Earlier this year, we wrote to all of you asking to help Tona Brown, a transgender violinist and mezzo-soprano, fund her performance at Carnegie Hall. We are proud to say that Brown will officially be making history as the first openly transgender woman of color to perform at the iconic venue on Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at 7:30PM. She has lauched phase two of fundraising for the event with a GoFundMe campaign, which you can support here.
Her performance will feature music from her debut album, "This Is Who I Am," which will include African American Art Songs and spirituals. She describes her upcoming performance to The Huffington Post:
The concert is called 'From Stonewall to Carnegie Hall' because we want to educate people about the plight of LGBT Americans, from 1969 to the present, through music and speech.
Brown says this performance will be the highlight of her artistic career, but some of her other noteworthy accomplishments include appearing in the upcoming Netflix series, "City Lightz," starring as La Principessa in the opera, "Suor Angelica," and even performing the National Anthem for President of the United States, Barack Obama.
Brown also performed last night at TrevorLive, a comedy and music event hosted by The Trevor Project, which raised funds and awareness for youth suicide prevention. She participated in the It Gets Better Project, encouraging young people to be themselves:
My advice for transgender youth is to not allow others to make you believe that you are not worthy of achieving whatever dreams you have. I can't tell you how many people had no problems telling me that I would not succeed being 'out,' as a transgender artist.
For tickets, visit the Carnegie Hall page by clicking here.
Tona Brown performing as La Principessa
Tona Brown's "It Gets Better" video
An excerpt of the Mendelssohn Piano Trio from Tona Brown's first concert