NEWS 20 Nov 2008

Stax Music Academy Presents "Go Down, Moses - A Tribute To Isaac Hayes," Thursday, December 18 at Germantown Performing Arts Centre

CONCERT WILL FEATURE MUSICIANS OF SNAP! AFTER SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAM, PLUS KIRK WHALUM, DAVE HOLLISTER, MEMBERS OF THE MEMPHIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MEMPHIS, TN-On the evening of Thursday, December 18, the students of the Stax Music Academy's SNAP! After School program will be joined by a number of special guests and friends as they celebrate the life, music, and memory of the late Isaac Hayes. The SNAP! After School Winter Concert, subtitled "Go Down, Moses - A Tribute To Isaac Hayes," will be performed at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, and will be the first event of the 2008-2009 Concert Series, presented by ArtsMemphis.

"Isaac's style and genius made him a living embodiment of everything that made Memphis so unique and special," says Marc E. Willis, President and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, the Academy's non-profit parent organization. "He was also one of the earliest supporters of our mission of serving Memphis youth through music and performance. We were so shocked and saddened by his passing, and we can think of no more meaningful way to celebrate his contributions to the world than by keeping his songs alive."

The concert will be a musical multi-part journey through Hayes' life and career, and will touch on his many creative phases. "Isaac was a musician who was always most comfortable crossing genres and shattering expectations," says Academy Artistic Director Ashley Davis, "and this concert will reflect his restless spirit." The concert's set list is
expected to include renditions of many songs that Hayes wrote, co-wrote, or made famous, including "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic," "Walk On By," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Hold On, I'm Coming," and of course, "Theme from ‘Shaft'."

"Go Down, Moses" will feature the students of SNAP! After School, an Academy program that focuses on mentoring Memphis high school students through music education and unique performance opportunities in a variety of ensembles and disciplines. Members of the Soulsville Symphony Orchestra, the rhythm and string orchestra of
one of the Academy's sister organizations, The Soulsville Charter School, will also participate in the concert. They will be joined by the Academy's Artist-in-Residence, gospel and jazz saxophone great Kirk Whalum, former Blackstreet vocalist Dave Hollister, Stax legend and original Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley, noted local guitarist Gary Goin,
and members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, as well as other special guests to be announced.

Hayes' support of the Soulsville Foundation, which operates the Academy, Charter School, and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, dates back to the late 1990s. He was among the organization's first advocates and most enduring supporters, and served on its Board of National Ambassadors from 2005 until his death in August. Following
his passing, his family requested that his fans worldwide make memorial contributions to the Stax Music Academy in his memory. This concert will be the first public event that the Soulsville Foundation has presented in his memory.

WHAT: SNAP! After School Winter Concert: Go Down, Moses - A Tribute to Isaac Hayes
WHERE: Germantown Performing Arts Centre, 1801 Exeter Road, Germantown, TN 38138
WHEN: 7:00 p.m., Thursday, December 18
HOW MUCH: $10; reserved tickets available exclusively at the Stax Museum Gift Shop.
MORE INFO: StaxMusicAcademy.org or 901 946 2535, ext. 334.

ABOUT STAX MUSIC ACADEMY. The Stax Music Academy, part of the non-profit Soulsville Foundation, was founded in 2000 to meet the educational and mentoring needs of Memphis youth through music and performance. Since its first program, a summer music camp serving 75 boys and girls, the Academy has grown to serve several hundred Memphis youth annually at its two-story, state-of-the-art learning facility neighboring the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Tuition accounts for less than 7% of the Stax Music Academy's total revenue. The balance is funded through generous individual gifts, grants, corporate sponsorships, and admission revenue from the Stax Museum. For more information, please visit StaxMusicAcademy.org.