Grammy Winner Chrisette Michele to Perform at
Central Islip Senior High School
CENTRAL ISLIP, 11 May 2009 - Just one week after the release of her second album, Grammy Award winner and Def Jam recording artist Chrisette Michele is giving a special performance for students at Central Islip Senior High School on Wednesday, May 13. Michele will appear on the "Late Show with David Letterman" the evening before. She has arranged her schedule to include this concert, presented by the Huntington Arts Council, before she embarks on a whirlwind promotional tour for the new album, "Epiphany." Other high-profile television appearances include Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and the CBS Early Show.
This local talent, a Patchogue resident and a performance major at Five Towns College, achieved acclaim in 2006 by singing on Jay-Z's "Lost One" and Nas' "Can't Forget About You." Her record deal with Def Jam Records resulted in her debut "I Am," a gold-certified album nominated for two Grammys as well as her nomination for a BET Award for Best New Artist. She has been described as a "soulful songbird" by Entertainment Weekly.
Her hour-long visit to Central Islip Senior High School, which she attended, will include a question and answer session with the students and invited guests. This event is part of the mission of the Huntington Arts Council to "bring art to life" through its Journey Arts-in-Education program in the schools and to present the highest caliber of performance to the entire community. The non-for-profit organization produces the multi-discipline Huntington Summer Arts Festival. The 44th season of free concerts will run from June 27 to August 16. Chrisette Michele performs at the Festival on the Chapin Rainbow Stage in Huntington Friday, July 24.
Singer-songwriter Ne-Yo became a major fan after hearing that first album, which Michele wrote as well as performed. In an interview with Newsday's Glenn Gamboa, Ne-Yo proclaimed, "There's so much phony floating around in this business that when you come across real, you know right off the top and I knew that about her." Her new album includes a duet with Ne-Yo, "What You Do." Ne-Yo and Chuck Harmony collaborated on the title track "Epiphany," putting Michele in a league which includes Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and Celine Dion. The sultry-voiced singer explains, "I wanted to raise the bar and step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to make songs that are more edgy, youthful and urban." In a recent appearance at B.B. King's, she performed a hip-hop style reading of her poetry with musical collaboration from her backup band.
The Huntington Arts Council's programs reach over 750,000 Long Island residents, and it serves the entire region with its cultural listings at www.huntingtonarts.org. The Council is the official arts coordinating agency for the Town of Huntington, and serves as the primary regranting agency in Suffolk County for the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), in addition to its services to over 600 member cultural organizations and individual artist members.
