ACDA EDiv Urban Initiatives

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Urban Initiatives

On Saturday, November 22, 2008, an Urban Initiatives event hosted by ACDA's Eastern Division was held at New Bethel Baptist Church, 9th and S Streets, N.W., Washington, DC.

The invitees included a high school choir, a church choir, a collegiate choir, a collegiate
alumni choir, a community choir, and a professional choir. The choirs represented multiple ethnicities, ages, experience levels, repertoires; a true conglomerate of what is happening in choral music in Washington DC. All in all, it was a wonderful and profound way for choir members and their conductors to hear each other and share their music-making.

ACDA Eastern Division
Urban Initiatives Choir Invitational

Program

Saturday, November 22, 2008
New Bethel Baptist Church
9th and S Streets, N.W.
Washington, DC

Featuring performances by:

Revelation
James Hubert Blake High School
Johnathan Dunn, conductor

Essence of Joy Alumni Singers
Anthony T. Leach, music director

Sanctuary Choir
First Baptist Church of Highland Park MD
Ronald Johnson, conductor

Coral Cantigas
Diana Saez, conductor

Chamber Singers
American University
Daniel Abraham, conductor

Heritage Signature Chorale
Stanley Thurston, conductor

Greetings from ACDA
Dan Abraham
President Elect, Maryland/DC chapter

Greetings from the Host
Anthony T. Leach
ACDA Eastern Division Urban Initiatives Co-Chair

*****

Revelation
James Hubert Blake High School
Johnathan Dunn, conductor

Gabi Gabi - arr. William Powell
Let Everything that Hath Breath - Jeffrey L. Ames
Bless Me - Donald Lawrence
I Love the Lord - Richard Smallwood
Total Praise - Richard Smallwood

Essence of Joy Alumni Singers
Anthony Leach, music director

Hear My Prayer - Moses Hogan
Jesus, Lay Your Head in the Window - arr. Moses Hogan;
Joe McAnulty, violin; Cori Maldonado and Melanie Gerald, soloists
Wanting Memories - Ysaye Barnwell
Psalm Shout - Robert Morris
Come Before His Presence - Richard Smallwood
Sarah Davis and Becca Ziegler, soloists

Sanctuary Choir
First Baptist Church of Highland Park, MD
Ronald Johnson, conductor

Ride On King Jesus - arr. Moses Hogan
Faithful Over A Few Things - Glenn Burleigh
Dwell In The House - Gale Jones Murphy

Coral Cantigas
Diana Saez, conductor

Villancico del Cuzco (Perú) - arr. Eduardo Tancredi
Candombe del 6 de enero (Uruguay) - arr. Liliana Canguiano
Los reyes magos (Argentina) - Ariel Ramírez
Luna dicembrina (Venezuela) - arr. Gilberto Rebolledo

Chamber Singers
American University
Dan Abraham, conductor

Ave Maria (c. 1572) [Italian] - Tomás Luis de Victoria
Bogoróditse Djévo (1990) [Estonian] - Arvo Pärt
Come Away (2003) [Hungarian] - György Orbán
Waternight (1995) - Eric Whitacre
Bonse Aba - Zambian Praise Song

Heritage Signature Chorale
Stanley Thurston, conductor

Ain-a That Good News - arr. William Dawson
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah - arr. Stephen Allen
I Hear a Voice a-Prayin’ - Houston Bright
Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley - arr. Stanley Thurston; Desmond Pierre-Louis, baritone
Soon Ah Will Be Done - arr. William Dawson

Revelation, Johnathan Dunn
Revelation - Johnathan Dunn, Conductor

Dan Abraham, Stan Thurston, Diana Saez
Saez, Johnson

Diana Saez, Ron Johnson

Coral Cantigas

Essence of Joy Alumni Singers

First Baptist Choir, Ron Johnson

Heritage Chorale

An unsolicited note of appreciation from one of the participants, reflective of many that were received, is reprinted below by permission.

Dear Dr. Drafall:

On Saturday I attended and participated in the ACDA Eastern Division Urban Initiative Choir Invitational at New Bethel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. It was a marvelous event!! My name is Channie Waites and I am a member of the Essence of Joy Alumni Singers (EOJAS). We had no idea as to what to expect other than we were singing in the mornin'! Well, the six choirs showed an exemplary level of spirit, community, musicianship, artistry and joy. I applaud the efforts of this coalition to enrich and create professional and community relationships forged through the beauty of music - the love of performing, sharing and experiencing the transformative power of music. It was such a diverse offering that spanned the ages of youth to mature adulthood, finesse, poise, sensuality, inspirational spirit, explosive harmonic timbres...I could go on and on. We applauded each other with such sincerity. No competition, but adoration and uplifting zeal. The demographic of the room reflected the tapestry of DC, our country, our world. I have never participated in an ACDA event and really do not know much about the organization, but I'm glad to have had this as an introduction to your organization.

I loved the Coral Cantigas, their director, their accompaniment, the zest and fire of our Latin brothers and sisters, their poise and class. The Heritage Signature Chorale was top notch and it was a great surprise for EOJAS who was invited to join the chorale in singing "Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley", in addition to being conducted by the arranger himself, Stanley Thurston. American University's Chamber Singers were exquisite; their 12 part splits and what not, everyone on their own note, strong and delightful as can be. The young people of Revelation were precious and ya'll should look to doing some recruiting there. And the Sanctuary Choir and their pianist brought the spirit through indeed.

I expressed my thanks to Dr. Leach for having us participate in this event. We were humbled, inspired to step up our game, and to open our hearts and minds. I wish you could have experienced this artist gathering! Thank you Dr. Drafall and I look forward to attending and participating in more "community calls." Oh, I so wished for more young people to have been in the audience. I hope this project will continue to grow and for the word to spread so that it will be in the public ear.

Sincerely,
Channie Waites

Last revised June 26, 2010