ROD DIXON (Operatic Tenor, in dressing room with wife Alfreda Burke): That's a great shot of you and Susanne.
ALFREDA BURKE: It is.
Mr. DIXON: It's great press for the show.
JUDY VALENTE: Singers Rodrick Dixon and his wife Alfreda Burke warm up for a rehearsal this way -- with prayers for their conductor, the musicians and the chorus.
Mr. DIXON: To God, we thank you for these wonderful people and your blessed name, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Ms. BURKE: Amen.
Mr. DIXON (praying): So now we've got to go speak to the people.
VALENTE: Dixon is an operatic tenor, the son of a Baptist minister; Burke, a soprano, the daughter of a Mennonite minister. The first songs they ever sang were hymns.
Mr. DIXON: I attended Sunday school, went to church, wore black and white and sang in a choir. And that's all I've ever known.
VALENTE: His father and mother sparked his interest in all kinds of music.
Mr. DIXON (looking at photos of parents): And he was a jazz pianist as well as a classically trained pianist, and he taught Gospel music, and during our church services I would watch him sing. And my mother was a fantastic singer.
(on stage): Hello, how you doing? How's everybody?
When I'm singing, I'm trying to evolve as a human being and get into the Divine in the moment as a singer. So for me, I'm looking for the unknown in the performance, and only God can give me that.
VALENTE: Rodrick Dixon says his spiritual beliefs influence every aspect of his career, and when he's on stage singing he says he's trying to bring the presence of God to audiences through the beauty of music. His repertoire runs the gamut from classical to jazz to Gospel, from opera to the musical theater and television. Talent, training and technique are not all that counts.
Mr. DIXON: I'm looking for the holiness in the sound that goes far beyond being technically sound, classical. And it goes far beyond what we're taught in the conservatories and colleges.
(performing "Make Them Hear You"): "How justice was our battle and how justice was denied. Make them hear you…"
VALENTE: "Make Them Hear You," from the Broadway stage, has become Dixon's signature song. He sang it in the show that made him famous, "Three Mo' Tenors," and the words have special meaning.
Mr. DIXON: They speak to me like the "I Have a Dream" speech. They speak about inclusion. They tell you go out and tell the story - "how justice was your battle, how justice was denied. Make them hear you."
(performing "Make Them Hear You"): Make them hear you. And say to those who blame us for the way we chose to fight, that sometimes there are battles that are more than black or white….
Mr. DIXON: "Sometimes there are battles that are more than black or white." We live in a society where race matters. And I always say that where there's joy and liberty, race is no longer on the table.
(performing "Make Them Hear You"): Go out and tell the story to your daughters and your sons. Make them hear you. Make them hear you. Teach every child to raise his or her voice. Make them hear you.
(performing "Make Them Hear You"): We are not the only ones. Make them hear you. Make them hear you.
VALENTE: Saturday night at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. The performers meet with a small group of audience members.
When Handel penned this piece he didn't do it because he was being a musicologist or a composer. What he basically did for humanity was pen something that would resonate for eternity. And eternity is each heart that sits there and listens to the Divine presence of the Almighty, according to the Scriptures in this piece.
It was this very concert, "Too Hot to Handel," that I learned the greatest lesson from God. He said, "You know what? I don't need your technique. I can take your chords, your sound, and move somebody's heart without you. You're anointed to do this because I created you to do this." For the first time in my life, I just figured it out.
