Vesper Choir to present spring concert May 1

The UAPB Vesper Choir will present its annual spring concert on Friday, May 1st at 6:00pm in the J.M. Ross auditorium of the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts building. The free, public event will feature classical choral selections, spirituals, contemporary choral music, choral jazz/pop and gospel music.

The Vesper Choir recently returned from their spring concert tour to New York City.  While in NYC as the representative of Arkansas in the 2015 National Festival of the States Concert Series, the Choir performed concerts at:  Historic Manhattan Seventh Day Adventist Church, located in Greenwich Village; The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, NYC., the largest cathedral in the world and the 4th largest Christian church in the world; and in the Atrium at the Trump Tower.  While in New York City the members of the Vesper Choir did extensive touring and sightseeing, including visits to:  Harlem, The Schomburg Center for Black Culture, Central Park, The Empire State Building, the African Burial Ground, and other cultural and educational venues.  They also attended the Broadway production of Aladdin and Amateur Night at the Apollo.

The Vesper Choir is directed by Dr. Michael J. Bates and is assisted by Mr. Andee Book, assistant choir director/voice instructor; Ms. Julia Buckingham will serve as accompanist and Mr. Jerron Liddell, Dollarway Schools Choir Director will serve as guest director.

Organized in 1945 by Ariel M. Lovelace, the Vesper Choir is a service organization that has performed for significant campus and community events, schools, churches, and community organizations around the state of Arkansas and internationally. With a mission that is cultural, artistic and educational, the group has produced a long line of distinguished singers, performers and professionals in other work fields and academics including Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, prominent theologian, pastor and author; Smokie Norful, Grammy award-winning contemporary gospel artist and pastor; and the late James McKissic, internationally renowned concert pianist.