Arts and Humanities People and Community

Nicole Henry’s Expressive, Soulful Voice Helps Launch Black Awareness Month Events at UM

The UM alumna performed and gave advice to students during BAM Opening Ceremonies at the Student Activities Center.
Nicole Henry’s Expressive, Soulful Voice Helps Launch Black Awareness Month Events at UM

Growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, acclaimed jazz vocalist Nicole Henry pursued the arts early on, singing in school and church and studying cello and ballet. But when she enrolled as a freshman at the University of Miami, it was advertising, not music, that she studied.



She would still put her expressive and soulful voice to use while at the University, performing in talent competitions and as a member of the UM Inspiration Concert Choir. Now, with three top 10 albums and accolades from Moscow to Madrid, Henry is known the world over.



Last Thursday, the 2013 Soul Train Award winner for “Best Traditional Jazz Performance” shared with a UM audience her musical gifts and doled out advice to students as the headline act for Black Awareness Month (BAM) Opening Ceremonies at the Student Activities Center Ballrooms.



“Think of the life you want to live” was Henry’s message to students. “Make a list and get to livin’ because it goes by so quickly.”



Henry has a busy schedule, with performances at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club and Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church coming up. Then she’ll return to the studio to start work on a new CD combining contemporary jazz, soul, and originals—a work she’s “excited” about.



Sponsored by United Black Students, Multicultural Student Affairs, and the Black Alumni Society, BAM continues throughout February with a number of other events, including a forum on the challenges and triumphs of minorities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields, a poetry slam, a discussion on the portrayal of blacks in the media, and an oratory contest. For a complete roster of events, click here