The Dillard University Concert Choir will perform its annual Spring Concert on Sunday, April 15, 2011 at 4 p.m. The concert, to be held in Lawless Assembly Hall on the Dillard campus, is free and open to the public. Attendees are advised to arrive early to secure seating.

“I’ve often told my choir that a good musical composition makes the audience remember it,” said choir director S. Carver Davenport. “The Dillard Choir performance of ‘Come Sweet Death,’ composed by one of the masters, J.S. Bach, and set to contemporary choreography, has something novel that sets it apart. It really holds the audience’s attention.”

With the help of accompanist Lucian Zidaru, the 39-member choir will perform selections by J. Rosamond Johnson, Richard Smallwood, Moses G. Hogan and more.

“Moses was a member of the Dillard faculty for 13 years, and I had the honor and privilege of being in the very first chorale that he started in 1980, the New World Ensemble, as well as the last chorale he directed before passing in 2003,” said Davenport. “Good compositions reflect the conscious design of their composer or arranger, and in the spirituals that the choir will perform, the audience will certainly hear the musical genius of my dear friend, Moses Hogan.”

The choir’s repertoire draws from a variety of musical styles, including classical masterpieces, folk and art songs, jazz tunes, and Negro spirituals such as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “In Bright Mansions Above.”

Dillard University invites you to join us for an afternoon of beautiful music performed by talented, passionate young men and women.