Founded in 2012, the Chester Charter School for the Arts (CCSA) has created a blueprint for K-12 academic success: a rigorous arts-integrated curriculum. Recognized by The Caroline Alexander Buck Foundation as a “transformational organization, ” CCSA achieved the third highest year-to-year improvement on state tests out of 800 Philadelphia-area schools this year.

 

This event, the first major fundraising initiative of CCSA, brings Denyce Graves to historical Christ Church for an evening of opera, classical, jazz, and popular music. Named “an operatic superstar of the 21st century” by USA Today, Ms. Graves has appeared at many of the world’s great opera houses and concerts halls, becoming particularly well-known for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila.

 

Ms. Graves will be accompanied by pianist Laura Ward, the Philadelphia-based artistic director of Lyric Fest.