BOARD MEMBERS p2
Sir Voza Rivers
New Heritage Theatre
Executive Director
Award Winning Producer of Theater, Film, Music & Live Events
Local, National and International Impresario for the Advancement of Arts and Culture
Sir Voza Rivers is a leading theater, music, and events producer and documentary filmmaker, born in Harlem, New York. Sir Voza Rivers is the executive producer and founding member of the New Heritage Theatre Group (established in 1964) and executive producer and co-founder of IMPACT Repertory Theatre, the Oscar-nominated youth division of New Heritage Theatre Group led by U.S. director, activist, and educator Jamal Joseph. He has produced and co-produced theater, music, and television projects, film festivals, and music tributes in the United States, Japan, South Africa, and the UK.
In the music and live genre arenas, Rivers has produced music events and concerts featuring world-renowned artists. A partial listing includes Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, Ruby Dee, Luther Vandross, James Brown, The Count Basie Orchestra, Ray Charles, Ashford and Simpson, Boy George, George Benson, Tito Puente, Lionel Hampton, Isaac Hayes, Little Jimmy Scott, Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, Kool, and the Gang, Hugh Masekela, Boyz II Men, Tony Bennett, Anita Baker, Chuck Jackson, Max Roach, Gloria Lynne, Yolanda Adams, Mary J. Blige, Dionne Warwick, Manhattan Transfer, Toni Braxton, Jonathan Butler, Phyllis Hyman, Grover Washington, Jr., and Chaka Khan.
A partial listing of Sir Voza's productions includes: Mbongeni Ngema’s, the TONY, and Grammy-nominated hit Broadway musical “Sarafina,” “Township Fever,” and the OBIE award-winning “Woza Albert!; “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and Romeo and Juliet” (featuring leading Black actors from the Royal Court Theatre Company and Royal National Theatre in England); the Tony-nominated “Asinamali!,” the Obie Award-winning play the “Huey P. Newton Story” at the Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture in Harlem; AVANTI blending opera jazz & symphonic orchestra featuring Kenn Hicks with Marcus Miller and Herbie Hancock at Jazz at Lincoln Center; 2006 Jazz for Peace, East Meets West featuring the High Society Orchestra with music students from Waseda University in Tokyo, and award-winning jazz composer, arranger and instrumentalist, Harlemite Craig Harris, at the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture; 2005 Jazz for Peace, East Meets West and Tocho Swing Beats and Frank Foster and his minority loud band; God’s Trombones featuring Craig Harris with special guest artist Avery Brooks at the Apollo Theatre; and several PBS, BBC, NBC and Starz Encore cable presentations; television and video shorts; specials and documentaries.
In 2015 Sir Voza Rivers and New Heritage Theatre Group partnered with MIST Harlem to present the staged reading series Bold New Voices, Past, Present, and Future. The Bold New Voices series presents and creates stories about people of color. Programs will encompass African American, Asian, Hispanic, and the African Diaspora cultural communities featuring music, film, drama, talk-backs, symposiums, playwriting, poetry, fiction workshops, and more.
Learn More About Sir Voza Rivers - Awards & Recognitions​
Michelle Saunders
Fayetteville State University
Outreach and Engagement
Coordinator, Department of
Performing and Fine Arts
Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Department of Performing and Fine Arts
Excerpt of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
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Liaison between the Arts Community and the department arts students to build work relations.
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Serve as a project manager to organize events for Fine Arts Series.
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Develop and negotiate artist contracts, marketing, and advertising budget for Fine Arts Series programs.
Adjunct Professor, Principles of Marketing & Principles of Management
Excerpt of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Teach Principles of Marketing & Principles of Management classes for over 120 undergraduates.
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Create lesson plans, tests, and assignments to ascertain how well students retained class material.
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Utilize appropriate course materials to support various student learning needs and styles to deliver content in relevant, distinctive ways.
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Leverage modern technology to enhance student comprehension/engagement.
Assistant Ticket Manager
Excerpt of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Expertly managed venue and facility rental process for both on and off-campus organizations from request to invoice and remittance.
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Promotes campus-held events via e-blast (email marketing), presentations, and social media.
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Design, prepare, edit and/or coordinate the distribution of bulletins, articles, publications, website content, and video content for all events hosted by the university.