News Release
January 2003

James McBride Jazz Ensemble to perform at Moravian - February 5

(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) - The James McBride Jazz Ensemble will perform in concert on Wednesday, February 5, 8:00 p.m., in Foy Concert Hall on the Priscilla Payne Hurd campus of Moravian College. McBride is an accomplished saxophonist and composer who has toured with renowned jazz singers and musicians. He has written songs (music and lyrics) for Anita Baker, Grover Washington, Jr., Gary Burton, Silver Burdett Textbooks, and for the PBS television character "Barney".

McBride is also the recipient of several awards for his work as a composer in musical theater, including the 1996 American Arts and Letters Richard Rodgers Award, the 1996 ASCAP Richard Rodgers Horizons Award, and the American Music Festival's 1993 Stephen Sondheim Award. He has written the score for several musicals, including the highly acclaimed, award-winning show Bobos.

The multi-talented McBride is also an award-winning author. The Color of Water, his critically acclaimed memoir, won the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Excellence. It was recognized as an ALA Notable Book of the Year, and was listed for more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, selling more than 1.3 million copies in the United States alone and is now required reading at numerous colleges and high schools across the country. It has also been published in 16 languages and more than 20 countries. McBride's recent book, Miracle at St. Anna, marked the author's debut as a novelist. McBride is a former staff writer for The Washington Post, People Magazine, and Boston Globe. His work has appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

McBride is a graduate of New York City public schools. He studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received a Master in journalism from Columbia University.

General admission is $10 and $5 for seniors and children 12 and under. Foy Hall is located on the Priscilla Payne Hurd Campus at Church and Main Streets in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For more information, call 610-861-1650 or visit www.moravian.edu.