Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, N.J.
Gill Memorial Chapel
Program
Psalm 1
I. Psalms
Nathan Carter (1970-2004)
The 23rd Psalm Bobby McFerrin (b. 1950)
O Praise the Lord Florence Price (1887-1953)
Psalm 150
Nathan Carter (1970-2004)
Olivia Dixon, soprano
II. Hymns
O Holy Savior R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)
All That I Am William Grant Still (1895-1978)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God arr. Philip K. Jones (b. 1981)
Abby Ritter, soprano
INTERMISSION
III. Spiritual Songs
I’m Determined to Walk with Jesus arr. Raymond Wise
Jesus Is a Rock In A Weary Land arr. Glenn Burleigh (1949-2007)
I Shall Wear a Crown Thomas Whitfield (1954-1992)
Total Praise Richard Smallwood (b. 1948)
FOR TEXT, TRANSLATIONS & ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON OUR PERFORMERS VISIT OUR WEBSITE.
About the Artists
WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS
Composed of students selected by audition, the Westminster Jubilee Singers is modeled after the historically acclaimed Fisk Jubilee Singers. Its repertoire, while specialized and select, is very diverse and focuses on solo and ensemble artistic expressions from its singers. Part of Westminster Choir College’s Sacred Music Department, the ensemble performs literature that includes African-American spirituals and folk songs; classical music by African-American composers; gospel music and secular songs by musical greats such as William Dawson, Duke Ellington, Walter Hawkins, Andraé Crouch, Richard Smallwood, Kirk Franklin and Dr. Nathan Carter, as well as Westminster graduates, Rosephanye Powell, Donald Dillard and M. Roger Holland. Also explored and performed are works by non-African-American composers, including George Gershwin, Alice Parker, Robert Shaw, Robert Page, Gail Poch, Steve Pilkington and others who have composed and/or arranged music of the African-American experience.
In addition to its rich repertoire of African-American spirituals, hymn arrangements and gospel songs, the Westminster Jubilee Singers has performed classical works, such as And They Lynched Him On a Tree by William Grant Still and Shout for Joy and I Will Lift Up My Eyes by Adolphus Hailstork. Highlights of recent seasons include the performance of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts and R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses. The ensemble’s 2024-2025 season includes performances in Lawrenceville, Princeton and Trenton, including a performance of Porgy and Bess with the Capital Philharmonic. They will also anchor the Celebration of Black Music in a special performance of works by Rosephanye Powell with the composer at the helm.
Previous seasons have included appearances at the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in Kansas City and Regional Conference in Baltimore; the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Regional Convention in Boston; a performance with Denyce Graves at New York’s Apollo Theater to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Children’s Defense Fund; a joint concert entitled Living the Dream with Penn State University’s Essence of Joy ensemble as a tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and its Lincoln Center debut performing in An Evening of Choral Artistry, presented by the American Choral Directors Association. The ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra, under the baton of Skitch Henderson, in a concert version of Porgy and Bess. At the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, Westminster Jubilee Singers presented joint concerts with the Fisk University Jubilee Singers and the legendary Sweet Honey in the Rock.
WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS
Vinroy D. Brown, Jr., conductor
Akiko Hosaki, accompanist
Maxwell Brey, graduate assistant conductor
Lucas Heredia, graduate assistant conductor
Emilie Beals, Carlisle, PA
Kamanay Belcher, Easton, PA
Elizabeth Berger, Sparks, MD
Cherisse R Bonefont, Lumberton, NJ
Maxwell Brey, Tallahassee, FL
Kevin Catalon, Fords, NJ
Juli Chiriboga, Huntington, NY
Maya Cooper, Fairfax, VA
Xavier Desrosiers, Southampton, PA
Olivia Dixon, Woodbury, NJ
Diego Dominguez, El Paso, TX
Sarah Febonio, Flemington, NJ
Shanice Harrison, Newark, NJ
Lucas Heredia, East Brunswick, NJ
Anna Maher, Ipswich, MA
Jada Laws, Pine Beach, NJ
Alyssa M Lester, Monroe, NJ
Samuel Messenger, Bellmawr, NJ
Kianna Mitchner, Groton, CT
Abbey Ritter, Geneva, NY
Abigail A Rose, Perkasie, PA
Bailey Shay, Matamoras, PA
Alastair Stewart, Quebec, Canada
Julia Wilder, Carmel, NY
D’Andre D Wright, Trumbull, CT
GOSPEL BAND
Raushan Thompson, piano
Ian Jesse Baggette, bass
Daniel Ware, drums
About Rider University & Westminster Choir College
Located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Rider University is a private co-educational, student-centered university that emphasizes purposeful connections between academic study and real-world learning experience. Rider prepares graduates to thrive professionally, to be lifelong independent learners, and to be responsible citizens who embrace diversity, support the common good, and contribute meaningfully to the changing world in which they live and work.
The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to educating students for engaged citizenship, career success, and personal growth in a diverse and complex world. The college cultivates intellectual reflection, artistic creativity, and academic maturity by promoting both broad academic inquiry and in-depth disciplinary study, while nurturing effective and ethical applications of transferable critical skills. The College consists of four schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts, the School of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, and Westminster Choir College.
Culturally vibrant and historically rich, Westminster Choir College has a legacy of preparing students for thriving careers as well-rounded performers and musical leaders on concert stages, in schools, universities, and churches, and in professional and community organizations worldwide. Renowned for its tradition of choral excellence, the college is home to internationally recognized ensembles, including the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with virtually all of the major orchestras and conductors of our time. In addition to its choral legacy, Westminster is known as a center for excellence in musical pedagogy and performance.
Upcoming Performances
WESTMINSTER CHAPEL CHOIR: STEP INTO THE WORLD
Sunday, April 27, 3 p.m.
Gill Chapel
WESTMINSTER ORGAN STUDIO RECITAL
Monday, April 28, 7 p.m.
Gill Chapel
ARTBEAST
Friday, May 2, 3 p.m.
Rider University
SENIOR DANCE CAPSTONE SHOWCASE
Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.
Bart Luedeke Center Theater
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 3, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m.
Yvonne Theater
WESTMINSTER CHOIR: THE SENSE OF SENSES
Saturday, May 3, 5 p.m.
Gill Chapel
RACHMANINOFF WITH NATASHA PAREMSKI FEATURING
WESTMINSTER SYMPHONIC CHOIR
Saturday, May 10, 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 11, 4 p.m.
Richardson Auditorium – Princeton University 68 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ 08540
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING PERFORMANCES, SUBSCRIPTION AND PATRON PROGRAM OPTIONS, VISIT RIDER.EDU/ARTS.
