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Returning to Bloomsburg for the first time in more than five years, the world's premier university Gospel choir comes to St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Main Street on the afternoon of Sunday, the 18th of May.Presented by The Exchange with sponsorship from the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau and many other organizations and individuals, this concert celebrates coming together in a shared space for the shared experience of a joyful noise.
No admission charge; $10 suggested donation at the door.
Established in 1968, The Howard Gospel Choir’s main objective is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ through song. Their purpose and passion is to serve Christ with their musical gifts, bringing peace, restoration, healing, and inspiration to all who will lend their ears and hearts. Find dozens of videos of their performances at youtube.com/howardgospelchoir.
Established in 2009, The Exchange is an organization dedicated to bringing the arts to all communities throughout our region. Find out more about us at ExchangeArts.org.
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For more about the Choir, read on:
Founded in the late 1960s by Melanie Russell (Lee) and Rosalind Thompkins (Lynch), the Howard Gospel Choir (HGC) is the first collegiate choir of its kind in the world. As a result, HGC has pioneered an international legacy in gospel music ministry. With an active roster of seventy-plus persons that consists of students and alumni from Howard University, as well as others from the surrounding community, the choir is one of the largest religious life organizations on campus.
In addition to distinguished professionals in every imaginable discipline, past members of this award-winning ensemble include Grammy Award© winners Richard Smallwood, Coré Cotton (member of Sounds of Blackness), and Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark of the legendary Clark Sisters, as well as R&B star Ángela Winbush. Exceptional musicians have always been instrumental in shaping HGC’s unique sound to embrace both contemporary and traditional gospel, church hymns, spirituals, and classically arranged anthems. For twenty-five years, the late Arphelius Paul Gatling, III served as the Musical Director. He is largely responsible for crafting the unique sound of the choir.
For almost six decades, the Howard Gospel Choir has set a very high standard as a premier performing arts ensemble, singing at a wide variety of venues in and around the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area including the White House, the Capitol Building, DAR Constitution Hall, Washington National Cathedral, and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. HGC was one of the featured artists to perform for both the 2016 and the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors, and was also as a part of ABC Television’s Emmy Award winning special "Taking the Stage" which celebrated the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The choir has also been blessed to receive both national exposure, having appeared from coast to coast within the continental United States, and international exposure, having served as cultural ambassadors to more than twenty countries throughout Europe and the Americas. In additional to headlining numerous high-profile concerts in a variety of venues, they have participated in other cultural exchange activities and have conducted master classes discussing various vocal exercises and the history of Gospel Music.
From the outset, the Howard Gospel Choir has been in constant demand, and has been blessed to share the stage with a number of musical luminaries including Barry Manilow, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Fantasia, and Patti LaBelle. Additionally, HGC has performed at functions that have featured prominent political, religious and public figures such as President Barack Hussein Obama, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
The choir is currently under the musical direction of Reginald Golden, a Howard University graduate from University Heights, OH. Darrell Brown, also a Howard University alumnus, is the assistant director.
Notwithstanding the legacy of excellence and the vast accomplishments since its inception, the main objective remains the same: to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ through song. Their purpose and passion is to serve Christ with their musical gifts bringing peace, restoration, healing and inspiration to all who will lend their ears and hearts.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St. Paul's Episcopal, 101 E. Main Street,Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, United States
