Global Choral Traditions: African American Sacred Music

The Mendelssohn Choir invites you to Alphabet City to explore the rich traditions of global choral music with local artists. Participants will learn about specific cultural song traditions, and have the opportunity to sing songs from within those traditions. It’s an interactive concert like no other! And no singing experience required.
Featuring special guest, Dr. Herbert V.R.P Jones, Founder/Director of The Heritage Gospel Chorale of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Jones is one of the nation’s foremost figures in choral conducting and training,  and an expert in the intersection between theology and musical expression. Dr. Jones will lead a deep dive into African American sacred music, music born out of the lived experiences of black enslaved peoples. This tradition encompasses everything from 19th-century concert spirituals to modern praise and worship songs in genres from the blues to hip-hop, and it is used to practice devotion, offer comfort, teach virtue, recall history and doctrine, and celebrate special days.