Newark Sing In! is open to adults 18+ of all cultural backgrounds and various performance levels. Classical, R&B, and popular music styles will be discussed and performed — with EMPHASIS ON JAZZ. Professional singers from Five Women Performance Ensemble will be on hand to demonstrate and guide participants in group singing, harmony and solo performance. Light refreshments and musical accompaniment provided. FREE
This Program is a collaboration of the Weequahic Park Association, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s artsXchange program, Five Women Performance Ensemble and Celeste Bateman & Assocs., LLC. It replaces the event originally scheduled for February 2026 but postponed due to inclemet weather. Vocalists who signed up to sing will be invited to perform at this event. We are not accepting any additional individual performers. INFO>>>> https://NewarkSingIn.eventbrite.com
We Lift Up Their Voices!
5 Women Salute 12 Women Singers
A Women’s History Month Celebration
June 2027 (Tentative)
We Lift Up Their Voices! is a tribute in verse and song to Newark’s renowned female singers: Tisha Campbell, Faith Evans, Connie Frances, Gloria Gaynor, Cissy and Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Melba Moore, Sarah Vaughan; and lesser known Newark singers Linda Jones, Carrie Smith and Salome Bey (from Newark’s jazz family Andy Bey & The Bey Sisters) who went on to become famous in Toronto.
The program is a multi-media presentation combining music, narration and a slide presentation featuring historic and contemporary photographs of the featured artists with accompanying narration highlighting their lives and careers.
I Dream A World: Song & Verse to Inspire a Nation
Featuring Five Women
March 2027 (Tentative)
Five Women recently developed a project called I Dream A World (IDAW), the title taken from the Langston Hughes poem of the same name. Developed in 2026 to acknowledge the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the United States of America’s Semiquincentennia. The relevance of this program will continue beyond the anniversary year.
IDAW, typical of Five Women’s creative and historically inspired projects, touches on important moments and markers in African American history from the 19th, 20th & 21st centuries — from the slave trade and the Emancipation Proclamation, through Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era, the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter to the 2024 Presidential election. It includes thought-provoking text and powerful and moving music and songs from artists of note. This fusion of music, narration, film footage and historic photos, examines the trials, tribulations and triumphs of African Americans in America. >>>> 5 Women Reel (from North To Shore Festival)
CELESTE’S VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER
Please make a donation to our GoFundMe to support our 2027 programs and Five Women performances. A contribution of $100+ gives you mention in all of our printed materials. A $500 donation — you’re a co-sponsor!
