Barbara Smith Conrad To Perform At ‘When I Rise’ Film Screening

By Rebecca Fontenot in Blog on February 1, 2011 at 9:28 am | No Comments

It’s been making the rounds at film festivals across the country, and now almost one year after it premiered at the Paramount Theatre, When I Rise is back in Austin for a public film screening this Thursday, Feb. 3, with a special guest.

The moving documentary chronicles the story of opera singer Barbara Smith Conrad, who as a University of Texas student was removed from her role as the lead actress in a student production of Dido and Aeneaus because she was African American.

Conrad went on to graduate in 1959 and became a renowned mezzo-soprano, performing in opera houses around the world.

She and soprano Icy Simpson, MM ’09, will perform after the screening at the LBJ Auditorium and then participate in a Q&A along with film director Mat Hames, moderated by Don Carleton, director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, which produced the film.

The screening is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP in advance here.

For those that can’t make it to the screening, PBS will be airing the documentary three times next week.