Wednesday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. EST

A multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed has amassed a background like few artists of his generation. He has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B legends including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, Wynton Marsalis, Diana Ross, Richard Smallwood, Ashford and Simpson, the Clark Sisters, Lawrence Brownlee, George Faison and many more.

Serving as LEAD’s first major fundraiser, the event will feature a live performance by Damien, an interview by the host of Black America and President/CEO ERA Coalition Carol Jenkins, and a talk-back session with the audience!

Sneed brought his brand of classical jazz and sanctified soul to venues across North America, embarking on a 40 city tour in January 2020 with “We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., featuring Damien Sneed.”

He is the recipient of the prestigious Sphinx Medal of Excellence and has premiered and conducted an original composition at Carnegie Hall. Damien served as music director, composer in residence, and cover conductor for the staff of the Houston Grand Opera; a featured producer and writer on the Clark Sisters' latest project, “The Return;" and, conductor on the recording of Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass with Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Chorale Le Chateau