OXFORD, Miss. – Originally sung by slaves as work songs on pre-Civil War plantations, American Negro spirituals have risen from obscure beginnings to become standards on the repertoires of many accomplished, classically trained soloists to grace theaters and opera houses worldwide.
On Jan. 29, the American Spiritual Ensemble will perform these timeless tunes at the University of Mississippi’s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The concert is set for 8 p.m. The ensemble includes some of the country’s finest singers, and more than 90 percent of its members have sung in such venues as the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera and abroad in Italy, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Spain and Japan.
Tickets range from $20 to $28 for various seating and $5 to $10 for UM students and faculty enrolled in the Cultural Passport Program. Tickets are available by calling 662-915-7411, by visiting the UM Box Office in the Student Union from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays or the Ford Center Box Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, or by going to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/
“Since its inception in 1995, the American Spiritual Ensemble has thrilled audiences around the world with its renditions of spirituals, classical, jazz and Broadway numbers highlighting the black experience,” said Norm Easterbrook, Ford Center director. “The Lafayette-Oxford-University community will most certainly enjoy this evening of fine, ethnic entertainment.”
Under the musical direction of founder Everett McCorvey, the ensemble presents a program that includes such songs as “Walk Together Children,” “Fix Me Jesus,” “I’ve Been ‘Buked,” “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” “My Lord, What a Morning,” “Ain’t That Good News” and “Amen.” Besides McCorvey, featured soloists are Lisa Hornung, Claritha Buggs, Jeryl Cunningham, Andrea Jones, Keith Dean, Raymond Bazemore and Ricky Little Jr. Dancer Peggy Stamps also performs during selected numbers.
The American Spiritual Ensemble has garnered rave reviews.
“The prodigious voices of the North American group the American Spiritual Ensemble made the audience tremble with emotions at the plaza of Santa Maria la Real of Najera,” wrote a reviewer for La Rioja, a newspaper in Longrono, Spain. “Until now, of the performances which we have had in the Festival de Najera, this was the best.”
For more information, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/