|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Liz Bradley Kel & Partners 857.891.5531 (cell)
GATHER.COM & SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY TO HOST LIVE PERFORMANCE AND LECTURE BY LEGENDARY JAZZ MUSICIAN DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
UN FAO Ambassador and Civil Rights Activist Makes Unscheduled Stop in Boston to Share Cultural Experience with Fellow Gather.com Members
BOSTON, MA — October 9, 2007 — Gather.com, the leading social media site for adults, today announced that legendary jazz musician Dee Dee Bridgewater (ddbridgewater.gather.com) is making a special stop in Boston to share a unique cultural experience with her fellow Gather.com members. On October 11th she will tour the Suffolk University campus and surrounding historical African American sites, as well as meet with local elected officials. She will also speak with Suffolk students from the Black Studies and World Music classes, a dialogue which will be broadcast via live video feed to Suffolk’s satellite location in Senegal, Africa—near Bridgewater’s ancestral roots in Mali, which greatly influenced her latest album, Red Earth.
Bridgewater will conclude the day of October 11th with a free event hosted by Gather.com and Suffolk University at 7pm at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church, located at 88 Tremont Street and built as the first ever fully integrated church in United States history. Dee Dee will open with the title track from Red Earth followed by a discussion about her recent journey to Africa, the inspiration behind her new album. Immediately following, Suffolk University will hold a private reception in her honor.
“I am very much looking forward to sharing my music with the people of this historically rich city,” said Bridgewater.
Bridgewater, who is the featured artist of the month in Gather.com’s Music group, is an active member of Gather the community who regularly engages in discussion with members.
“By freely sharing her vast knowledge and enthusiasm about jazz and other topics that matter to her most, Dee Dee has allowed her fans to interact with her in new ways,” said Tom Gerace (tom.gather.com) Gather.com’s founder & CEO. “Her creative video postings, pictures and articles have captivated our members and we are honored that she has decided to make a special stop to spend the day with us in our hometown.”
In addition to winning several entertainment industry awards including Broadway’s coveted Tony Award (Best Featured Actress in a Musical – The Wiz), Bridgewater has also been recognized for her steadfast humanitarian efforts. In 1999 she was named as an Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she plays a critical role in aiding in the fight against world hunger.
“For decades, Dee Dee Bridgewater has brought people together through the sound of her voice,” said Professor Robert A. Bellinger, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Collection of African American Literature and the Black Studies Program at Suffolk University. “In addition to entertaining people throughout the world, she has also used that voice to bring awareness to famine, world hunger and human rights, which makes her a brilliant role model for Suffolk students and faculty.”
About Gather.com Gather.com (www.gather.com) is the leader in social media for adults. Gather.com members connect around shared interests ranging from politics to books and from cooking to travel, and they’re compensated for their activity on the site. Members can engage in conversation with state and local politicians, health and financial experts, personal coaches, bestselling authors, and more. Over one million people visit Gather.com each month to read content created by Gather.com members. Gather.com has a highly educated, highly informed adult audience membership – a demographic elusive to most social networking sites. This demographic has made Gather.com an exceptional partner to media companies, advertising agencies, leading consumer brands, book publishers, and movie studios. Gather.com is a privately held, privately funded company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Investors include Allen & Company, The American Public Media Group, Hearst, The McGraw-Hill Companies, and Southern California Public Radio. For more information, visit www.gather.com or call (617) 720-4000, x1032.
About Suffolk University Suffolk University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 70 areas of study through its College of Arts and Sciences, Sawyer Business School, and Law School. With campuses on three continents—in Boston; Madrid, Spain; and Dakar, Senegal—as well as satellite locations in Eastern Massachusetts, Suffolk has expanded its founding vision of opportunity to a global stage. For more information please visit www.suffolk.edu.
###
|
