When Hurricane Katrina unleashed its full force on the Gulf Coast, we, like all of America, were very shaken by the scenes of destruction and the plight of the victims we saw on the news. It was clear that many were experiencing not only physical injury and losses, but a great deal of emotional shock and trauma.
For natural disasters the scope of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (see Hurricane Katrina facts), words alone and physical relief efforts only begin the healing process. We wanted to do what we could to help alleviate human suffering — not only on the physical level, but on the emotional and spiritual levels as well.
Knowing that the power of prayer combined with profound music and beautiful images reaches the human spirit in a way that nothing else can, we created this presentation. In the words of a visitor who wrote in:
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"This moving presentation embraces the humanity of those that suffered, as well as those that assisted them, through the beautiful images and sublime music."
About The Artist
The voice you hear singing the "Ave Maria" aria is that of award-winning soprano, Rufina James. The warmth, rich resonance, seamless legato, wide range and vocal coloring of her voice make it perfectly suited for singing the Verdi repertoire.
While she loves singing opera in all corners of the world, she's hardly limited to opera alone. Nor is she limited to the soprano register, as her 3-octave range extends well into the mezzo register. Although her foundation is operatic, she occassionally crosses over into other musical styles, such as broadway musicals, popular ballads and world music for the sheer joy of singing.
Here's what people are saying:
