Oct. 18, 2002 – Mezzo-soprano Elvira Green will give a voice recital Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral. Presented by Partners for Health, St. Thomas-St. John, the recital will feature two segments: "The Spirit of the Art of Song" and "The Art of the Negro Spiritual."
Green is a music professor at the University of the Virgin Islands and has received outstanding reviews for her operatic, recital and concert performances. Green has performed throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, West Africa, Asia, Australia and the Caribbean.
She will be accompanied on piano by Dr. Patricia Johnson Trice, a founder and director of the Spiritual Renaissance Singers in Greensboro, N.C. Trice is the director of music at Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro.
Two outstanding citizens will also be honored. Partners for Health will pay tribute to Blanche Mary Sasso and Alwyn "Lad" Richards.
Sasso, 103, is being honored for her contributions to education and for the role she played in the creation of the V.I. flag.
Richards is the only surviving member of the original Community Band, and led the Lad Richards Combo while appearing in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities. He has been entertaining for more than 60 years.
Partners for Health will provide donation envelopes at the recital Sunday to try to raise funds for the planned Cancer Center at Roy L. Schneider Hospital.
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