Choral Arts: Can you tell us about your current professional roles?

Kenneth Overton: My current roles include, Porgy in Porgy and Bess, probably the role I’ve done that most at 105 staged performances to date. Amonasro in Verd’s Aida, the King of Ethiopia, a role I’ve done only once, but look forward to doing many more times. The role of Stephen Kumalo in Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars is at the moment my favorite role. Based on the novel Cry The Beloved Country. Finally, a new role I am adding next season is Mr. Macguire, from Tobias Picker’s very first opera Emmeline.

Choral Arts: Tell us a little bit about your role in Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem.

Kenneth Overton: It is always a privilege to premiere a work. It’s a chance to put the first stamp on it, but to be asked by the composer is truly the biggest honor for me. The piece is special to me because it’s written for specific people, my people. I get to give voice to those whose voices were taken away from us way too soon. For me, it’s a way to say thank you to them for their life’s work and sacrifice. The parts that resonate with me the most are the Offertory, and the text and melody of “There’s a man goin’ round taking names.”