Black History Month 2025 | High School Choral Festival | Playbill
“Lift
Every Voice and Sing”
James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938)
Often referred to as “The Black National Anthem,” Lift Every Voice and Sing was a hymn written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900. His brother, John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954), composed the music for the lyrics. A choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal, first performed the song in public in Jacksonville, Florida, to celebrate President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
At the turn of the 20th century, Johnson’s lyrics eloquently captured the solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans. Set against the religious invocation of God and the promise of freedom, the song was later adopted by NAACP and prominently used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
My Lord, what a mornin’ – Arr. H.T. Burleigh (1866 – 1949)
Deep River – Arr. H.T. Burleigh (1866 – 1949)
Elijah Rock – Arr. Moses G. Hogan (1957 – 2003)
Stuyvesant High School Oratorio Choir
Ms. Liliya Shamazov, Director
Heaven Bound Train – Arr. Stephen Hatfield (b. 1956)
Keep Yo’ Lamps – Arr. Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962)
Batala New York Drummers
LaGuardia High School for the Arts Treble Choir
Ms. Jeanne Cascio, Director
John Saw De Numbuh – Arr. Stacey Gibbs
Be Grateful – Walter Hawkins (1949 – 2010)
All in His Hands – V. Michael McKay (b. 1952)
Soloist: Dea Krliu
Student Director: Elisa Silva
LaGuardia High School for the Arts Gospel Choir
LaGuardia high School for the Arts Gospel Band
Dr. Darryl Jordan, Director
Lift Every Voice and Sing
James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938)
Lift every voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast’ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered. We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by Thy might, Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.
Taione Martinez, Director Zheng Ma, Piano
Dr. Malcolm J. Merriweather,
Workshop Clinician
Grammy nominated conductor, Malcolm J. Merriweather, is Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and Music Director of New York City’s The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra.
He is a sought-after interpreter of symphonic choral works, most recently conducting grand performances of Bach’s St. John Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Handel’s Messiah. In addition to core symphonic works, he is known for the world premiere recordings of The Ballad of the Brown King, Credo, and Simon Bore the Cross by Margaret Bonds (AVIE Records) with The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor, he has conducted the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Novus Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ensembles under his baton have performed at venues that include The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madison Square Garden, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Westminster Abbey, and the Vatican before Pope Francis. At the invitation of Solange Knowles, he joined the interdisciplinary studio and creative agency Saint Heron for performances with Voices of Harlem and The Clark Sisters in Glory to Glory: A Revival of Devotional Art
He is an Associate Professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and has also joined the faculty at Manhattan School of Music. He was the founding Artistic Director of “Voices of Haiti,” a 60-member children’s choir in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
Composer Spotlight
Roland Carter
Distinguished composer, conductor, educator, and pianist, Roland Carter is the Ruth S. Holmberg Professor of American Music in the Department of Music at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). His accomplishments as a leading figure in the choral arts include concerts with major choruses and orchestras in prestigious venues nationwide; as well as lectures, workshops, and master classes. From presidential inaugurations to the smallest church, from scholarly presentations for national gatherings of musicians, educators, and preservationists to private coaching with individual singers, Mr. Carter lends his keen ear, bright mind, and talented hands to projects of every sort.
Carter is especially noted as an authority on the performance and preservation of African American music, having produced and appeared on programs for national and international radio and television networks in support of these aims. He is founder and CEO of Mar-Vel, a music publisher specializing in the music of African American Composers and traditions. Carter has directed the Chattanooga Choral Society for the Preservation of African American Song for 19 years, and served as music advisor and principal guest conductor of the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, Houston, TX for twelve years.
Unquestionably a gifted composerarranger, it is Carter’s arrangement of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” that is most often used to present the anthem in formal settings. His arrangements and settings have and continue to be performed by orchestras and choirs throughout the world. A colleague of his once shared her belief that the angels sat upon his shoulders and whispered the score for his arrangement of the spiritual, In Bright Mansions Above
Harry T. Burleigh
Harry Thacker Burleigh played a significant role in the development of American art song, having composed over two hundred works in the genre. He was the first African-American composer acclaimed for his concert songs as well as for his adaptations of African-American spirituals. In addition, Burleigh was an accomplished baritone, a meticulous editor, and a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
Harry Burleigh was a dedicated church musician throughout his life, beginning as a young man in Erie, where he sang in the choirs of the Cathedral of St. Paul’s, the Park Presbyterian Church, and the Reform Jewish Temple. Burleigh was able to hold multiple paid positions at once since the choirs performed on a staggered schedule. However, Burleigh’s passion for music extended beyond the sacred. In his late teens, he was so determined to hear a salon recital by Hungarian pianist Rafael Joseffy at the home of local music lover and his mother’s sometimes employer, Elizabeth Russell, he stood outside in the snow to listen and became ill.
In 1894, Burleigh auditioned for the post of soloist at St. George’s Episcopal Church of New York. To the consternation of the congregation, which objected because Burleigh was African American, he was given the position. However, through his talent and dedication (he held the appointment for over fifty years, missing only one performance during his tenure), Burleigh won the hearts and the respect of the entire church community.
Florence Price
Florence Beatrice Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on 9 April 1887. She began learning music from her mother at an early age and gave her first piano performance at age four, reportedly publishing a composition (now lost) at age eleven. She graduated high school at the age of sixteen and in that same year was accepted into the New England Conservatory (Boston), then as one of the most prestigious musical academies in the U.S.
Florence Beatrice (Smith) Price became the first black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra when Music Director Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played the world premiere of her Symphony No. 1 in E minor on June 15, 1933, on one of four concerts presented at The Auditorium Theatre from June 14 through June 17 during Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition. The historic June 15th concert entitled “The Negro in Music” also included works by Harry T. Burleigh, Roland Hayes, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and John Alden Carpenter performed by Margaret A. Bonds, pianist and tenor Roland Hayes with the orchestra. Florence Price’s symphony had come to the attention of Stock when it won first prize in the prestigious Wanamaker Competition held the previous year.
John W. Work III
John Wesley Work III was a noted composer, educator, choir director, and musicologist, remembered especially for his work as a folk song collector specializing in African American spirituals. Work hailed from a musical family. His grandfather was a church music director in the Nashville area. His father taught at Fisk University in Nashville and also collected many African American spirituals, including “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”
Work received his early education at Fisk University. After receiving his B.A. from Fisk in 1923, he attended the Institute of Musical Art in New York City (now the Juilliard School). He later received a M.A. in 1930 from Columbia, and a B.Mus from Yale in 1933.
After graduating, Work taught at Fisk University from 1927 until his retirement in 1967. Throughout his career, he undertook several projects to study and record African American folk songs and spirituals. In one such project he collaborated with colleagues at Fisk University to record music of the Mississippi River Delta for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Blues musician Muddy Waters was first recorded as part of this study.
Work was an active composer throughout his life. Though his output spans a variety of styles, his largest contribution was to choral and vocal solo music. Several of these compositions were arrangements based on the African American spirituals and folk songs he collected as part of his research. Galaxy Music Corporation published a number of his arrangements in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, and many of these publications remain popular with choirs and soloists today.
Brittney Elizabeth Boykin
B.E. (Brittney Elizabeth) Boykin is a native of Alexandria, Virginia and comes from a musical family. At the age of 7, she began piano lessons and continued her studies through high school under the tutelage of Mrs. Alma Sanford. Mrs. Sanford guided her through various competitions, such as the NAACP’s ACT-SO competition where she garnered 1st place for 3 consecutive years in the local competition, as well as being awarded The Washington Post “Music and Dance Award” in the spring of 2007.
Boykin then pursued her classical piano studies at Spelman College under the leadership of Dr. Rachel Chung. After graduating Spelman College in 2011 with a B.A. in Music, Boykin continued her studies at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. During her time at Westminster, she was awarded the R and R Young Composition Prize just a few months shy of graduating with her M.M. in Sacred Music with a concentration in choral studies in May, 2013 and her PhD from Georgia State University, concentrating in music education.
Boykin’s choral piece, “We Sing as One,” was commissioned to celebrate Spelman College’s 133rd Anniversary of its founding at the 2014 Founders Day Convocation. She has also been featured as the conductor/ composer-in-residence for the 2017 Harry T. Burleigh Commemorative Spiritual Festival at Tennessee State University. Boykin has been commissioned and collaborated with several organizations, including a number of ACDA divisions, the Minnesota Opera and the Kennedy Center.
Brandon Waddles
As a conductor, composer, pianist, and educator, Brandon Waddles enjoys a multifaceted career spanning the musical gamut. Brandon, a Detroit native, holds a B.A. in Music from Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA) and M.M. from Westminster Choir College of Rider University (Princeton, NJ). He earned his Ph.D. in Music Education with a Choral Conducting emphasis at Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL). Before pursuing his doctorate, he served on the Conducting and Sacred Music faculty at Westminster as conductor of the Westminster Jubilee Singers.
Brandon’s choral compositions and arrangements have been published and performed by choral ensembles around the world, including the Morehouse College and University of Michigan Glee Clubs, Oakwood Aeolians, Westminster Choir, Brigham Young University Singers and the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir. In 2019, he was awarded as the inaugural recipient of the ACDA Diverse Voices Collaborative Grant. In addition, he has worked as a transcriber of Black gospel music for numerous choral octavos, hymnals and hymnal supplements published by GIA, including his recent work as a contributing editor for the One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism hymnal. Brandon recently released Just In Case You’ve Forgotten, the first selected compendium of works by the late Thomas Whitfield, the subject of his dissertation. Brandon has also served on the staffs of various music ministries throughout the country, including Hartford Memorial Baptist Church (Detroit, MI), the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA), Abyssinian Baptist Church (Harlem, New York City, NY), and First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens (Somerset, NJ), to name a few. He most recently served as Director of Music at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Tallahassee, FL).
Brandon has been blessed to work with a diverse array of musicians including Dalton Baldwin, Martin Katz, Angela Brown, George Shirley, Donnie Ray Albert, Vinson Cole, Fred Hammond, Kathy Taylor, Anita Wilson and Chrystal Rucker. He currently serves as Musical Director for Ledisi.
Stacey V. Gibbs
Stacey V. Gibbs is a prolific and highly sought-after composer-arranger and clinician. Best known for arrangements of spirituals, he is highly acclaimed for his ability to infuse new energy into familiar works without sacrificing their authenticity or power.
Maestro Gibbs’ spirituals have been performed by the King’s Singers,the Stellenbosch Choir of Africa, the University of Southern California Chamber Singers, the Nairobi Chamber Choir, the University of Michigan Glee Club, the Wartburg Choir, Iowa State University, Winston-Salem State University, the Highland Park Chorale, the Florida State University Singers, Missouri State University, University of Kentucky Men’s Chorus, the American Spiritual Ensemble,the Morehouse Glee Club, University of Texas, Luther College Choir, American Idol Winner Reuben Studdard, the Aeolians of Oakwood University, recording artist Tori Kelly, the San Antonio College Chamber Singers, Kentucky State University Concert Choir, the University of Pretoria Camerata in Africa, Augustana Choir, Georgia State University Singers, The Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Manado Chamber Singers, PSM Unima Singers of Korea, Salt Lake Choral Artists, Fullerton Singers, Riverside City College Chamber Singers, sounding Light, Cantamus.., and many other college, university, high school and professional ensembles both domestically and internationally. His music has been programmed at all state festivals, National Association of Music Educators (MENC) Festivals, the World Choir Games, the World Choral Symposiums and regional and national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Conventions.
He currently has over 80 published arrangements for SATB, SSAA and TTBB ensembles. His music was performed at the 57th Inaugural Service for President Barack Obama and family.
Maestro Gibbs’ made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in April, 2017 and introduced his new work ‘Freedom’. In September 2018, he formed the vocal ensemble Stacey V. Gibbs & Just Music and their debut recording, More Love, will be released in the summer of 2020.
P.8: Gia Publications, giamusic.com/artists/roland-carter
P.9: Library Of Congress, loc.gov/item/n83127097/h-t-burleigh/
P.10: Friends of Moses Hogan Society, moseshogan.com/about_moses_hogan.htm
P.11: Dr. Michael J. Cooper Editor, collected works of Florence B. Price (New York: G. Schirmer), Historical Dictionary of Romantic Music (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow,2013), florenceprice.com/biography/
P.12: Music By Women,musicbywomen.org/composer/undine-smith-moore/
This and other programs are mde possible, in part, by the C ommissioner Laurie Cumbo and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Town Hall’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Town Hall’s Programs are also supported by the Henry Nias Foundation .
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