GLEN ROVEN (Lead Composer)

Late two-time Emmy-winning composer, lyricist, conductor, pianist. Founder and Artistic Director of Roven Records, distributed worldwide by Naxos. 12-time nominee and 4-time Grammy winner; collaborated with Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, Aretha Franklin, Renee Fleming, Kathleen Battle, and hundreds of other celebrities for film, television, Broadway, Carnegie Hall, and many other international venues and orchestras.

Charles R. Smith, Jr. (Story and Libretto)

Award-winning author, photographer, and poet with over thirty books to his credit, including a Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration (2010) for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem “My People” and a Coretta Scott King Honor Author Award (2008) for his biography on Muhammad Ali, Twelve Rounds to Glory. Early books such as Rimshots, Hoop Kings, and Hoop Queensfocus on his love of basketball.

GRETHE BARRETT HOLBY (Concept & Creative Director)

Worked with Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center Festival, Houston Grand Opera, La Scala, LA Opera, & companies across the US. Originating cast member of Einstein on the Beach; collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Lou Reed, Robert Wilson, and Yusef Komunyakaa. Founding Artistic & Executive Director of Ardea Arts & Family Opera Initiative; Founder of American Opera Projects. A Rockefeller Fellowship Recipient, Holby holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from MIT.

Tomás Doncker (Additional Music)

Global Soul composer and producer. Directs, composes, and performs with his ensemble, Tomás Doncker Band. Guitarist for James Chance & The Contortions, Defunct, J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz. Collaborated with Boosty Collins, Yoko Ono, The Itals, & Prince Charles Alexander. Current Project with Ivan Neville, Bonnie Raitt, Meshell Ndegocello, In Living Color’s Corey Glover, P-Funk keyboardist AmpFiddler Shamekia Copeland, & Bill Laswell.

Ansel Elgort (hip-Hop Tracks)

A DJ, producer, singer, and actor, Elgort has performed in major EDM concert venues and festivals around the world. He was nominated the 2017 Golden Globe Best Actor for his role in Baby Driver. Currently in production on The Goldfinch, based on the Pulitzer-winning novel, his past credits include Carrie, The Fault In Our Stars, and the Divergent series. He is signed with Island Records and is a graduate of LaGuardia Arts High School here in New York City. 

EVERETT McCORVEY (Producer)

Professor of Voice, OperaLex Endowed Chair in Opera Studies, and Director and Executive Producer of University of Kentucky Opera Theatre: Artistic Director of the National Chorale, New York City; Director of American Spiritual Ensemble; Vice Chair Kentucky Arts Council. Professional Credits: Kentucky Center, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Communal (Italy), Radio Music City Hall. A basketball fan, he often sings the National Anthem for Kentucky Wildcats games.

BETH GUTCHEON (Additional Story & Libretto)

Beth Gutcheon has ten novels in print. Her eleventh book The Affliction was recently published by Harper Collins. She is also a vested member of the Writers Guild of America, with some dozen studio feature screenplays to her credit, as well as the narration for the documentary Children of Theatre Street, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

FRANK X WALKER (Additional Lyrics)

Former Kentucky Poet Laureate, Walker is a founder of the Affrilachian Poets and the author of nine collections of poetry. Voted one of the most creative professors in the South, he is the originator of the word “Affrilachia.” A Lannan Poetry Fellowship Award recipient, he has degrees from UKY and Spalding University as well as four honorary doctorates from UKY, Spalding University, Centre College, and Transylvania University.