Contact: Jo Ann Lloyd
805-756-6530
Award-Winning Gospel, R&B Group To Give Free Performance at Cal Poly Oct. 23
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Urban Entertainment, a group of high-school students from South Central Los Angeles, will perform Saturday, Oct. 23, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Spanos Theatre at Cal Poly as part of the 4th Annual Arts Education Conference.
The hour-long performance is free and open to the public and everyone
who loves music is encouraged to attend, said Susan Duffy, chair of Cal
Poly’s Liberal Studies Department.
Under the direction of Fred Martin, Urban Entertainment has performed
on national television and in major motion pictures, including “Under
Siege II” with Stephen Segal. They have performed with such renowned
artists such Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole and Jackson Brown.
The group has performed during the Independent Film Association's Spirit Awards and the 11th Annual Cinema Awards. The choir has also been named the House of Blues' Gospel Brunch No. 1 group four years in a row.
Martin is credited with establishing gospel music as an official course in public schools. He has trained and worked with some of today’s best-known acts in the gospel and R&B music industries, according to Duffy.
A teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Martin expands his reach to students in the greater Los Angeles area through the Urban Entertainment Institute, a nonprofit organization he founded in 2002.
According to its Web site (http://urbanentertainmentinstitute.org/fredmartin.htm),
the Urban
Entertainment Institute is an after-school program that allows young people
to gather to learn the history of music and to train professionally in
vocal, theatrical and musical performance. Students
learn the technical aspects of the entertainment business and run the
merchandising and marketing aspects of the organization under the guidance
of industry professionals and advisors. The social component of the Urban
Entertainment Institute includes mentoring the students in
scholastic excellence, in becoming good citizens, and demonstrating that
the arts bring people of all cultures together and provide youth with
a positive alternative to the ills that plague our society.
The performance is being held in conjunction with Cal Poly’s Arts Education Conference. For more information, call 756-2935.
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