6805 Mast Rd
Ain’t-a That Good News: African American sacred music and spirituals in context
Dr. Eugene Rogers, associate professor of conducting at the University of Michigan, will guide us through preparing and singing ten pieces from the East African and African American sacred music tradition, teaching us the context and history of the songs.
Schedule
Workshop and rehearsals: Saturday, 05/23/2020 10:00am to 3:30 pm (lunch provided)
Concert: Sunday, 05/24/2020 4:00 pm, reception following
Contact Sally Messner by email to register. Registration fee includes lunch and the music packet, which singers may keep.
Repertoire
Ni Jina Gani, Israel Kagaruki
Ain’t-a that Good News, arr. Rollo Dilworth
We Shall Walk Through the Valley of Peace, arr. Undine Smith Moore
Guide My Feet, arr. Avis Graves
Shine on Me, arr. Rollo Dilworth
I Dream a World, André Thomas
I Sing Because I’m Happy, adapt. Rollo Dilworth
Total Praise, Richard Smallwood
I Know the Lord, Byron Smith
Standing Stone, Melanie DeMore
Presenters
Eugene Rogers, D. M. A., is a two-time Michigan Emmy Award winner, a 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and a 2015 Grammy Award nominee. Rogers is the founder of EXIGENCE, a Detroit-area professional vocal group of different ethnicities that sings a variety of music. Past appointments include directing the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, the Boys Choir of Harlem, Waubonsie Valley High School Choir (Illinois), and the Anima Young Singers of Greater Chicago (formerly Glen Ellyn Children’s Choir). In 2013, Rogers co-managed the production of the joint CD Ye Shall Have a Song with the Michigan, Yale, and Harvard Glee Clubs, celebrating America’s three oldest collegiate choirs.
Julian Goods, pianist
Sponsored in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.
