One hundred and fifty young gospel singers from six high schools in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore will join a church group and the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, March 31, for the second annual Ithaca College Gospel Invitational Music Festival. Free and open to the public, the event will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
“During their visit to Ithaca College, the students will have the chance to rehearse and participate in workshops led by Drs. William and Rosephanye Powell from the University of Alabama at Auburn,” said Baruch Whitehead, assistant professor of music education and organizer of the event. “Sponsored by the School of Music, this event will give deserving, underrepresented students a rare opportunity to be taught by two luminaries of gospel music and to take part in gospel music’s rich heritage.”
Rosephanye Powell is a composer and arranger of choral music whose works are in great demand at national and international choral festivals. Her works have been conducted and premiered by internationally renowned choral conductors such as Philip Brunelle, Bob Chilcott, Rodney Eichenberger, and André Thomas. Her recent commissions include “I’m Gonna Let It Shine” and “Good News,” two spirituals that were adapted and arranged for the Spiritual for the New Millennium Project at Penn State University. Several of her works will be performed at the Ithaca College performance.
A noted conductor, accompanist and arranger, William C. Powell is in demand as a choral conductor, adjudicator, and presenter at conferences and workshops. In April 2006, he made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall, where he led the New England Chamber Orchestra and choirs from around the United States in a performance of Haydn’s “Te Deum” and Mozart’s “Missa Brevis in B-flat.”
“The singers participating in this concert were highly recommended by their teachers,” Whitehead said. “They come from areas where they don’t have opportunities to perform in select groups, let alone work with acclaimed clinicians and teachers. This will be a wonderful experience for everyone involved.”
For more information, contact Erik Kibelsbeck in the School of Music at [mailto:ekibelsbeck@ithaca.edu] or (607) 274-3717.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20070326095742359