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Volume CXXXIII, Number 14 |
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Lois Deloatch Dawson brings jazz, blues vocals to Bowdoin
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
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| Lois Deloatch will perform tonight at 8:00 pm in Pickard Theatre. (Courtesy of Horton Smith Management) |
Vocalist and songwriter, Lois Dawson, is a native of rural Northampton County, North Carolina. Her originality and versatility reflect her deep appreciation for all genres of music, particularly jazz, blues, classical and spirituals. A gifted and inventive artist whose unique voice was recognized at an early age, Dawson has been performing as a soloist since the age of ten. As a teenager she served as pianist for church choirs and later was featured vocalist with the BSM Gospel Choir while an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has studied voice with noted vocal coach Martha Flowers.
In recent years, Dawson has appeared in concert settings throughout the country, opening for music luminaries including Arturo Sandoval, Jerry Butler, Roy Ayers, Tom Browne, and Dave Valentin. She has headlined the Duke Jazz Series, the Summer Music Festival at Blowing Rock, the Page Walker jazz Series, jazz at Brevard and more! She has participated in the Southern Arts Federation Jazz Showcase, Jazz in July at UMASS-Amherst, The Stanford Jazz Workshop and the North Carolina jazz Showcase.
Working with musical groups ranging in size from duets to full orchestras, Dawson presents concerts, workshops and residencies in schools, community & cultural centers and churches. She was voted Critics Pick for Best Jazz Artist 1996 and received a 1998 Indies Arts Award from The Independent Weekly magazine. Dawson is listed on the North Carolina Touring Artist Roster and maintains numerous professional affiliations including membership in the International Association of Jazz Educators and the National Academy of Recording Artists.
Dawson's self-produced, debut recording, Sunrise, consisting of all original compositions, has received nationwide critical acclaim. Additionally, she has appeared on Ghezzi's contemporary blues recording, Clearing (Doll Records, 1999) and on ...Sometimes I feel, a collection of Negro spirituals due for release in the year 2000.