Some 200 young gospel singers from six high schools in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Miami, and New York will join together on Saturday, April 5, for the third 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.
The concert will pay tribute to the late Glenn Burleigh, a master of gospel music who led the first festival two years ago. The two-day festival will be directed by Donald Dumpson and feature guest soloists Deborah Ford, Diane White, and Brian Williams.
"Sponsored by the School of Music, this event will give deserving underrepresented students a rare opportunity to be taught by and work with luminaries of gospel music and to take part in gospel music's rich heritage," according to Baruch Whitehead, assistant professor of music education and organizer of the event.
"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 ekibelsbeck@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-3717.
