Ithaca College

Some 250 young gospel singers from six high schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, and New York will join on Saturday, March 28, for the fourth 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 two-day festival will be directed by Baruch Whitehead and Janet Galván from Ithaca College and guest clinician Raymond Wise, and feature guest soloists Marques Garrett and Calesta Day. The Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra will collaborate on this concert.

"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," said 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."