Spelman College Glee Club Concert Report
The genre that was sang in the illustrious Spelman College Glee Club concert is African Spiritual. African Spiritual is beliefs and worldviews practiced through song. The songs that were preformed in the concert were “Wade In The Water” arranged by Kevin Philip Johnson, “Children Go Where I Send Thee” crafted by Ayana Davis and arranged by Kevin Philip Johnson, and “Choice To Change The World” arranged by Kevin Johnson. The Spelman College Glee Club preformed September 9, 2024 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College at night. The concerts atmosphere was very professional yet emotional at the same time. The quality of the concert was unmatched. There was no tech issues and the camera quality was top tier. Every move was made with the highest of intentions and thought, even the choir; even their dance moves added on to the story they portrayed.
During “Wade In The Water I was woken up with the high energy and tempo that the Spelman Glee Club came with. With “Wade In The Water” originally being a slow powerful song, it was a surprising change hearing this randishon of the song. Although the song was had a higher tempo it still carried the same powerful and moving energy just like the original does. During “Children Go Where I Send Thee” I was again impressed but not surprisingly because of how ear catching “Wade In The Water” was. This song carried a jazz like feel, texture, dynamics during the “never got fixed” lyrics, and again a high tempo packed with energy to serve the audience. A fun surprise was also packed and hidden inside of this song, which was the rap. The rap was great addition to this song. Not only did it keep the audience captivated and wanting more but it shows a sense of confidence and swagger that came with the song. During “A choice To Change The World” the lyrics always hit different in a new way every time. I am bias because I have a deep connection to this song as it was in the start of my journey while becoming a Spelmanite. In this song what stood out to me were the soloist. With seeing them preform in person and in in the video just solidified my respect for them because of just how beautiful their voices are and by how much courage it took for them to preform infant of that many people. Even if I was good at singing I do not think I would be inclined to do a complex solo like that. The characteristics that carry this song are its originality, harmony, influence and polyrythumn.
I did not attend the concert but I did watch it on YouTube. Although I watched it on YouTube it was still new and impactful event for me to watch because I have only ever seen or been to rap and jazz concerts. The history of this choir is very impactful to me like I said before because it was in the start of my becoming a Spelmanite journey. Knowing that my peers are doing things like this just makes everything that much better and impactful, giving me strength to step outside of my comfort zone and aim to paint bigger pictures. I enjoyed the concert just as much as the audience did. It was a collective amount of awe around the whole chapel. The audience was mostly white and still did enjoy every African spiritual song that was sang. For some of the audience members the concert made them cry.
In conclusion this was defiantly the best choir performance that I have ever watched. I have never seen anything like this so everything about this performance was new to me. Even the new versions of the songs that were being sang. I defiantly believe that the Spelman Glee Club was the best and most impactful choir there. I am excited to be able to see them preform again.
https://youtu.be/fDvKSh6jGKA
