Johnson C. Smith University's Concert Choir is trading Charlotte stages for one of the most storied rooms in American music. The Charlotte HBCU's choir will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on November 28, singing what organizers are calling “gospels of gratitude” as part of a holiday-season program.
The performance is part of Distinguished Concerts International New York's Sounds of the Season concert, staged at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, according to DCINY. Carnegie Hall's own event listing notes the Johnson C. Smith University Choir will present gospels of gratitude as part of the evening, per Carnegie Hall. WCCB Charlotte reported that the choir will take part in the Sounds of the Season concert on November 28th.
Leading the group on Carnegie Hall's stage will be Dr. Angelica Brooks, marking her as a debut conductor for the program, per the Carnegie Hall listing. Brooks currently serves as JCSU's Director of Choral Activities, according to DCINY's event page.
Afrofuturism Meets the Black Church Tradition
JCSU student Tanasia Kirby described the thematic throughline shaping the choir's Carnegie Hall set. “What we're focusing on is Afrofuturism and Christianity in the Black church,” Kirby said, per WCCB Charlotte's report. She added that the focus helps choir members remember their identity as people, especially as African American people, according to the same account.
That blend fits a choral program that has steadily broadened its sound. The group's repertoire has expanded from traditional spirituals and hymns to embrace gospel, classical, jazz, and contemporary works, DCINY notes. JCSU's own choir page describes the broader choral program as also known as the “SOUL of Charlotte,” and says it has seen exponential growth in recruitment and ensembles in recent years, according to Johnson C. Smith University.
A Milestone Moment for the University
Johnson C. Smith University described the Carnegie Hall appearance as an exciting milestone, giving students a chance to showcase their musical talents while representing JCSU and Charlotte, per WCCB's reporting. The upcoming performance also comes as the choir is scheduled to be featured at the North Carolina American Choral Directors Association conference, with DCINY noting the group is elated to make its Carnegie Hall debut.
JCSU's trip echoes a path other historically Black colleges have taken to the same stage. In 2023, the Voorhees University Choir prepared to perform at Carnegie Hall on Easter Sunday, April 9, joining four other HBCU choirs to form a mass choir, according to Voorhees University. Seven upper-class students and five first-year students were selected for that performance, the university said, and Voorhees choir director Rachel Jones called Carnegie Hall the most prestigious venue for the choir's performances. Voorhees reported the cost of sending its choir to New York at $55,000, with the Mid Atlantic Production Company coordinating the event and D'Walla Simmons-Burke serving as guest conductor for the combined choir.
For JCSU, the November 28 date puts a Charlotte choir alongside a tradition of HBCU ensembles finding their way to Carnegie Hall's marquee. The university's framing of the night as a milestone suggests the performance is meant to resonate well beyond a single evening of music, carrying the city's name into one of the country's most recognized concert halls.
