The Morehouse College Glee Club will mark its centennial year with a series of special events in Atlanta this week. On February 16, there was a music symposium in the newly built Ray Charles Performing Arts Center in the Adams Concert Hall. In addition, there was a centennial exhibit unveiling in the center’s Adams Concert Hall Lobby. The culminating event takes place Feb. 20 4 p.m., with the Morehouse Glee Club and alumni in a centennial concert and live CD and DVD recording in the historic King Chapel.
Embracing a 90-year tradition of musical excellence and achievement, the glee club has continued to perform at the highest level of excellence set by its predecessors and maintained by the musical leadership of the present conductor David Morrow. Notable past conductors in the history of the ensemble include Kemper Harreld, serving as conductor from 1911-1953 and the beloved Wendell Whalum, affectionately known as “Doc,” who died in 1987.
Washington, D. C. audiences have long admired the performances of the Morehouse Glee Club. Still resonating in the minds of listeners is the historic performance of the Glee Club at the 1991 Kennedy Center Honors, honoring the late choral conductor Robert Shaw.
The Morehouse Glee Club will present a full concert at Shiloh Baptist Church, 9th and P streets March 18.
Patrick D. McCoy is an arts columnist and musician residing in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. His online column can be read at examiner.com/kennedy-center-in-washington-dc/patrick-mccoy.
