CSO Spiritual Ensemble Celebrates the Fisk Jubilee Singers Legacy

The CSO Spiritual Ensemble, under the direction of Nathan L. Nelson, joins forces with Fisk University Alumni to honor the rich African-American musical heritage of the renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers in a tribute performance entitled Circa 1871: Ode to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Saturday, February 5, 2011, 6pm at Circular Congregational Church, downtown Charleston.

First organized in 1871, the Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students from Fisk University a historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee formed at the end of the American Civil War to educate freed slaves and other young African-Americans. The 140 year old group sings and travels worldwide performing the African-American (‘Negro’) spiritual.  

Celebrating African-American History Month (February), the acclaimed CSO Spiritual Ensemble and Fisk University Alumni from near and far will convene for a weekend to explore the historic City of Charleston. Dr. Leonard Davis (‘58) and Mrs. Norma Huffman Davis (’61) are honorary Alumni hosts for a weekend of performance and activities. The Ensemble and Fisk University Alumni will merge collective passions as arts patrons and advocates of preserving the African-American Spiritual.

“Although John Work, III was the must celebrated director during the Jubilee Singers’ illustrious history, many noted successors have led the group to continue its legacy. I am honored to conduct this performance in honor of a group I consider ‘grandparents of the spiritual.’ Even as gospel music became the norm throughout the African-American community, the Jubilee Singers continued to nurture this uniquely American genre,” said Nathan L. Nelson, Director.

“This anticipated public performance promises to shine light on the illustrious history and musical story of Fisk University’s renowned Jubilee Singers’ contribution to the American experience. The CSO Spiritual Ensemble exists because America has such a treasure in the Fisk Jubilee Singers,” said CSO Spiritual Ensemble President and Founder Lee Pringle.

Circa 1871: An Ode to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Saturday, February 5, 2011, 6pm performance at Circular Congregational Church, downtown Charleston will also feature a guest appearance by New York-based and internationally renowned soprano Roberta Laws and University of Michigan Professor and Summerville, South Carolina native Daniel Washington, bass-baritone performing classic spirituals ranging from works by Jester Hairston to John Work, III.

Performance Tickets and Information:

Saturday, February 5, 2011, 6pm
Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting Street, Charleston
Single tickets $20; $10 for students with proper identification

Discounts for groups of ten (10) or more
Purchase online: www.csospiritual.com 
By phone: (866) 811-4111; Mon-Fri 9am-9pm; Sat-Sun 10am-6pm
At door: (cash or check only) up to one hour before each performance

About The Fisk Jubilee Singers

The Fisk Jubilee Singers are vocal artists and students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee whose artistic mission is to preserve the unique American musical tradition known today as the African-American (Negro) spirituals. The original Jubilee Singers introduced these ‘slave songs’ to the world in 1871. They broke racial barriers in the US and abroad in the late 19th century and entertained kings and queens of Europe. At the same time, they raised money in support of their beloved school.  In 2007, the Fisk Jubilee Singers went on a sacred journey to Ghana at the invitation of the US Embassy to celebrate Ghana’s Golden Jubilee. In 2008, the Fisk Jubilee Singers received the National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artists and patrons of the arts.

About the CSO Spiritual Ensemble

Founded in 2008, the Charleston SC-based, 35-member CSO Spiritual Ensemble honors the “spiritual,” the historical musical form born of the suffering and endurance of African slaves after arriving to the southern shores of this country. The CSO Spiritual Ensemble performs throughout the southeastern US and regularly for local and regional special events. This season the group debuts the CSO Spiritual Ensemble Chorale, a smaller 16-member group performing for private and special events throughout the region.

Daniel Washington, bass-baritone

Bass-baritone Daniel Washington enjoys a career pairing him with such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and Charles Dutoit. His “rich, resonant voice and well shaped phrases were the highlight of the evening,” opined the Palm Beach Daily News. “…compelling singing that sets the stage for the most emotional part of the production.”

Among Washington’s recent highlights include concert versions of Porgy and Bess with the Berlin Philharmonic under Rattle, Montreal Symphony under Dutoit, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Pops. He has also portrayed Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Palm Beach Opera and Balthazar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, directed by the composer.

Washington won First Prize in the International Voice Competition of Toulouse and First Prize in the International Competition of Lyric Singing in Verviers. His recordings include a recording of spirituals, “Songs my Mother Taught Me,” baritone solo in Appalachia by Delius, Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Tom in Gershwin’s Blue Monday Blues, and Tarquinio in Respighi’s Lucretia. Daniel Washington is a member of the voice faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Roberta Laws, soprano

Soprano Roberta Laws brings thrilling vocal and artistic depth to both the opera and concert stage and has graced audiences worldwide. Her 2009-10 season included concerts with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and CSO Spiritual Ensemble and a return invitation by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. After receiving the highest accolades following her debut at the International Cervantino Festival in Mexico (2008), Ms. Laws returned to Mexico City with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico in 2009, conducted by Maestro Carlos Miguel Prieto. In 2011, Ms. Laws will perform with Opera Noire in New York and record with the Prague National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

A champion of American opera, Ms. Laws is well-known for her portrayal of Bess from Gershwin’s masterpiece, Porgy and Bess portraying the role with the San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, and the Den Norske Opera in Oslo for the King and Queen of Norway. 

The breadth of Ms. Laws’ portrayal of some of opera’s most beloved heroines extends to Angelica in Suor Angelica, Giorgetta in Il Tabarro,Musetta in La Boheme and Liu in Turandot, Iris in Mascagni's Iris, Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz and her debut role with the Kennedy Center as the Mother in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors. Other Kennedy Center engagements included a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carmen Jones, with Placido Domingo conducting the National Symphony Orchestra.

Promotional photos upon request.