Looking forward to the past, Street Corner Renaissance has defied the odds to do what many thought was either crazy or impossible. The group’s founder, Maurice Kitchen, was an accomplished but frustrated 25-year veteran of the insurance industry when he decided to quit his job and form a professional a cappella doo wop group with Torre Brannon Reese, a community youth advocate and founder of a successful mentoring program. They joined voices with Kwame Alexander, a former Seventh Day Adventist minister, Anthony (Tony) Snead, a legal assistant and Charles (Sonny) Banks, a city worker on the verge of retirement. These five distinguished gentlemen of song are now pursuing their dream, a dream they had deferred while dealing with life’s responsibilities. With a determined and changed mindset, their fantastic voyage has begun. "I just didn't want to die a claims adjuster." says Kitchen. "That couldn't have been the last thing on my resume."

Los Angeles-based Street Corner Renaissance offers a unique sound that has delighted audiences at venues throughout the country, including theaters, performing arts centers, elegant cruise lines, colleges and clubs. “We were honored to have been invited to participate in UCLA’s week-long Festival of African-American Music Symposium, right out of the gate,” said Kitchen, referring to a gig in the group’s early days. The festival was a comprehensive event hosted and produced by world-renowned guitarist Kenny Burrell. Street Corner Renaissance shared the stage with accomplished performers such as Nancy Wilson, George Duke, Patty Austin, Freda Payne, Linda Hopkins, Lalah Hathaway, Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson and Patrice Rushen, just to name a few.

Following that debut they opened for the well-known a cappella group Take Six at Debbie Allen’s “Smile Festival” and performed on-air with the legendary Stevie Wonder and renowned poet Nikki Giovanni. “To start out performing with such a stellar lineup was all the encouragement we needed. We took it as a
resounding endorsement that the music we’re committed to had a valid place in the broader cultural and musical landscape,” remarked group historian, Torre Brannon Reese.

Tickets are $20.

http://streetcornerrenaissance.com/