The College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture will host a concert and reception featuring the renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers on Friday, April 19, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. at the Circular Congregational Church at 150 Meeting Street. All proceeds from the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ performance will benefit the Avery Research Center’s public programs.
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are students of Fisk University, a historically black college established in 1866. In 1871, the original Jubilee Singers introduced “slave songs” or “Sorrow Songs”—a term coined by Fisk alumnus and noted scholar Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois—to the world. The troupe performed before audiences from American churches to European royalty, breaking down racial barriers at home and abroad.
Under the current direction of Dr. Paul Kwami, The Fisk Jubilee Singers still travel worldwide singing and helping to preserve the uniquely American musical tradition of Negro Spirituals.
“The Fisk Jubilee Singers have kept the American tradition of the Negro Spirituals alive, having preserved and made accessible this unique musical form to worldwide populations for generations,” said Patricia Williams-Lessane, executive director of the Avery Research Center. “We are honored to bring this talented group of singers to Charleston, where so many appreciate the meaning and beauty of the spirituals.”
The Avery Research Center, established in a partnership between the College of Charleston and the former Avery Normal Institute, aims to collect, preserve, and promote the unique history and culture of the African diaspora, with emphasis on Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Tickets can be purchased at alumni.cofc.edu/jubilee. For more information, contact Savannah Frierson at 843.953.7609.
