Harold Brown to be featured in “To Rise Above” at Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside on Thursday June 30, a jazz narrative by Michel Shirtz. (Photo by D’Arcy Patrick Egan)

Tuskegee Airman Dr. Col. Harold Brown, who lives on the Catawba Peninsula with his wife, Marsha Bordner, met with actor William Barrett at the traveling Tuskegee Airmen exhibit at Lakeside Chautauqua recently. Barrett will be portraying Brown in the new musical jazz work, “To Rise Above,” by Michael Shirtz that premiers Thursday, June 30 at Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside.

The jazz narrative also features Sadiyah Babatunde, Michael Shirtz Quartet, strings, chorus, and is directed by Van Parker.

Friends and admirers of Brown may want to attend two events at Lakeside on June 30.

The first is a Q & A at 3:30 p.m. with Shirtz, composer of a new jazz narrative, about the life of Harold Brown, and Harold Brown himself at Orchestra Hall. The second event, the actual performance of the musical in Hoover Auditorium, is at 7:30 p.m.

Groups of 10 or more can get discounted tickets by calling Jeannie at 440-840-5947. Tickets are $27.50 per person otherwise.

It should be a fabulous experience, said Bordner, the retired president of Terry State Community College who co-authored “Keep Your Airspeed Up” with Brown, a book about Brown and the famed Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.