Spelman College and Morehouse College Glee join Tabernacle Choir

On Wednesday September 11th, Spelman college and Morehouse college choirs both had an opprotunity to join the Tabernacle choir at the State farm arena in Atlanta Georgia. The evening featured performances from all three choirs, before they came together at the end to close off the show with their own redenetion of Georgia on my mind by Stuart Gorrell with text by Hoagy Carmichael. The evening also featured a performance from Kristin Chenoweth whose powerful voice took the stage towards the later end of the evening. 

Morehouse College songs

Morehouse college performed two solo songs: Great and Glorious by Franz Joseph Haydn – arranged by Joseph S. Daltry and I Ain’t Weary Yet By African American Spiritual, Text: African American Spiritual – Arranged By Courtney Carey. The performances of these songs featured the entire choir as they gave their renditions of the musical selections. I ain’t weary yet focused on a solo performance by one of the students who played a heavy role in setting the spotlight of such a powerful selection. The two song selections served as a contrast to one another, as Great and Glorious focuses on rich harmonies and arrangements, while I Ain’t weary yet is an African American spiritual that delves into emotion and culture. The choice for a solo on this song protrayed the importance of such a song that emphasizes themes such as perservernce and resistance. Together, these two pieces provided an idea on the very diverse nature of Morehouse College’s choir and gave perfect insight on the different ranges they have through such a heavy dstinction of two different genres. 

Spelman College songs

Spelman College performed three solo songs: Wade in the water by African American spiritual – arranged by Kevin Phillip Johnson, Children go where I stand (rap crafted by Ayana Davis) – arranged by Kevin Phillip Johnson, and a choice to change the world by Kevin Phillip Johnson with text by Sarah Stevens. Each musical selection allowed for selectr students to showcase their vocal abilities through their solo performances to sing over the crowd. The rendition of Wade in the water stuck out to me specifically, as it was not sung in any way that I have heard it before. The upbeat tempo of the song provided a different feel that was engaging and gave the audience something different to be able to feel. This song went into the Children go where I stand, which was another song that had a nice uptempo with slight dancing and a spotlight onto each of the different vocal groups. From the sopranos to the altos, everyone had a chance to be able to showcase their vocal abilities and this song uniquely featured a rap given by one of the students. Then to close out the selections came an original by Kevin Phillip Johnson, on a song that upholds the values of Spelman College and displays what Spelman is. A choice to change the world featured another solo, with the rest of the choir joining in on necessary parts to bring everything together. 

Tabernacle choir, Morehouse college choir, Spelman college choir

The three choirs came together to close out the show with the performance of three songs: Songs for the people by Kevin Johnson with text by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper – arranged by Mack Wilberg, Come thou fount of every blessing by American folk tune with text by Robert Robinson – arranged by Mack Wilberg, and Georgia on my mind by Stuart Gorrell with text by Hoagy Carmichael. When the three choirs came together, they displayed the diverse nature that falls in line with choir. With so many different ages, cultures, and backgrounds coming together on the stage to close out the show, it shown the beauty of how music can really bring people together. The pieces sung shown off the talents of each of the choirs, up until the closing that featured a song that spoke directly to the audience and everyone on the stage. The opprotunity of having two HBCU choirs on stage with such an important musical choir shown the importance of allowing HBCU students these platforms to display such talent that everyone could feel that evening. 

Overall, I believe this concert was something that reasonated heavily with not just myself, but everyone who had the chance to watch and experience all of the talents that were displayed through these performances. I find it beautiful that through the emergence of these three choirs, it introduced many people to listen to groups of people and genres of music that they may not have been interested in prior. The evening was one of joined cultures and music that concluded beautifully. 

One Response

Leave a Reply

What's your password?

Login to your account

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.