A tribute to the ultimate “Queen of Soul,” this program features symphony-favorite Capathia Jenkins and three-time Grammy Award nominee Ryan Shaw performing iconic hits like Respect, Think, A Natural Woman, Chain of Fools, Amazing Grace, and many others. Come ready to sing and dance at this soul-filled concert.
PROGRAM
VARIOUS: Aretha Overture
DON COVEY: Chain of Fools
BURT BACHARACH/HAL DAVID: I Say a Little Prayer
DeSYLVA/BROWN/HENDERSON: Birth of Blues
STEVIE WONDER: Sir Duke
SAGER/HAMLISCH: Nobody Does It Better
TRADITIONAL: What a Friend We Have in Jesus/Climbing Higher Mountains
JIMMY WEBB: MacArthur Park
KATHERINE BATES/SAM WARD: America the Beautiful
OTIS REDDING: Respect
INTERMISSION
VARIOUS: Salute to Ray Charles
JAMES BROWN: I Got You (I Feel Good)
IRVING GORDON: Unforgettable
GOFFIN/KING/WEXLER: (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
SAM COOKE: A Change is Gonna Come
STEVIE WONDER: Isn’t She Lovely
HARRY WARREN: At Last
WOODS/CAMPBELL/CONNELLY: Try a Little Tenderness
TRADITIONAL: Amazing Grace
Thanks to our generous sponsors!
FEATURED ARTISTS
The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, Capathia Jenkins, premiered her new show, ICON: The Voices That Changed Music, with the Princeton Symphony, with subsequent performances with the Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, and several others. She premiered her solo ...
The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, Capathia Jenkins, premiered her new show, ICON: The Voices That Changed Music, with the Princeton Symphony, with subsequent performances with the Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, and several others. She premiered her solo show, She’s Got Soul, with the Houston Symphony in October 2022, followed by performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Utah Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Philly Pops, among many others.
Ms. Jenkins starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’ which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short-Fame Becomes Me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night. In 2007 she went back to Off-Broadway and starred in (mis) Understanding Mammy-The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.
An active concert artist, Ms. Jenkins has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops (with John Morris Russell), Philly Pops, San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many others. She was also a soloist with the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic multiple times. In October 2025, Ms. Jenkins traveled to Bratislava to perform at the Concert Hall of the Slovak Philharmonic. Ms. Jenkins had the great honor of performing in the ‘Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba’ concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. She has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops multiple times and also sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress.
She is a founder and board member of Black Theatre United. Social Media @capathianyc
Ryan Shaw is a three-time GRAMMY® nominated artist for his solo projects, Columbia Records’ This is Ryan Shaw, his In Between, and Dynotone’s Real Love.
Ryan has shared the world stage with such artists as Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, John ...
Ryan Shaw is a three-time GRAMMY® nominated artist for his solo projects, Columbia Records’ This is Ryan Shaw, his In Between, and Dynotone’s Real Love.
Ryan has shared the world stage with such artists as Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, John Legend, B.B. King and Jill Scott. His music has been featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance and ABC’s Dancing with The Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, and Lincoln Heights, and the films My Blueberry Nights and Bride Wars, and the Sex and the City soundtrack. Ryan has been a featured guest on national TV talk shows. He starred as Judas in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Olivier Award-winning London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as the original Stevie Wonder in Motown: The Musical on Broadway, and on London’s West End as the Soul of Michael Jackson in Thriller Live. Ryan debuted at Radio City Music Hall in the Dream Concert benefit for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. His Carnegie Hall appearances include Elton John and Bernie Taupin Tribute, A Celebration of The African American Cultural Legacy, and a Nat King Cole 100th concert with the NY Pops. His concert schedule includes NY Central Park’s SummerStage, Nat King Cole at 100 with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center as well as the Nashville Symphony, Aretha: A Tribute, and ICON – The Voices That Changed Music.
Ryan’s solo orchestral show, RYAN SHAW: Masters of R&B recently premiered at the Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and is now being presented by numerous orchestras around the country. In addition to Aretha: A Tribute, his new duo show with Capathia Jenkins entitled ICON – The Voices That Changed Music is also scheduled to be presented by numerous orchestras. He has also been a featured artist with the Houston Symphony for their R&B Mixtape concert as well as the soloist for the Houston Symphony’s 4th of July Celebration. Ryan’s recent and upcoming symphonic performances include The Cleveland Orchestra, Philly Pops, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Florida Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Harrisburg Symphony, Maryland Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Helena Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Wilmington Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, among others.
Ryan was a featured guest in The 92nd Street Y’s recent presentation of Lyrics & Lyricists What’s Going On?: Songs of Change. Ryan’s last album, Imagining Marvin, showcases Marvin Gaye hits alongside Ryan’s original songs and features GRAMMY® Award-winning co-writers Valerie Simpson and Rob Thomas, and special guests Derek Trucks, Rob Thomas, Robert Randolph and Shoshana Bean. For 2025, Ryan’s newest single, Rising Up, is an inspirational call to action. The full album will be released in early 2026. Simultaneously with Rising Up, Ryan recently released a new duo album with Ray Angry entitled OFF Broadway. This project features contemporary and progressive soul versions of classic Broadway songs spanning over 70 years.
Sean O’Loughlin (b.1972) is the Principal Pops Conductor of The Syracuse Orchestra and the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Victoria Symphony in Victoria, B.C. Canada. He is a fresh voice and a rising name in the music world. His music is characterized by vibrant rhythms, ...
Sean O’Loughlin (b.1972) is the Principal Pops Conductor of The Syracuse Orchestra and the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Victoria Symphony in Victoria, B.C. Canada. He is a fresh voice and a rising name in the music world. His music is characterized by vibrant rhythms, passionate melodies, and colorful scoring. Commissions from the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra highlight and showcase his diverse musical abilities. As a conductor, he has led performances with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Victoria Symphony and the Seattle Symphony amongst others. He was the assistant conductor and arranger for a production of Sgt. Pepper Live in Las Vegas featuring the band Cheap Trick. He has served as conductor for national and world-wide tours with Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan and the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration. He has also appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America with Josh Groban and NBC’s “A Very Pentatonix Christmas.”
Recent collaborations include such artists as Sarah McLachlan, Adele, Josh Groban, Pentatonix, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Diana Ross, Journey, Melissa Etheridge, Weird Al Yankovic, Blue Man Group, Janelle Monáe, Audra McDonald, Hall and Oates, Gloria Estefan, the Indigo Girls, Diana Krall, Itzhak Perlman, Natalie Merchant, Chris Isaak, Pink Martini, Brandi Carlile, The Decemberists, Martina McBride, Josh Ritter, Gloria Gaynor and others. The Los Angeles Times calls his orchestrations “…magnificent and colorful” while adding “…even more dimension…” to the compositions. Daily Variety heralds Sean’s writing as “most impressive …” with a “wide range of coloring in the orchestra…” that “…adds heft and rolling energy.
Through his growing number of commissioned and published works, Sean is excited to continue contributing to the rich history of orchestral and wind band literature. His music is published by Excelcia Music, Hal Leonard and Carl Fischer. He is a frequent guest conductor with professional orchestras around the country and abroad. An annual ASCAP Special Awards winner, Sean was a composition fellow at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, and holds composition degrees from New England Conservatory and Syracuse University.









