Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir to kick off spring tour

The Tuskegee University Choir is coming to Lexington for a concert on February 27th at Imani Baptist Church.  contact or call 859-266-9085.  To arrange for tickets.  Cost is a $10.00 donation. 

For Immediate Release:
TUSKEGEE, Ala. – The Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir is kicking off its Spring 2009 Tour on Feb. 26 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The choir will be in Lexington, Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 27. The world-renowned ensemble is continuing a tradition of excellence and exposure to the masses.

Music has played a significant role in the life of Tuskegee University from its inception. Founder and first president Booker T. Washington encouraged his students to teach the folk songs/spirituals to their students so that they might appreciate the beauty and resilience represented by them. We continue to remember and to celebrate the music of our heritage, past and present.

The choir’s beginnings are credited to Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington. In the late 1800s, Washington enlisted students to sing spirituals at weekly services in the school chapel. Under the leadership of the renowned composer and educator William Levi Dawson, the Tuskegee Choir rose to international prominence with appearances at Radio City Music Hall in New York (1932 & 1957) and the White House (1932), Constitution Hall (1946), and a host of popular television shows. The 1955 recording, The Tuskegee Choir Sings Spirituals is still widely hailed today as one of the best recordings of spirituals. The choir has also performed at the request of national leaders, such as President John F. Kennedy and William Jefferson Clinton.

In 2006, the Golden Voices, led by Dr. Wayne Barr and accompanied by Lynda Garcia, produced a CD, Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit. The Spring 2009 Tour program includes works by Roland Carter, Ulysses Kay, Randall Thompson, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and William L. Dawson.

The tour’s schedule is as follows:

Thursday, February 26: Chattanooga, TN
Friday, February 27: Lexington, KY
Saturday, February 28: Columbus, OH
Sunday, March 1: Cleveland, OH
Monday, March 2: Detroit, MI
Tuesday, March 3: Open
Wednesday, March 4: Chicago, IL
Thursday, March 5: Indianapolis, IN
Friday, March 6: Memphis, TN

For more information on the Golden Voices and to view video footage, go to www.tuskegee.edu/goldenvoices