Award-winning singer/songwriter, dancer, actress and mega social influencer Montana Tucker will headline the Concert-4-Kindness on Sunday, Jan. 15 at the Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
Though this Boca native is a world-reknown performer who has opened for massive stars including Jennifer Lopez, Ciara, Flo Rida and Pitbull, she is equally focused on making the world a kinder more inclusive place.
Recently featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” she spoke about retracing her family roots in Poland where she explored her maternal grandparents’ experience during the Holocaust.
Captured on film, that trip became the six-part Holocaust education docuseries “How to: Never Forget.” It was featured across all of Tucker’s social media platforms to educate many of her 14 million followers.
Recent surveys have shown that many in the “TikTok Generation” are woefully unclear about the basic facts of the Holocaust. One national survey of adults under 40 in 2020, indicated that significant numbers fail to grasp that the death toll reached 6 million Jews, with one tenth of them reporting they’d never even heard the term “Holocaust” before.
“We need everyone to bring out their friends, families, and colleagues, from youth, parents and grandparents to Gen Zers, Millennials and Baby Boomers to join us, so together we can resonate acceptance, kindness and light,” shared Tucker.
Hosted by FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Concert-4-Kindness looks to deliver a “We are the World”-style moment, according to its marketers.
Tucker will perform several of her popular originals including “Be Myself” and I’m Not Alone.” Both of these singles were written by Tucker to inspire others to respect their own and others’ inclusion and diversity.
Though Tucker, and her dancers, will headline the multi-arts show, more than 125 multicultural performers and presenters will be involved.
Director of dance at FAU, Clarence Brooks, will perform “Sweet in the Morning,” choreographed by Leni Williams with music by Bobby McFerrin. Brooks has performed with more than 60 American companies and toured the United States, Europe, and Asia.
BriGuel, the internationally renowned bilingual artistic duo from Spain and New York, will perform their own brand of socially impactful music and share clips from their award-winning films and videos. Both grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, they are raising awareness and support for displace Ukrainians finding refuge at the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation in Poland.
Florida Singing Sons and Chorale Soleil, a new ensemble, will join forces vocally to cultivate arts-aware youth as leaders of tomorrow. Florida Singing Sons has been showcased with prestigious local companies such as Florida Grand Opera and New World Symphony and toured in the United States and major cities in Europe.
Local students and their mentors nurtured by Nat King Cole Generation Hope will perform instrumentals. The Boca Raton-based nonprofit provides a legacy of music education, mentoring and resources for youth with the greatest need and fewest resources.
The Concert-4-Kindness benefits FAU’s “Make a Difference Fund” for student scholarships and programs at the future Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies building at FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters.
The future building will bring together, under one roof, all multi-disciplinary education that focuses on human rights education, conflict de-escalation, ethics and diplomacy, leadership training, and peacemaking. It will also house FAU’s Peace, Justice, and Human Rights Center, a university-wide effort that unites scholars, students, practitioners, and community leaders engaged in the themes of social justice, human rights, and peace and nonviolence.
Where: Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15
Cost: Tickets start at $10
Information: www.fauevents.com; 561-297-6124