Once a dream girl, always a dream girl. A chance meeting at the tender age of 13 changed Mary Wilson’s life forever. It was then that she met Florence Ballard, Betty McGlown, and Diane Ross. With each of these young ladies possessing a love for singing, the quartet formed a singing group that eventually evolved into The Supremes. No one knew them outside of Hitsville USA in Detroit, Michigan, , but that was before songs like “Where Did Our Love Go” and “Baby Love” crept onto the Billboard chart. Ten additional recordings of hits by The Supremes would reach the status of number one. Small modifications here and there changed the rotation of people in the group, but Mary Wilson was its constant star. When the group dissolved, Wilson found success again as a solo artist. On November 6-8, 2009, Houstonians can relive her years as a Supreme and bathe in her achievements as a solo artist when she performs live with the Houston Symphony.

Jones Hall will be the place to be as Mary Wilson belts out songs of Supreme acclaim but also other classics that are Broadway material like “I am Changing” from the motion picture “Dreamgirls.” Wilson, who thinks of herself as performer versus a recording artist, has always loved to perform live. “I really like being on the stage because the audience is right there. You see them having fun.” That instant feedback is what she says she misses when she is acting. “That is the main thing that makes the show exciting. “ And she plans on giving one heck of a show.

Although she loves singing that is only part of who Mary Wilson is. As an actress she has appeared in the 1988 production of “Beehive,” and toured nationally with “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, ““Leader of the Pack,” and other Broadway productions. “Acting is just another avenue for performing,” says Wilson as she readily admits she would love to do more.
Wilson is a supreme performer but she also is supreme in service. As the spokesperson for The Humpty Dumpty Institute, she raises awareness about landmine clearances in war-ton countries. “That has to do with a lot of unexploded bombs that are left over from various wars from around the world, so my job as spokesperson is to make people aware that this plight still exists and that there are areas in the world where children can’t go to school because unexploded bombs are just laying in their way of going to school.” Recently she traveled to Sri Lanka and Laos to detonate over 50 bombs and held a charity concert there to shed light on the tragedy the children face. Her experience undoubtedly led to her being named a US Cultural Ambassador by the then US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Through the Cultural Connect program, Wilson helped to bring a comprehensive understanding of cross-culture internationally.

Having such an interesting life, Wilson felt obligated to tell her story to world. Through three books, she has left no stone unturned. Her bestselling autobiography “Dreamgirl…..My Life As A Supreme” sold more than 250,000 copies. More of her story is in two additional books she has authored, “Supreme Faith…Somebody We’ll Be Together” and “The Complete Works by Mary Wilson,” and she has plans to tell more as another book is on the way.

It is said that if dreams are big enough, sometimes they may come true. So far that adage has worked for Mary Wilson. For 50 years Mary Wilson has lived her dream, and she is still dreaming. Join her on cloud 9 at Jones Hall on November 6-8, 2009 when she makes her Houston Symphony debut with conductor Brett Mitchell. Tickets start at $29. Visit www.houstonsymphony.org or www.marywilson.com for more information.