Grammy Award winner CeCe Winans and Miss America Laura Kaeppeler to guest star for one-night performance
NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University will present An Evening With Wintley Phipps, world-renowned gospel artist, Sunday, March 18 beginning at 5 p.m. at the Cornerstone Church in Madison, Tenn.
Phipps, one of the most watched gospel artist on You Tube, will headline this special concert, and will be joined by Grammy Award wining gospel singer CeCe Winans and the reigning Miss America Laura Kaeppeler, along with special guests, the Tennessee State University Orchestra and University Choir.
Tickets for this one-night only performance are $50 VIP, $35 General Admission and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the Gentry Center Complex, online at www.tnstate.edu/wintleyphipps, or by calling the TSU Foundation at 615.963.5481 between 8 a.m. until 4:30 pm. and 615.963.5375 from 4:30 until 8 p.m. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the TSU Centennial Scholarship Fund and the U.S. Dream Academy.
Born in Trinidad, West Indies and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Phipps has been the featured speaker and performer for many notable occasions around the world. On January 21, 2009 his celebrated rendition of “Amazing Grace” was performed for the 56th Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service attended by President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama, and Vice President Joseph and Dr. Jill Biden at the Washington National Cathedral. By special request of Oprah Winfrey, he delivered an inspirational address and prayer for the opening of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. He has performed for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William Clinton, and George W. Bush at the annual National Presidential Prayer Breakfast events and other distinguished celebrations.
Phipps is also a pastor, motivational speaker and education activist. He is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of the U.S. Dream Academy Inc., a non-profit, national after-school program that provides mentoring and tutoring around the country to children of incarcerated parents and children falling behind in school.
Founded in 1998, this organization has grown from one center in Washington, D.C. to 10 learning centers located across this nation. The Dream Academy program offers skill-building, character-building and dream-building activities in a safe after-school environment utilizing both one-to-one mentoring as well as state of the art technology to deliver on-line academic enrichment.
Phipps attended Kingsway College, a Christian Academy; Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., where he received a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Theology; and earned a Masters of Divinity Degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. He holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Waynesburg University and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Oakwood University. Phipps is married to inda Diane Galloway Phipps (an RN) and has three sons: Wintley Augustus, II, Winston Adriel, and Wade Alexander.
One of the most recognizable and incomparable voices in gospel music, CeCe Winans has sold millions of albums during her 25-year music career. The beautiful charismatic singer has garnered eight Grammy Awards, twenty-one Dove Awards, gold and platinum albums, a host of #1 Gospel and Top Ten R&B hits and numerous awards and recognitions. Despite her undeniable popularity she has maintained a reputation as one of the friendliest people in the music industry.
The eighth of ten children, Winans was raised in Detroit with a strong church foundation. She sang her first church solo at the age of eight. In 1987, BeBe & CeCe signed an unprecedented gospel-recording contract with Sparrow Records that allowed Capitol Records to promote BeBe & CeCe’s music in the urban market. Over the next eight years, they enjoyed R&B chart smashes including “Lost Without You,” “Heaven,” and “It’s Okay.” Their tunes “I’ll Take You There” and “Addictive Love” both reached number 1 on the R&B charts. BeBe & CeCe released their much-anticipated reunion CD – their first full project in fifteen years – titled Still. The smooth single “Close to You” quickly reached number 1 on the gospel charts and top 10 on the Urban AC charts, demonstrating that Winans is as popular and in demand now as when she first started two decades ago.
In 1995, the duo took what was meant to be a short break to record solo projects, and Winans’ career took her into a ministry direction that found her performing all over the world, including for Pope John Paul, U.S. Presidents and churches. On the secular side, her video duet with Whitney Houston “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and the Top Ten platinum smash “Count on Me” expanded her audience into the mainstream pop world.
Miss America Laura Kaeppeler is from Kenosha, Wis., and was crowned January 14 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Laura is a graduate of Carthage College. Her scholastic ambition is to obtain a Master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology and she ultimately hopes to become a speech therapist. Along with the title of Miss America 2012, she won a $50,000 scholarship to continue her education. For the talent portion of the competition, Laura performed an operatic rendition of “Il Bacio.”
As Miss America, Kaeppeler will visit every corner of the country during her year of service. She will spend her year touring the country to encourage all young women to pursue a college education, and will focus on driving interest in the arts, as well as science, technology, engineering and math (also known as STEM) education. The Miss America Organization will work with national and community partners to create an unconventional approach to driving young women’s interest in STEM. Our efforts coincide with the national momentum to target female students who are currently underrepresented in STEM professions.
In addition, she will travel approximately 20,000 miles each month speaking to audiences about her platform Circles of Support – Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents and acting as the official National Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals, is the national platform partner of the Miss America Organization.
For more information, call 615.963.5481 or visit www.tnstate.edu.
Department of Media Relations
Rick DelaHaya: 615.963.5312
Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university and is a comprehensive, urban, coeducational, land-grant university offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees. Founded in 1912 after its organization in 1909 as the Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School, TSU became the four-year teachers’ college in 1922, and elevated to full land-grant university status in 1958. TSU absorbed the University of Tennessee at Nashville in 1979. Tennessee State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2012 Tennessee State University will celebrate 100 years in Nashville. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
