With tributes by Faith Evans, Camille Thurman, Jaundolyn Stokes
With Chenee Campbell, Tiffany Freeman, Martika Knight and Alicia Peters-Jordan
A celebration of Grammy Award-winning Gospel legend Twinkie Clark. Curated in partnership with musical polymath Damien Sneed, the evening will honor Clark aka the “Mother of Gospel Music” and the “Queen of the B3 Hammond Organ” with a program of performances of her compositions. Widely regarded as one of the most important gospel composers in history, Twinkie Clark will take to the Hammond to perform her own compositions solo and with special guests such as Grammy winner Karen Clark Sheard.
Dr. Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark is Detroit’s own Living Legend. She is a gospel singer, songwriter, record producer, musician, and evangelist. Twinkie as she is best known, has pinned over 350 songs. She is the leader of the American gospel singing group The Clark Sisters, which include her sisters, Jackie Clark Chisholm, Denise Clark Bradford, Dorinda Clark Cole and Karen Clark Sheard. She is known as the
"Mother of Contemporary Gospel Music" and The "Queen of the B3 Hammond Organ", [3] and a member of the Hammond organ Hall of Fame. [4]
Along with her sisters and individually Twinkie is the recipient of multiple awards including Grammy, Dove, BMI, Stellar, Soul Train, Black Image, The James Cleveland lifetime Achievement Award and many others. She was recently honored by The Church Of God In Christ for her contributions to the music department and credited for giving the church its “COGIC Sound”.
Twinkie has also produced albums for several choirs and traveled the world abroad as an evangelist, workshop facilitator, and music educator.
She has had her compositions recorded and sampled by some of the Gospel greats and secular artist.
Twinkie credits her musical gifts to God and recognizes her mother, the late Dr. Mattie Moss Clark as her greatest inspiration. Twinkie also attended Howard University where she sharpened her musical skills.
Recently Lifetime released a movie regarding the Life of the Clark Sisters titled, The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel Music and her latest CD is with her sisters, titled “The Clark Sisters - The Return”.
Four-time GRAMMY® Award-winner and multiple Stellar and GMA Dove Award winner Dr. Karen Clark Sheard is a vocalist, songwriter, entrepreneur, wife and mother. She is also a gospel music legend and a part of a musical dynasty. Admired by a wide range of vocalists from various genres, Dr. Sheard is renowned throughout the music industry for her signature, one-of-a-kind multi-octave vocal range and ability. Her musical style with the legendary Clark Sisters and as a solo artist has inspired a host of today’s brightest pop divas, gospel singers and songwriters.
As a voice assigned to this day and age, Dr. Sheard travels the world preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ! With power, grace, and assurance, she delivers a message of hope to the hopeless - a message of peace where there is confusion, a message of love where there is hate, and she introduces Jesus Christ to those that don’t know Him. She takes pride in being a vessel used by God almighty and takes her assignment serious- ly to ensure that she is a living, breathing example of Psalm 19:14 which reads “Let the words of my mouth, and the medi- tation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
As a multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed is a pianist, vocalist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and arts educator whose work spans multiple genres. He has worked with opera, classical, jazz, pop, R&B, and gospel legends, including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, which he is featured on Norman’sfinal recording, Bound For The Promised Land on Albany Records. He also worked with Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, and many others. Sneed has served as music director for Grammy Award-winning gospel artists The Clark Sisters, Richard Smallwood, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Kim Burrell, among others.
Sneed’s most recent studio recording is Damien Sneed: Unplugged, an all- gospel collection of soulful and inspirational songs, recorded in a spare studio setting with Sneed on piano and vocals alongside several noted vocalists, including Chenee Campbell, Linny Smith, Tiffany Stevenson, and Matia Washington. In January 2020, Sneed released his debut classical album, Classically Harlem and We Shall Overcome Deluxe on his boutique label, LeChateau Earl Records, which was established in 2009 to reflect his varied musical interests. Previous recordings also include Jazz In Manhattan (September 2019); The Three Sides of Damien
Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul (July 2018); Broken To Minister: The Deluxe Edition (March 2015); Spiritual Sketches (June 2013); and Introspections LIVE (January 2010). Sneed is a 2020 Dove Award winner for his work as a featured producer and writer on The Clark Sisters’ project, The Return, released on March 13, 2020.
For more information on Damien Sneed and LeChateau Earl Records, go towww.damiensneed.com and www.lechateauearl.com.
Faith Evans is a multi-platinum Grammy Award winning recording artist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. With a music career spanning over two decades, Faith has released eight studio albums, with over 18 million albums sold and spawning over 30 singles. Faith Evans is a seven-time Grammy nominee; winning “Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group” in 1998 for “I’ll Be Missing You,” an homage to her late husband and hip-hop legend Notorious B.I.G. Faith has three Platinum-certified albums under her belt, including: “Faith” (1995), “Keep The Faith” (1998) and “Faithfully” (2001); the Gold-certified “The First Lady” (2005), and the holiday staple, “A Faithful Christmas” (2005). In 2008, Faith penned her New York Times Best Selling Book, “Keep the Faith: A Memoir” with Aliya King. In 2010, Faith released her first independent album through her music imprint Prolific Music Group and E1 Music, titled “Something About Faith”. The lead single “Gone Already” was nominated for “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” for the 2011 Grammy Awards. The “R&B Divas’’ album earned Faith her seventh Grammy nomination for “Best R&B Album” for the 2014 Grammy Awards.
Camille Thurman Composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, unique interpreter of the jazz tradition, jazz ambassador, and educator, Camille Thurman is quickly becoming one of the standard-bearers for the form, making a considerable and dynamic contribution to the legacy of jazz while paying tribute to its heroes. Fluid and powerful on the tenor saxophone and highly inventive as a vocalist, she also plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, piccolo, and soprano saxophone. Her rich sax sound has been compared to Joe Henderson and Dexter Gordon, while her vocal approach— including an impressive scatting ability—has been classified alongside that of Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter. Thurman has shared stages with such jazz and R&B luminaries as George Coleman, Roy Haynes, Dianne Reeves, Wynton Marsalis, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis, Buster Williams, Charles Tolliver, Jack DeJohnette, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jon Hendricks, Harry Connick Jr., Audra McDonald, Diana Krall, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Louis Hayes, Russell Malone, Nicholas Payton, Jacky Terrasson, Jon Batiste, Janelle Monáe, Alicia Keys, Lalah Hathaway, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu, among others. She has toured internationally with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; she is the first woman in more than 30 years to work full-time, for two seasons with the world-renowned orchestra (2018-2019 and 2019-2020).
Juandolyn Stokes is a multi-vocational professional in the fields of media, academics, writing, ministry, and community leadership. She anchors a midday news and talk radio show called “On Point with Juandolyn Stokes” on WAOK Radio, an affiliate of Audacy Media. She is a television host on Atlanta Live, the Christian television network, WATC-TV 57. For years, her academic journey has garnered her professorship at Beulah Heights University and the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Stokes is currently a 8 | @TownHallNYC @TownHallNYC | 9 A very special thank you to Farah Griffin, Erich McMillan-McCall and Janet Smith for their outreach support. part of the Spiritual Care Chaplaincy program at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a gospel music executive veteran with vast knowledge and experience in managing gospel record labels, publishing companies, and recording artists. She has authored and published several books, including The Closet: A Haven for Prayer, What Have I Been Called to Do, and Psalms: A Preparatory Study on the Psalms, just to name a few. She is the Senior Pastor of Deeper Life in Christ Ministries in Conyers, Georgia. Her community involvement includes working with community organizations like Hosea Helps and Second Helpings Atlanta, which regularly serves the poor, hungry, and homeless communities. This prolific speaker, preacher, educator, media personality, author, and voice artist enjoys serving others with her heart for people and love for God.
Health & safety: As of July 1, The Town Hall is mask friendly. Masks are encouraged but not required, unless otherwise noted.