July 29, 2009
News 12 at 6 O'clock

AUGUSTA, Ga--- Her name alone has sold out concert halls around the world, but this week, Jessye Norman is back in Augusta and ready to take the stage again.

She will be performing with a group of four friends, DeAdre Aziza, Damien Sneed, Wycliffe Gordon and long time recital partner Mark Markham, who all have connections to Augusta.

It's a benefit to raise money for her school, The Jessye Norman School of the Arts on 739 Greene Street. The concert comes during a time of deep budget cuts for schools, which is especially troubling for the opera superstar.

"I know, and that's the reason the school is so important," Norman says, "and why support of the community for the school is so important because we are the adults who pay for the schools and the education our children should be having- we're allowing these important things to fall away from the curriculum and we shouldn't do that."

The concert is this Friday at 7:30pm at St. Pauls Church on Reynolds Street and there are lots of ways to get tickets. You can call 706-877-0411. Or stop by the school on Greene Street between 10am and 1pm. Tickets will also be sold at the door on Friday evening at St. Pauls.

The tickets are $100 for the concert and that covers dessert and a champagne reception. High school and college students with student I-D pay $35. All the money raised benefits the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.

To find out more visit: www.jessyenormanschool.org