Forest Hill Church celebrates 'An Evening of Wonder'

Caleb A. Wright

This year’s celebration of Black History Month at Forest Hill Church—An Evening of Wonder—will honor the music of Motown legend Stevie Wonder on Sunday, Feb. 10. Preceded by a community soul food dinner at 5:30 p.m., the musical performances will begin at 7 p.m.

The community meal and concert are free and open to the public.

The church’s Black History Month committee chose to celebrate Wonder in recognition of his phenomenal musical career and the significant contributions his music has made in elevating the position of black musicians throughout society, as well as the lasting impact of his songbook on modern American history. The evening will highlight many of Wonder’s most memorable and socially impactful songs over the past 50 years.

Featuring local band Alexander Wright & The Collective, with Caleb A. Wright as lead vocalist, the concert will be under the musical direction of Tri-C jazz instructor, pianist and arranger Reginald Bowens. Wright has been coordinating the musical programming for Black History Month at the church for the past five years.

The Collective comprises musicians from Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College’s Jazz Department, and Kent State University. Local musician Robin Blake, of The Robin Blake Sound Experiment, will be the saxophonist and musical arranger for the horn section, which features saxophonist Joe Kardos and trumpeter Jabril Barnes. Other featured musicians will be Joshua Stone, Joseph Rangel, Charise Grimes, Deion Williams, Mark Butto and Jarred Goldwebber. 

The concert will also include dance by Cleveland native and choreographer Rashawn Kadeem, and poetry by Cleveland spoken-word artist Tierra Khali. Co-pastors John Lentz and Veronica Goins will end the evening with a message on love, life and music.

Forest Hill Church is located at 3031 Monticello Blvd. 

Peg Weissbrod

Peg Weissbrod is a freelance writer and publicity coordinator for Forest Hill Church in Cleveland Heights.

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Volume 12, Issue 2, Posted 4:52 PM, 02.01.2019