Rising opera singer Sara LeMesh brought her musical talents to San Quentin State Prison, mesmerizing her captive audience with her singing and charm.
In the prison’s Catholic chapel, LeMesh used the power of her soprano voice to entertain an audience of more than 100 as she ran through a set of 19 songs on a Sunday evening in August.
The men appeared focused as LeMesh sang, relaxing them all into a contemplative mood.
“I never thought I’d see this in prison,” Benito Sosa, 32, said. He arrived at San Quentin six months ago. “I think it’s cool.”
LeMesh resonated in four languages: Italian, French, Latin and English. The first eight songs, beginning with “Caro mio ben,” were sung in Italian or French. The last was “Nuits d’etoiles.”
“It’s a French song, and it’s about being outside on a starry night,” she said. “What’s the point in singing in a foreign language if you can’t share something?”
“It’s beautiful,” Daniel Arciniega, 51, said. He arrived at San Quentin five months ago. “Excellent songs. Her personality is nice. I appreciate the program.”
Following her skill singing in French, LeMesh switched to her native language, English. She said many people’s reference to opera is that it’s sung in Italian. “There’s a lot of opera in English.”
I Attempt from Love’s Sickness was the first song sung in English.
“It’s about an angel,” LeMesh said.
LeMesh followed up with Music for a While. “It’s about how music can be really healing and make such a big difference,” she said,
The music is said to be so powerful in this song that it can make the snakes drop from Medusa’s head.“The Healing Power of Music” is how the organization Bread & Roses promoted this concert, just as it does many of its other shows. Lisa Starbird works with the organization and brought LeMesh into the prison to sing. She too pronounced the singing very enjoyable.
By the time LeMesh had completed singing 15 songs, Starbird noticed, “She hasn’t taken a sip of water.”
Starbird has been bringing music into the prison through Bread & Roses for five and a half years. In total, however, the organization has been bringing music to San Quentin for more than 40 years.
“This is a religious piece,” LeMesh said of the song “Et Exultavit Spiritus Meus.” “Most religious songs, particularly Catholic, are Latin. (This is) a prayer, but a very uplifting one.”
She said Bach wrote it.
“You can tell it’s a prayer,” she added. Next was Laurie’s Song, a four-minute piece from the opera The Tender Land. It’s about a girl who is afraid but excited to leave home and see the world. LeMesh conveyed the girl’s fear singing, “Once I thought I’d never go outside this fence.” As the piano recording played melodically through the chapel speakers with chord progressions alternating in and out, there was a long rest that allowed LeMesh time to sing a cappella.
“This is an Irish tune about the perspective of an older man,” LeMesh said of the song “The Salley Gardens.” It tells the story of a man who let go of love when he was young.
On the song Ave Maria, LeMesh said to the audience, “If you want to, close your eyes or hum along if you know it.”
When the sound of chords played as arpeggios on the piano recording, it was obvious to some musicians the song was Prelude in C.
“I didn’t realize how moving and emotionally powerful opera is,” inmate David Rodriquez, 22, said. “I want to hear more of it.” He said he wants to purchase some opera CDs.
“Amazing Grace” was the last song in the set. Because it was a familiar piece, the inmates sang along. Afterward, they gave LeMesh a loud standing ovation, applauding and cheering loudly.
For an encore, LeMesh played the piano and sang. Her bottle of water placed atop the piano was still full as she sang a piece about California. She received a second round of applause and another standing ovation.
“She’s an absolutely awesome singer and performer,” inmate Jeff Atkins, 56, said. “I couldn’t leave. You don’t expect that big sound out of someone that little.”
After the performance, LeMesh graciously shook hands and spoke with men who stood in line to thank her.
“You’re angelic,” said an inmate who introduced himself as Anthony.
LeMesh said she started singing at age 9. At 13, her music teacher told her mother that LeMesh had a classical voice so she could no longer adequately teach her. That’s when LeMesh said she realized she had a gift.
“I’m lucky my parents took time to research music for me,” she said.
According to her website, LeMesh has attended music festivals all over the world, to “hone my craft” in places such as Salzburg, France; Santa Barbara, California; and Lenox, Massachusetts. She’s also performed at the Mendocino Music Festival and American Bach Soloists.
Last year, LeMesh performed at the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival & School, Song Fest, and Mozarteum International Summer Academy.
According to the New York Times, LeMesh, a Marin County native, returned to her home in the Bay Area after earning her master’s degree. She later sang with the San Francisco Opera during its 2015 season. She also found time to learn computer coding.
“I have loved learning about coding and software and now understand that my desire to analyze music is not that different from breaking down code,” she said.
LeMesh holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Rice University and a Master of Music degree from the Bard College-Conservatory of Music.
Grammy Winner LeCrae Moore’s inspirational message
LeCrae performing in the Protestant Chapel
Two-time Grammy-winning rapper LeCrae Moore used a hip-hop performance at San Quentin State Prison on July 24 to deliver inspirational messages and show his Christian faith in action.
“On a personal level, I’m here because I have family behind prison walls: my father, my uncle,” LeCrae said.“I’m attracted to being around people I feel like society has thrown away. People have value, souls have value. Coming here is saying my father and uncle matter.”
During the show, LeCrae used a five-dollar bill to illustrate value.
“You see this five-dollar bill?” LeCrae asked the standing-room-only audience in Protestant Chapel. “I crumpled it up, what’s it worth now? Still five dollars.”
LeCrae rubbed the bill along his lower body, spit on it, dropped it on the ground, and stomped it. Then he told the crumpled bill it was worthless and would never be anything.
“What’s it worth now?”
“Nothing,” someone in the audience yelled.
Correcting that person’s mistake, LeCrae responded, “If I unfold it and take it to the store, it still spends. No matter what happened to it, it never lost its value—you matter, you have purpose. It doesn’t matter what was said or done. If we use $100 bills as wallpaper, we’re wasting it. We didn’t use it for the value and purpose it was meant for.”
Grammy-winning rapper LeCrae giving the crowd what they didn’t expect to hear or see
Incarcerated men in the audience openly sobbed as LeCrae’s metaphor sank in.
“I saw three people cry when LeCrae talked about your worth,” Eric “Maserati E” Abercrombie said. “He was like a modern-day Socrates.”
LeCrae is a rapper who is a Christian. He has won Grammies for Best Rap Song in 2013 and Best Gospel Album in 2014. He also received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Christian music. He sold over three million records, with several albums and mix tapes, including his latest, Let the Trap Say Amen.
LeCrae has performed at other correctional facilities including Riker’s Island, Angola, and the Los Angeles County jail. It was the 6-foot-5 rapper’s first time at San Quentin.
“I thought I would have to wait until I got out and go to a concert to meet him but he’s here,” said Jamai Johnson, who owns 10 LeCrae albums and mix tapes. “Moments like this allow you to see, feel and know exactly how much you mean to God and how much love he has for the entire planet.”
Send Musicians to Prison, an organization founded by Nathan Lee, brought LeCrae in with the help of a retired Warden Duffy, formerly with the NYC Department of Corrections, and San Quentin Public Information Officer Sam Robinson.
San Quentin’s own Graced Out Youth Ministries member Ferrari Moody hosted the event, which opened with a prayer and rap performance by Harry “ATL” Smith.
Smith, one of the key players on the San Quentin Warriors team, stated before rapping: “Let’s give it up for Jesus. It ain’t about me. It ain’t about LeCrae. It’s about Jesus Christ.”
Two-time Grammy-winning rap- per LeCrae Moore used a hip-hop performance at San Quentin State Prison on July 24 to deliver inspi- rational messages and show his Christian faith in action.
LeCrae took the stage next, giving context before performing a nine-song set including a premiere performance of “Shine a Light on Me” and three songs from his newest album.
During “Shine a Light on Me,” he rapped, “…introduced me to Jay Z, never (see) my dad but I met the music that raised me.”
Before rapping, “Count Up My Blessing,” he told a short story about meeting a man at Angola who said he was blessed, despite serving a life term, because his mother loved him, he woke up and when he died, he would be with the Lord.
“And I’m complaining about being in traffic,” LeCrae said.
Before performing “Ain’t Talking About Nothing,” he used the story of David and Goliath to explain why he uses music the way he does.
“I grew up on Little Wayne, Snoop, Tupac,” LeCrae said. “Then God showed me something. David went to the King and said, ‘I’m going to fight Goliath.’
“The King wanted David to put on armor. David replied, ‘This don’t fit me. Give me a sling and let me fight the way I know how.’ I don’t do hymns or traditional gospel music but give me a beat and rhythms.”
For an intro to his song, “Plugged In,” LeCrae talked about how you can buy six gold chains or buy a barbershop that expands to six chains.
“Let the Trapped Say Amen,” went on about the less glamorous side of the drug game that most drug dealers don’t warn you about.
Before “Praying for You, Man,” LeCrae said, “Our purpose really ain’t about us. It ain’t really about you. It ain’t about me. You might be here to inspire a whole new generation. I’m listening to a podcast from San Quentin and I’m being inspired. Don’t ever feel like your purpose was snatched from you. Your freedom is right here. Pray for the things he has preplanned.”
On his intro to “All Things Work Together,” LeCrae rapped, “The Master artist makes you a masterpiece, regardless.”
LeCrae advised the audience to use their time to figure out who they need to be.
“My man learned how to cook in prison,” LeCrae said. “Even if you have a life sentence, y’all already proved it. You ain’t got to be out there to make an impact.”
The night ended after the concert with an impromptu rap cycle kicked off by Abercrombie playing his guitar and rapping his song “Identity.”
Antwan “Banks” Williams, the “Ear Hustle” sound designer and a talented artist, added a verse.
“Handpicked I can endure the conditions, because this might be the only way I acquire God’s wisdom,” Williams rapped.
A small crowd of mostly rappers joined in on the chorus, “yeah, yeah, yeah,” to Abercrombie’s second song, “Can’t Hold Me Back,” which turned into a free-for-all.
First Tevin “Cutty” Fournette, Abercrombie’s older brother, joined in.
Then Calvin Johnson added a verse followed by Kenneth “HQ” Hawkins, who rapped, “I been converted since my King was murdered; only God can judge me, have you heard the verdict?”
LeCrae bobbed his head and smiled as the rappers gave him a show.
The Grammy-winning rapper left the church humming, “yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“I’m fortunate and grateful to be here,” LeCrae said. “If I inspired one person, I did my job. I leave more inspired by the folks in here using whatever they got to do incredible things.”
Couple Retires After Decades Performing In Prisons
For uncounted thousands of prisoners across America, a performance by harpist Linda Rice was a chance to listen and see something completely unexpected, entertaining and inspiring.
Linda is known as “The Harp Lady” in hundreds of prisons across the country. Her husband, Willis, accompanied her on concert trips, hauling her blue harp in an aging van and handling the sound equipment. She also performed a Christmas-time piano concert at the White House for President George W. Bush.
White House
The couple had performed close to a 1,000 times behind bars, touching the hearts of the incarcerated at every stop. However, after years of performing at federal and state prisons, Linda decided to retire.
“When we knew it was over, we just sat in our motel room and cried,” said Linda.
Without the use of soundtracks, or any other musical accompaniment, Linda would fuse such diverse sounds as Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” with traditional Gospel songs. At the same time, and with clarity, the audience could hear both tunes coming through.
“The harp is the most ergonomically incorrect instrument a person can play,” explained Willis.
In preparation for performances, Willis said Linda would practice more than eight hours a day. Each performance is well-orchestrated, Willis explained. While Linda was on stage, playing the harp and sharing stories between songs, he would work the portable soundboard. The audio engineer for the rock band “The Who” had put together their equipment at the start, he said. They only needed an electrical outlet to perform.
The reactions have been the same at every prison where they performed, Willis said. It would begin with the audience sitting with arms crossed over chest, politely watching and waiting for the lady in the glittering jacket to perform. Every concert ended with enthusiastic applause and requests for them to come back soon.
Willis was a Lieutenant Colonel flying out of Travis Air Force Base who retired after 22 years of service. He piloted enormous military transport jets, while Linda taught piano and harp near the base. After he traded in his wings for time with his wife, they took off out on the road.
Their first concerts were only in churches, but while in Colorado, they performed at one of the federal institutions.
Performing at the first prison was all it took to help the couple find their calling of putting smiles on many prisoners’ faces, Linda said.
During the prison performances, they would speak of their shared Christian faith. Linda said they were often surprised by the reception from inside.
Willis’ cancer diagnosis in 2004 nearly forced the couple to stop touring. Doctors told them it was time to “enjoy” what time Willis had left. Despite the cancer diagnosis, they continued performing and asked prisoners to join them in prayer for his healing. At one point, Willis was on his deathbed, but now doctors report he is cancer-free. They said that they are convinced it is a miracle from God.
Over time, they have cut back to only visiting California prisons. They said that they consider San Quentin their prison. They’d test new musical pieces here before taking them to other prisons.
While still being involved at San Quentin, Linda now only plays the piano at the nearby Tiburon Baptist Church.
“We’ve had more friends than any two people deserve,” said Willis, who has been married to Linda for 47 years. “Our lives are so rich and full, both inside and outside of prison.”
Breaking the cycle of incarceration with music from behind prison walls