
Don’t delay
Send yours in right away
Hate’s goin’ ’round
Breaking many hearts
Stop it please
Before it’s gone too far, yeah

The force of evil plans
To make you its possession
And it will if we let it
Destroy everybody
We all must take
Precautionary measures
If love and please you treasure
Then you’ll hear me when I say

Oh that
Love’s in need of love today
Don’t delay
Send yours in right away
Hate’s goin’ ’round
Breaking many hearts
Stop it please
Before it’s gone too far
Gone too far

People you know that
Love’s in need of love today
Love’s in need of love today
Don’t delay
Don’t delay
Send yours in right away
Right away
You know that hate’s
Hate’s
Hate’s goin’ ’round
Hate’s goin’ ’round
Breaking many hearts
Breaking hearts
Stop stop it please
Before it’s gone too far
Gone too far

Love’s in need
Of love today
Don’t delay
Right away away
Love’s in need
Of love today
Don’t delay
Right away away
Hate’s goin’ ’round
Breaking hearts
Well, please stop it
Mm, oh, L-O-V-E love, ooh, L-O-V-E love
Love’s in need
Of love today
Don’t delay
Right away
Just give the world love

ARTISTS

Hosted by Adrienne Danrich, and featuring a stellar cast of artists:

Guest Artists:
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Aurelia Andrews, piano
Kagera Buckner, mezzo-soprano
Billy Engel, guitar
Anu French, vocals and harmonium
Brit Lockhart, bass
Robert Mellon, baritone
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano and vocals
Tim Moore, percussion
Chris Shelton, tenor
Christina Smiley, soprano
Eboni Stegall, soprano
Cheryl Walker, piano
Kwamina Walker-Williams, soprano
John Wallach, bass
Chaz’men Williams-Ali, tenor

[Show slideshow]

Sopranos:
Helen Owens, Mary Robert, Lindsey Short, Cathie Muschany, Christine Smiley, Laura Mabry, Eboni Stegall

Altos:
Kwamina Walker-Williams, Barrie Jones, Kagera Buckner, Phyllis Knight, Anu French

Tenors:
Harry Moppins, Walker Fox, Vivian Fox, Magretta Nelson, Reggie Williams

Baritones/Basses:
Stanley Johnson, Jim Wynn, Michael Griffin, Rickey Mabry

Artistic Team:
Adrienne Danrich, commissioned composer
Drew Hemenger, composer of MaM original theme song

Production Team:
Adrienne Danrich, creator, host, and executive producer
Opera on Tap and Anne Hiatt, producer 
Meagan Brus, creative content producer
Patrick Mahaney, technical director
Carolyn Carter, production manager
Halley Stein, production assistant
Luke Bower, production assistant
Caroline John, stage manager
Kayleigh Butcher, Zoom moderator

This episode of Music as the message is produced by Opera On Tap and St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, in partnership with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Washington University. Free to the public, goodwill offerings accepted.

The Music as the Message series is produced by Opera On Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church. Free to the public, goodwill offerings accepted.

ABOUT MUSIC AS THE MESSAGE

Music as the Message (MaM) was created in 2020 by Emmy Award-winning soprano Adrienne Danrich, in response to the need for communal sharing and healing, despite our physical isolation, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. MaM’s mission is to create shared musical experiences, celebrating the unifying power of music to inspire healing, joy, laughter, love and most importantly, community.

Beginning solely as an online experience, Music as the Message has now grown into a vibrant, interactive, hybrid performance series held LIVE at the beautiful Broadway Presbyterian Church in NYC and simultaneously streamed via Zoom. The hybrid model fosters a greater global presence, reaching audience members from the US and abroad.

Adrienne serves as host, inviting various guest artists from a wide range of backgrounds, genres, and experiences to offer performances of uplifting songs, dance, and spoken word. Music as the Message provides a safe space for Attendees to quietly enjoy or, when invited, to participate and lift their voices in tandem with the performers.  Each episode also sees the premiere of newly commissioned works, as well as partnerships with charity organizations, who share in the musical offerings and proceeds.

We believe the arts should be free and available to all. Please consider donating today, no matter the amount, to ensure that Music as the Message can continue our mission.  All donations are greatly appreciated.

ABOUT ADRIENNE DANRICH

As an award-winning singer, writer, composer, and educator, Adrienne Danrich is redefining what it means to be a creative performer. The voice of EMMY® award winning soprano Adrienne Danrich has been described as “fresh liquid-silver”, “radiant”, and having a “sensual timbre and dramatic truth” by Opera News. She has performed at major opera houses and art centers around the United States as well as appearing in the NBC broadcast of The Sound of Music, Live! In addition to singing operas, concerts and recitals around the country, Danrich performs her one-woman show, This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, which she wrote under a commission from Cincinnati Opera. This Little Light of Mine was nominated for an EMMY®, and, additionally, Ms. Danrich was personally nominated and subsequently won an EMMY® for on-camera talent as performer and narrator. Recently, Ms. Danrich debuted her new concert From Aretha to Aida, An Autobiographical Musical Journey. Distinctive in her talent and charisma, Adrienne is known for going places other artists have not yet ventured.
www.adriennedanrich.com

ABOUT OPERA ON TAP

Opera on Tap (OOT) was born in 2005 in Brooklyn and operates with the vision of making the drama, beauty and exhilaration of opera truly accessible to new communities everywhere. What began as a small monthly gathering of ambitious, classically trained singers looking for more performance opportunities, has grown into a producing and community-based organization that has gained a broad audience base and national recognition as an innovative force on the classical music scene. Through its Chapter program, which now has twenty-eight vibrant national (and international) chapters, OOT has created a large network of performers, creators, and supporters. A predominantly women-led organization, OOT’s mission is to engage and enrich communities through culture and the arts, and to empower singers, instrumentalists, composers and other artists through opportunities for paid performance, commissions, leadership, and safe creative practices.  

Opera on Tap continues to be headquartered as a national organization in Brooklyn and in NYC presents four programs intended to adhere to our practice of community engagement through opera: PLAYGROUND OPERA/OPERATRONICS, BAR SHOWS/ NEW BREW, OPERACADES, and THE IMMERSIVE OPERA PROJECT (IOP).
www.operaontap.org

The Music as the Message series was previously produced and presented by The American Opera Project and Opera On Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church.