GRAND RAPIDS, MI — If you watched the Oscar-nominated film, “Hidden Figures,” you might have heard Lalah Hathaway’s voice.
The film’s soundtrack features Lalah Hathaway singing an up-tempo duet, Surrender, with the film’s soundtrack producer, Pharrell Williams.
“Hidden Figures” tells the story of a team of African-American women in the 1960s who supplied critical calculations that launched astronaut John Glenn into orbit and brought him home safely. The film, starring Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer, is up for an Oscar for Best Picture.
Hathaway, a three-time Grammy Award winner, will be the special guest for the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Symphony with Soul on Saturday, Feb. 18.
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Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt leads the Grand Rapids Symphony in the 16th annual evening of gospel, spirituals, jazz, blues and R&B. The concert will feature The Grand Rapids Symphony Community Chorus, an ensemble of singers directed by Duane Shields Davis.
Hathaway, a Chicago native and daughter of soul singer Donny Hathaway, is often called the “first daughter of soul. ” She is up for two Grammy awards — for Best R&B Album and her new single, “Angel” — which will be presented Feb. 12.
The Symphony with Soul will be preceded by the Celebration of Soul, a gala dinner celebrating the importance of cultural awareness and inclusion in West Michigan.
The Dr. Malinda P. Sapp Legacy Award will be given to Elias Lumpkins, Grand Rapids City Commissioner; Christina Arnold, director of The Bob and Aleicia Woodrick Center for Equity and Inclusion at GRCC; and Cherry Street Health Services.
The recipients are being honored for advancing multiculturalism and multicultural awareness in their profession or industry and are role models of consistent, creative encouragement in the community to become more culturally competent.
Gala tickets for Celebration of Soul are $150 per person, which includes the reception, dinner and awards at the International Ballroom of the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids plus a ticket to the Symphony with Soul concert and admission to the after party at 10 p.m. Call (616) 454-9451 ext. 124 for tickets.
Tickets for the concert, which start at $18, are available at the GRS ticket office. Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Passport program. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert as well.
