Sistah LaLa La'Shelle Allen

Biography

La’Shelle Allen, Contralto, is a native of Baltimore, Maryland where she began her musical journey at the Baltimore School for the Arts. After graduation, Ms. Allen relocated to New York City and began touring professionally as a Soloist with The Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. Ms. Allen’s career spans more than thirty years performing in 30 countries, countless Opera Houses, Theaters, and various event venues. Highlights of Ms. Allen’s solo work include appearances at St. Peter’s Basilica, Grand Théâtre de Genève, and North Sea Jazz Festival de Vienne and Madison Square Garden. Recent engagements include tours at Lyric Opera Chicago, Virginia Arts Festival and as a member of The Metropolitan Opera’s Grammy Award winning cast of Porgy and Bess. Training as a Classical Vocalist has supported the exploration of numerous musical genres in performance and creation. Ms. Allen works not only in Opera but also in Jazz, Blues, Gospel, Broadway, Spoken Word, Negro Spirituals, and the list goes on.

Ms. Allen is also a talented Producer, Recording/Voice-Over, and Teaching Artist. Her recently released solo album, Journey To Freedom, showcases original music and arrangements centering the American Negro Spiritual. Ms. Allen is also the creator of  Spirituals In Motion, an outreach program designed to further the conversation around diversity in music and the contribution of underrepresented voices.