Dillard University Concert Choir

Various articles published in 2000 from Dillard's newspaper, the Courtbouillon, regarding the University Concert Choir and the gospel choir, Nu Vizion. Click on the images to enlarge them.

Concert choir hosts Christmas celebration: Vanessa Abron Contributor;
The Dillard University Choir held its annual Christmas concert on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Lawless Memorial Chapel.
The concert, 'A Child Is Born,' was free and open to the public. It featured traditional Christmas carols, a taste of jazz, a flavor of gospel and other forms of music.
S. Carver Davenport, univer- sity choir director, said that he tried to give something the entire audience would enjoy.
The concert featured 100 Dillard University students and a 24-piece orchestra from the New Orleans Chamber Ensemble.
Gail Bowman, university chaplain, narrated the concert and Anthony Williams, univer- sity organist, accompanied the choir along with New Orleans musician Moses G. Hogan on the piano.
The processional and reces- sional of the concert included the choir's famous performance of 'Fanfare for Christmas,' where it circled the audience with candlelight.
Other performances include excerpts from Handel's Messiah including the world famous 'Hallelujah Chorus.' Traditional
pieces such as 'Joy to the World' were also performed along with gospel music such as 'Total Praise.'
The concert featured guest artists including Cynthia A. Wilson, minister of music at Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Ga. Wilson is a mezzo- soprano who performed a solo arrangement of 'Silent Night' and a soulful 'Sweet Little Jesus Boy.'
Other guests include Wanda Rouzan, known as the 'Sweet- heart of New Orleans Music,' who brought a jazz element to the concert and Valerie Jones- Francis, professor of music. Francis sung 'O Holy Night' and 'What Child Is This' with the orchestra.
Davenport said this concert was a quality music performance. 'The concert had an outstanding turn out and I expect the same outcome again in the future,' Davenport said.
The choir will now begin preparing for its spring tour during the Mardi Gras holiday and spring break to cities such as Chicago, Ill., Washington D.C., and New York, N.Y.. The choir will also participate in the Afro- American Music Festival in St. Louis, Mo., at the end of March.

December 2000

Photo by Michele Stamps
S. Carver Davenport directs the university choir as they present their annual christmas concert. The title of this year's concert is 'A Child Is Born.'

December 2000

Photo by Michele Stamps: 'Sing praises unto his name'
Valerie Francis, assistant professor of music, sings 'O Holy Night' during the annual Christmas concert held in Lawless Memorial Chapel.

December 2000

Inside View: DU Concert Choir Tour By Leroy Norfleet, Jr.
After twelve performances spanning from Brooklyn, New York to Houston, Texas, the Dillard University Concert Choir's Tour Sea- son has almost come to a close.
The 1999-2000 Tour Season which began on March 2 and ends on April 16 is yet an- other way that Dillard University is spread- ing its name across the country. This was not a trip of relaxation, but of hard work and discipline on the part of all the choir members involved. The choir's touring is a way for Dillard University to get exposure in other parts of the country other than the Southern states. The season kicked off in Birmingham, Alabama, where the choir sang at the beauti- ful Cathedral of St. Paul.
Through soulful spirituals and classical medleys, Mr. Davenport was able to express that music is universal and was able to touch the hearts of people from any religion and race. Following the concert, the choir went back on the road and headed for Atlanta, Georgia, where they did a full concert for the Reverend Cynthia A. Wilson, a former guest singer for the Dillard University Christmas Concert.
The choir amazed the audience, which was filled with family members, local residents, and other schools such as Morehouse Col- lege, with their renditions of the Moses G. Hogan spirituals. After the concert, the choir
members loaded the bus and headed for the hotel and only slept a few hours before they returned to the road to sing at the St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, and 'The Early Morning Show' with Brian Gumbel. The reporter and his staff were left smiling ear to ear and asking for more selections after the choir's flawless perfor-
mance.
Mr. Davenport then loaded the students back on the bus and encouraged them to re- sume their studies during the long ride to Washington, D. C., where they would have two full concerts back to back.
During the trip, the students studied, completed assignments via e-mails, and kept up with all of their missed work while singing concert after concert. The long hours on the bus, horrific weather, and missed assignments were worth the effort-to the choir, it was all about the music. The second part of the tour was more condensed than the first, and con- centrated entirely on Houston, Texas.
The choir left Friday night directly after classes and upon arrival in Texas that night, began preparations for the upcoming con- certs. In two days, the choir had four full concerts, three of which were on Sunday af- ternoon back to back. Following the con- certs, the students headed back to New Orleans to resume work as usual on Monday morning.

April 2000

December 2000

In October 2003, the University Choir performed alongside the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra to premiere Irvin Mayfield's composition Strange Fruit. Click on the articles below to read more about the performance.