Vocalist Lizz Wright to have ‘open conversation’ with Penn State audience

For its 2019-20 season, the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State places a focus on African American life in the United States over the centuries with a series entitled “The American Experience: Through an African-American Lens.” The next performance in this series takes place Wednesday, when talented vocalist Lizz Wright performs at Schwab Auditorium.

Wright’s musical background is steeped in gospel and jazz. She says she grew up in church and started singing there as early as five, before discovering jazz on the radio. Jazz would become a lifelong passion, one that took her outside the classroom while studying classical music at Georgia State University.

“I was ... trying to learn jazz on the side,” Wright said. “I was sitting in on the clubs in downtown Atlanta as much as I could.”

However, she soon found her loves for both jazz and gospel music intersected.

“A lot of the musicians I played with at that time in Atlanta at 19-20 years old were also church musicians. They played in church on the weekends and in clubs during the week,” she said.

It’s been more than 20 years since Wright spent her days learning jazz in Atlanta clubs, but her passion for the genre is still strong. Throughout her career, she’s picked up a love for other genres along the way.

“I really love Americana and folk music as much as I love gospel and jazz,” she said. “I really love nature and seeing that influence. I bought some land a few years ago out in the Carolina mountains and that probably affected my songs a bit.”

“I feel like (my career has) kind of come to this point where I really do this because I love it. I know I’ll be singing for another 40 years. I’m super happy where I am right now because I’ve returned to a lot of the joy that got me in the first place. I’m touring more, writing more ... I just love my team,” she adds.

For those attending her upcoming concert at Schwab Auditorium, Wright says to expect “a deeply American experience, one that is reconciling and healing.”

Part of Wright’s preparation for a concert includes researching a genre, its traditions and the people behind those traditions. Then, Wright lets her research inform the program for the evening, with the set list changing from venue to venue. She makes her final decisions for a set list once she’s in a space or city and she “feels it a little bit,” noting that this method “always seems to work out.”

“It’s more like coming up with a very open conversation among the audience. I really feel like it’s not a recital,” she said. “The audience is intelligent and creative on their own and I want to speak to that. Even more than giving a show, I like to approach music and performance with the attitude that I’m here to help people feel the feelings that they walk around with that they don’t have time to access. I’m here to help stimulate their sense of faith and hope and comfort. I want to be a part of that and I try to put music together and play with people that care about that ...”

Wright’s creative process and musical background combine to offer audiences what she hopes is a positive, spiritual experience.

“I know when people hear the right music in the right space, they feel comforted. They feel reassured and inspired. I think there’s a kind of comfort that can lead to wonder. I always hope I can find a way to tap into that (at a performance),” she said.

Wright performs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Schwab Auditorium. Visit cpa.psu.edu for more information.