Charlotte Blake Alston

Charlotte Blake Alston is a Philadelphia-based storyteller, narrator, and singer with an interest in literature. After 21 years of teaching from the preschool through graduate levels, Charlotte chose to devote more time to touring and performing. She brings her stories and songs to national and regional festivals, schools, universities, museums, libraries and performing arts centers throughout the United States and Canada, as well as local and national radio and television. Charlotte is the first storyteller to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra on both their Children's and Youth concert series. Since 1994, she has been the host of "Sound All Around"; the orchestra's pre-school concert series and continues to appear as a guest host and narrator on family concerts. Charlotte also hosts "Carnegie Kids", Carnegie Hall's Preschool concert series and has been a featured artist on the Carnegie Hall Family Concert Series in NY since 1996. She has been a featured artist at both the Presidential Inaugural Festivities in Washington, DC and the Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Children's Inaugural Celebrations in Harrisburg, PA. Charlotte's narrative voice can be heard on documentaries including Plenty Of Good Women Dancers, The Peddie School, and Crosstown. She herself was featured in the award-winning documentary Family Name that aired around the country on PBS. She is a regular guest reader on WNYC New York's Prime time with PJ. Charlotte has received numerous honors including the prestigious Pew Fellowship In The Arts in 1994. She was selected as Philadelphia Magazine's "Best Of Philly" 1995. She is the recipient of the 1997 Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania Artist Of The Year Award (The Hazlett Memorial Award). She holds two honorary PhD's from Seton Hill and LaRoche colleges respectively and was one of four Americans selected to perform and present at the first International Storytelling Field Conference in Ghana in August of 1999. She was the Director of "In the Tradition" 14th National Festival Of Black Storytelling in 1996.