CATRINA REESE “ THE GOSPELJAZZTRESS ”
Catrina , the first of four siblings , was born to sing ! Her musical talent was manifested in early childhood as she eagerly performed at family events . As a young adult , she sang background with many groups , but in 1989 with ' New Generation ' under the direction of Gary and Belinda Jackson Ingram , that became her introduction to professional background singing and studio recording . The group was honored as an opening act for one of Gospel ' s legends , Shirley Caesar , in Charlotte , N . C . Through the years , Catrina has had various opportunities to display her musical gift ; being a member of the backup choir for Dorothy Norwood who performed in Charlotte in 1988 ; a local featured solo artist in the gospel explosion with Beverly Crawford in 2000 at Pease Auditorium ; singing the National Anthem at various events such as the former Charlotte Hornets basketball game in 2003 , at CIAA tournament in 2004 , at Charlotte Knights semi pro baseball games and at the Charlotte Checkers hockey games . She was a member of the Charlotte Choral Society and the Charlotte Singing Christmas tree . Out of 600 singers area wide , Catrina won and became the grand prize winner of the ' 2004 GIMME THE MIKE-CHARLOTTE ' talent competition sponsored by WSOC Channel 9 . From that experience , she was chosen as an opening act for Yolanda Adams and Dettrick Haddon at Charlotte ' s Ovens Auditorium in September of 2005 . She sang for the “ DAYBREAK FOR FREEDOM- TRIBUTE TO MLK DAY ” with the Charlotte Symphony in 2006 at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Theatre under the direction of Harry Davidson , Music Director and Conductor of the Duke Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Music at Duke University , In 2008 , Catrina , along with the praise team from Kingdom Dominion Ministries Inc , was a featured opening group with Vickie Winans in Columbia SC . She shared the stage and performed a duet with Grammy Award winning legend , Kathy Mattea in 2009 in Asheville , NC at the renowned Biltmore Estate with David Tang and Vox which was a Christmas special aired on WDAV radio station live . And in 2011 , she had the awesome pleasure of ministering in song to the African President of Burundi , President Pierre Nkurunziza and the First Lady for the Samaritan ’ s Feet fundraising event at Ballentyne Country Club in Charlotte , NC .
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