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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMERICAN INDRA THOMAS TO RELEASE ALBUM OF TRADITIONAL SPIRITUALS ON DELOS

Great Day! Indra Thomas Sings Spirituals

Sandra Lutters, piano

I Feel The Spirit ● Honor, Honor ● Give me Jesus ● His Name So Sweet ● Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child ● Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho ● He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands ● Deep River ● Guide My Feet ● Witness ● This Little Light ● Steal Away ● Ride on, King Jesus ● Let Us Break Bread Together ● Great Day ● Were You There ● There is a Balm in Gilead

Delos DE 3427: UPC 013491342726

Click here to listen to “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho”

“Spirituals were of special benefit to me in my development as a soloist. Thanks to my mother, I was totally comfortable performing them – and that helped me to gain confidence in front of audiences, and to learn to sing naturally and spontaneously.”

Thus did American soprano Indra Thomas describe how singing spirituals helped her to become the singer and performer she is today. Though now she is a sought-after Verdi soprano, having performed in , , and , Ms. Thomas will return to the music that helped to raise her to such a status on her new album Great Day! Indra Thomas Sings Spirituals. The album, to be released on October 30, offers examples of many different types of spirituals, including songs of Christian worship, songs for long days of working and toiling, and some that are believed to have conveyed “codes” among the cruelly oppressed slaves which aided them in escaping to freedom.

Indra Thomas grew up in Atlanta, the daughter of a minister. Though she was not active in church choirs, her mother – a gifted amateur singer and her first voice teacher – saw to it that she was exposed to spirituals at home from an early age, encouraging her to learn them by rote. While in her teens, she first came to widespread attention when she sang “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” in the funeral scene of the Academy Award-winning film Driving Miss Daisy. She is a graduate of Shorter College and the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts; her primary teachers include John Ramsaur and Bill Schuman.

Since her professional debut at Carnegie Hall (in the Verdi ), her work has been greeted by public and critical acclaim, and she has become one of the world’s truly great operatic and concert , with a particular affinity for Verdi roles. Ms. Thomas has appeared at many of the world’s great houses, such as the and the ; and prominent venues in France, Germany, Spain and England, including the Royal Albert Hall. Among numerous top orchestras with which she has appeared are the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony and Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra – as well as leading ensembles in Paris, the Netherlands, Japan, Finland, South Korea, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Boston, Cleveland and Detroit.

She has graced several famous music festivals, to include Caramoor, Bregenz and Colmar; has toured widely, and has been featured in many radio and television broadcasts. Her signature Verdi roles are in Aida, Il Trovatore, Un Ballo in Maschera, and Don Carlos – as well as the Requiem: her favorite Verdi work. She has also appeared to great acclaim in by Puccini and Bellini, among others. She has recorded for NPR, as well as the LSO Live and Naxos labels; her work has garnered both an Emmy and a GRAMMY® nomination.

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Mindi Rayner Mindi Rayner Public Relations Personal Representation for the Arts, Inc. 1655 Flatbush Avenue Suite B 409 Brooklyn, New York

718 377 4720 (phone) 718 258 4559 (fax) [email protected] or [email protected]