Paree L. Roper

Electronic Press Kit

Paree L. Roper bass/baritone, Washington, DC Originally from East Chicago, Indiana, Mr. Roper grew up singing in choirs in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The songs sung in church were also part of Paree's personal encounter with the Civil Rights movement. As a pre-teen and teenager, he was active with the youth chapters of the NAACP and many of these songs were featured at the civil rights events in which he participated. These included marches for equal employment opportunities for youth in former Ku Klux Klan strongholds such as Marion, Indiana and marches for better housing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with the late Civil rights leader, Father James Groppi. The music sung during the American Civil Rights Movement was inseparable from the music sung prior to and during the Civil War by oppressed Black Americans seeking freedom. The role and power of Negro Spirituals, (a major influence on Gospel Music) and the Freedom Songs of black America collectively unified, achieved personal uplift and spiritual fulfillment for African Americans. Up to and during the Civil War, these songs also served as code songs or maps to the Underground Railroad. The most important characteristic of Negro code songs are simple and repetitive 'antiphons' commonly referred to as call-and-response which allowed the group to assimilate the song quickly. Clearly understood by the slaves who sang them, these songs where a map to the Promised Land: Spirituals like Wade in the Water, The Gospel Train and Swing Low Sweet Chariot were songs encoded with methods to reach the Underground Railroad and, eventually, freedom. The expressiveness of the bass voice and Mr. Roper's commanding rock-solid vocalism registers majesty with a collective black experience that runs deep within his soul. Audiences are transported through time as Freedom Spirituals paint big sorrows and big happiness with a message that is just as germane today as they were during the Civil War: all of us are created equal. Mr. Roper is a member of the National Master Chorale and All Souls Unitarian Church Choir in Washington, including performances with the Grammy Award Winning Washington Chorus. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, the 2002 Kennedy Center Honors, and concert halls in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Mr. Roper is also a sought-after public speaker. His talks include risk management issues that included occupational safety, Homeland Security and regulatory compliance. He is currently Industry Specialist at the Public Risk Management Association in Washington, D.C.Artist Management by: Potomac Talent · 301-587-6267· eric@potomactalent.com