Photo of Patti Fink hosting Lambda Weekly on KNON. (Courtesy of Stephen Zhang)

Verdigris celebrates the diversity of Dallas with its program Faces of Dallas at Arts Mission Oak Cliff on April 26, 27 and 28. Patti Fink was chosen to be one of those faces.

The poetry of local writers combine with the visual artwork of Stephen Zhang and the music of local artists and composer David Ross Lawn.

The project began with more than 900 people finishing the statement, “Dallas is … .” Then Verdigris chose four individuals or groups that represent different neighborhoods and different aspects of the city. Their stories were just a kickoff point to tell the story of Dallas.

A committee of six volunteers chose the four that would represent the faces of Dallas. Those selected were an Afghan immigrant family that has no idea if their family left behind is still alive; the students at Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy in Oak Cliff that participated in a four week music residency with Verdigris; Donald Payton, a genealogist and a descendent of one of the first black families living in Dallas, and Patti Fink, who has served as president of Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance for more than a decade and has co-hosted Lambda Weekly on KNON-fm since 2000.

Sam Brukhman is the founder and artistic director of Verdigris, which he founded in 2017.

“I wanted to create a choral ensemble that would appeal to people who didn’t know what choral music was,” Brukhman said.

He said that choral music is a dying art. Verdigris, he explained, is part of the solution to the question, “How do we get people to come to a classical music and choral music concert.”

Brukhman is the music director at Temple Shalom, and he’s the choir director at Brown Middle School in Forney.

Faces of Dallas will be performed on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Arts Mission Oak Cliff, 410 S. Windomere St. $25 for adults, $20 for age 50+ and $10 for teachers and students. Tickets at VerdigrisMusic.org/faces.

— David Taffet