Camille Zamora started “Sing For Hope: An Evening of Art Songs & Arias” shortly after the death of friend Frank Logan. Today—12 years later—she still presents the event with the same mix of purpose and passion.

"Frank and I had grown up together at the Houston School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and then we went to Juilliard together,” Zamora remembers.

“He was 23 and we were in New York, and I got a call from him saying that he was feeling under the weather and was coming home to relax, while he was actually in the final stages of AIDS.”

Logan passed away just a few weeks later. To honor his memory, and to help provide funds for others, Zamora organized a fundraising concert at Ovations in the Rice Village. She helped raise $2,000, and a new annual charity event was formed.

“Sing for Hope: An Evening of Art Songs & Arias” is now a black-tie affair that collects funds for Bering Omega, a Houston organization that has provided compassionate care for those living with HIV/AIDS for two decades.

Each year, soprano Zamora returns to Houston to host the event, bringing with her ten up and coming world-class singers for a program of opera arias and showtunes.

“(Frank) went into the regular hospital, but understaffed nurses can't sit and play Scrabble,” Zamora says.

“He went to Omega, and it was such a loving place. It's an eight bed Montrose mansion, and it feels like a home. The decor was donated by interior designers, and Frank's room had clouds in the ceiling.”

Fiona Dawson, director of Resource Development at Bering Omega, has been helping with the logistics for “Sing for Hope” for three years. It is now the organization’s signature event.

But despite the swanky setup, she says it’s not “your traditional gala.”

“There's no silent auction,” Dawson says.

The evening begins with a prelude for those who purchase VIP tickets, hosted by the honorary chairs—Mayor Bill White and his wife, Andrea.

“After the performance is champagne and desserts, and a chance to mingle with the performers," Dawson adds.

She expects the event to raise around $200,000 from single-ticket sales and individual and corporate sponsorships.

One of the hardest parts for Zamora is selecting which singers to include in the evening. She has 40-50 artists a year asking to be considered for the event.

This year’s crop of crooners includes Anthony Dean Griffey, Jennifer Aylmer (Bella Griffiths in the world premiere of “An American Tragedy” at The Met), Michael Slattery, Lester Lynch, Randall Scarlata (Naumberg and Schubert Prize Winner), Jennifer Samson (Julie in national tour of “Showboat”), Kenneth Merrill (musical director of Juilliard Opera Workshop) and Zamora.

Because of the demand, the Sing for Hope charity has branched out within the past year to include performances in lower Manhattan for the Young at Arts charity, and there is an upcoming show at Juilliard to support a new scholarship that enables students and recent alumnus to use their creative talents for community service.

"As singers, we have to travel a lot, and so it's hard to commit to volunteer on a regular basis,” says soprano Monica Yunus, a Juilliard graduate and long-time friend of Zamora, who is now co-director of the Sing For Hope charity.

“We get to do what we love to do, we can help out, and we can use our voices, our songs, for a good cause and to help inspire others.”

And although the reach of Sing For Hope is expanding, Zamora is quick to note the importance of the Houston event.

If I had tried this 12 years ago in New York, it probably wouldn't have grown how it has here,” Zamora says. “Houston supports upstart ideas and has embraced it and help perpetuate it.”

For Zamora, talking with the audience after the event always reminds her why she is so dedicated to the cause.

"Last year, after the show, a woman came up to me, and she told me that ten years ago, before her son passed away because of AIDS, he had the hardest time finding a dentist that would treat him,” Zamora says. “But one day her son came home, and he said, 'I found a dentist who will treat me.'

“She let me know that after ten years she saw that dentist in the audience tonight, and she was just so happy to see the man who helped her son.

"Of course, I was tearing up. She was tearing up. But it was beautiful. Frank and I had the idea that we would always be friends. Losing him propelled me to do this with the passion that I have for it."

© Copyright 2006 Window Media LLC | User Agreement and Privacy Policy

Southern Voice | Express Gay News | David Atlanta | The 411 Mag | Genre Magazine