RHODE ISLAND RESIDENT BECKY BASS TO PERFORM WITH NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY
JUNE 9 – 11
BECKY BASS
Farah (Joy) for Voice and Orchestra by Daniel Bernard Roumain – June 9-11
PROVIDENCE, RI: Providence, RI resident Becky Bass will be making her New Jersey Symphony debut this month as featured vocalist in the world premiere of Farah (Joy) for Voice and Orchestra by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). The closing event of the New Jersey Symphony’s 2023 season, Roumain’s Farah (Joy) for Voice and Orchestra shares the bill with world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell.
Performances of the world premiere commission of Farah (Joy) for Voice and Orchestra are Friday, June 9th and Sunday June 11th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ and on Saturday, June 10th at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank.
For tickets and more information, visit
The new composition’s title – Farah – means ‘joy’ in Arabic. A prolific and collaborative composer, DBR says he created the new 11-minute work specifically for Ms. Bass’ “incomparable voice.”
The New York Times describes DBR as “About as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets.” Among the composer’s noted collaborators are Philip Glass, Bill T. Jones, Savion Glover, and Lady Gaga.
He is known for his signature violin sounds infused with myriad electronic, urban, and African American music influences.
“Becky and I met in Providence years ago,” explains DBR, “brought together by the presenter Kathleen Pletcher under the auspices of the presenting organization FirstWorks for a series of collaborations and performances.”
One such FirstWorks collaboration was The Telling, an evening of instrumental and vocal solos, dance and chamber music which premiered in 2022.
Bass was featured vocalist in this transformative new piece exploring Philando Castile’s death by police shooting through the eyes of a child.
The pair also conducted workshops for educators through FirstWork’s accredited Professional Development program aimed to create systemic change in school districts across Rhode Island.
Bass has been dubbed a “New-England treasure” and the two-time New England Urban Music Award winner and MOTIF Music Award winner is known for “her soulful voice and powerful stage presence.”
Hailing from the island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, Bass is a vocalist and steel pan virtuoso. She has been invited to open and perform with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Oumou Sangare, Yellowman, Warrior King, and Wyclef Jean. She has also sung at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, at Lincoln Center under the direction of British composer Will Todd, as featured soloist at the Hinesburg Vermont Artist Series, Florida’s Amelia Island, Chicago’s Underground Wonder Bar, and numerous music festivals up and down the East Coast.
She performs her Caribbean Soul music regularly throughout New England with such bands as Zili Misik, Natural Element, and Sidy Maïga
& Afrimanding.
As a stage actress, she has performed Off-Broadway at LaMaMa, and regionally at Speakeasy Stage, Central Square Theater, Fiddlehead Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Wheelock Family Theatre, Greater Boston Stage and Circuit Theater Company.
Bass trained at the London Dramatic Academy and is a graduate of Brown University’s Theatre program.
In addition to her theater credits, she is also a film, television and commercial actress, recently appearing on AMC, HULU and HBO Max and in the feature films Space Oddity and Love, Weddings & Other Disasters.
NEW JERSEY PHILHARMONIC CONCERT DETAILS
World Premiere of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Farah (Joy) for Voice and Orchestra
Becky Bass, Providence, RI – Featured vocalist with the New Jersey Symphony
Friday, June 9, 8 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ
Saturday, June 10, 8 pm at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ
Sunday, June 11, 3 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ