Celebration Of Black History Leads Off Spring Music Schedule
FOREST GROVE, Ore. — A celebration of Black History Month by the university’s choral groups kicks off the Pacific University Music Department’s Spring 2024 concert schedule.
The university’s Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, along with the Vera Voce and Splendid Audacity ensembles, will present an evening of music honoring Black history and culture on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m., in McCready Hall in the Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center on Pacific’s Forest Grove Campus.
Directed by Judy A. Rose, the Concert Choir’s set list includes “Blessed Are The Peacemakers,” “Golden” from the film Beauty Shop, and “Lift Every Voice And Sing.”
Directed by Scott Tuomi, the Chamber Singers’ selections include arrangements of spirituals such as “Great God Almighty!,” “There Is A Balm In Gilead,” “Hold On!” and “This Little Light of Mine.” The groups will come together to perform “Soon Ah Will Be Done,” arranged by Rose.
Student-led groups Vera Voce and Splendid Audacity combine for a performance of Mark Kibble’s arrangement of “David & Goliath,” made popular by the acapella gospel group Take 6.
The evening includes a special performance by blues and gospel singer LaRhonda Steele. A longtime fixture in the Portland music community, Steele is a 2020 inductee into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
The Celebrating Black History concert is the first of six concerts on the spring schedule. The choirs will be back together on Friday, Apr. 19, for the Spring Choral Concert. The Pacific Philharmonic Orchestra will perform on Friday, Apr. 26 with the Symphonic Band taking the stage on Saturday, Apr. 27. The Pacific University Jazz Band will present Jazz Nite on Friday, May 3.
The season ends with a special concert featuring Pacific’s choral programs and orchestra on Sunday, May 5, performing Beethoven’s Mass in C. The concert is a tribute to Tuomi, who retires this spring after a 36-year career at the university.
All Pacific concerts take place in McCready Hall in the Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center. Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., except for the May 3 concert, which will begin at 3 p.m.
Tickets for all Pacific University Music Department concerts are $10 for general admission and $7 for seniors, members of the military and non-Pacific University students. Pacific students, faculty and staff are admitted free. Tickets must be purchased online through the department’s Online Ticketing Portal.
For more information, contact Leah Sayre at 503-352-2216 or leahs@pacificu.edu.
Pacific University is the only comprehensive university in Washington County, Oregon, serving more than 3,600 undergraduate, graduate and prof