The Prairie View A&M University Concert Chorale and The Houston Choral Society (HCS) have joined forces to present “Shout for Joy.”
The concert will be conducted by Dr. Betty Devine, HCS Artistic Director and Dr. A. Jan Taylor, Director of Choral Music Activities at Prairie View A&M University, on Saturday, Oct. 3, at The Foundry United Methodist Church.
Dr. Taylor will present a pre-concert lecture titled “African American Spirituals: The Choral Arrangements” at 7 p.m. that provides an insightful look at African American spirituals and the impact they have had on American music. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
The 100-plus voice joint choir begins The Houston Choral Society’s 28th season with Dr. Adolphus Hailstork’s opening piece “Shout for Joy.” Hailstork said, “I wanted to capture the feeling of a great European festival anthem while using African-American sounds.” The choir also performs four African American Spirituals arranged by Robert Shaw, Jestor Hairston, and Moses Hogan. The first half of the concert closes with a jazzed-up version of Beethoven’s Ninth with the energetic rendition of “Joyful, Joyful,” from Sister Act 2. The second half of the concert features softer expressions of joy by some of the world’s most well-known composers including Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and Chesnokov.
Dr. Adolphus Hailstork, professor of music and Composer-in-Residence at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, will be attending the concert as a guest of The Houston Choral Society.