Singer to perform with choir

PROVIDED

Mac Rogers’ painting “Gullah Basket Lady” is on view in the exhibit “Summertime” at the Fish or Cut Bait Gallery on Edisto Island.

Grace Beahm
The Post and Courier

Nationally known blacksmith and Charleston native Philip Simmons, shown here in 2007, will celebrate his 96th birthday.

Ruth Crumley-Perry is living proof that depending upon the kindness of strangers can change lives.

Born in Africa's Republic of Congo, where she almost died as a baby, Crumley-Perry, 29, will display her extraordinary mezzo-soprano voice at 5 p.m. today at Mount Zion AME Church, 5 Glebe St.

Performing with the CSO Gospel Choir, Crumley-Perry will sing selections ranging from Mozart and Saint-Saens to the tunes of Kern and Hammerstein.

Commenting on the performance, to also include gospels and spirituals, Lee Pringle, co-founder and president of the CSO Gospel Choir, says, "Since its inception, the choir has fostered local and regional talent. Mrs. Perry was introduced to me while we were producing the Charleston Symphony Orchestra's Martin Luther King tribute. Afterward, I asked CSO Music Director David Stahl to listen to her sing."

Pringle says that Stahl was impressed with Crumley-Perry's vocal talent. "He was also even more impressed that she had come from the Congo, as it is often assumed that natural classical musical ability comes from solely Western cultures," says Pringle.

Now living in South Carolina, Crumley-Perry says, "As a vocalist, I strive to expand my repertoire, search new venues and experience new cultures. It is my goal to connect a community through music, just as I was connected to a larger world through my own past."

Born in 1978 in a village in Zaire, known today as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Crumley-Perry was originally named Lega Biku Busio, which translates into "We do not know what is ahead."

Five days after her birth, during massive rainstorms, her mother was crossing a river when flash floods took her life. Left without a mother, Crumley-Perry became ill shortly after the incident. Her father, who struggled to take care of her, heard that an American missionary family would be passing through a nearby village. Despite having five children of their own, the missionaries took the five-week-old baby, infected with parasites, scabies and worms, on a difficult journey back to Kenya to receive medical attention.

After gaining complete legal custody of the child, the Crumleys gave Busio the name "Ruth," and the baby became a part of their large family. When Crumley-Perry was 10, her adoptive parents decided to return to the United States, where they realized the child had an interest in music. Early on, Crumley-Perry participated in choir and orchestra concerts at Oakland Elementary School in Royal Oak, Mich. She also studied voice while attending Bob Jones University in Greenville.

Crumley-Perry participated in a master class with internationally recognized opera singer Jerome Hines and well-known vocal coach Eugene Bossart. In 2002, she was chosen as a member of the Brazile Dennard Chorale for her outstanding mezzo-soprano voice.

In January 2008, she made her Charleston debut with the CSO and the CSO Gospel Choir at Gaillard Auditorium. Crumley-Perry lives in Simpsonville with her husband, Lesley Perry, and their daughter, Jade.

The concert today is free and open to the public.

Simmons celebrated

The 96th birthday of South Carolina's master blacksmith Philip Simmons will be cele-brated in several ways this week.

At 5 p.m. today and Monday a performance by "3 Mo Divas + One" will be held at St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, 91 Anson St.

Tickets are $15. To purchase, call Ticketmaster at 554-6060 or purchase at the door.

The main mission of the Divas, a group from Washington, D.C., is to present a performance that also imparts a message of hope, peace and love, and preserves the legacy of African-American music through organ presentations and dramatic staging.

Also, from 1 to 5 p.m. June 8 in the "Heart Garden" of the Philip Simmons Garden at St. John's, there will be a public reception to wish Simmons a "Happy Birthday." Although the Charleston native has suffered from a slight stroke, he welcomes visitors, says event organizer Rossie M. Colter. Simmons' actual birthday is June 9.

Fish or Cut Bait

Fish or Cut Bait Gallery on Edisto Island has an exhibition titled "Summertime," showcasing the work of three artists.

Running through July, the exhibit will feature the paintings of Mac Rogers of Beaufort; John Tecklenburg, 16, a promising young artist from Daniel Island; and Charleston jewelry designer Sharon McLean.

"These three artists embody in their works the essence of easy 'summertime' living that we Edistonians enjoy almost all year," says Brailsford Foster, owner of the gallery, now celebrating its seventh season at 142 Jungle Road on the island.

A former Delta Airlines pilot, Rogers has been a part-time resident of Beaufort since 1989 and began living there full time in 2003. In 1964, he was employed at the old Edistonian general store when it was owned by his uncle. He draws inspiration from memories of Edisto.

Tecklenburg has sold many of his paintings with one of his first works, "The Road to Mepkin," commissioned by the late Father Francis Kline at Mepkin Abbey monastery in Moncks Corner.

McLean began her trademark Zola Jewelry in 1997 when she returned from studying sculpture in New York City. Her work features semiprecious stones, freshwater pearls, shells and glass beads inspired by nature.

Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@postandcourier.com.