Hawkins was born in Oakland and began singing in gospel choirs as a teenager, along with his brothers. In 1967, as a member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, he recorded “Oh Happy Day,” which would become one of the first gospel-leaning songs to cross over to the mainstream, winning a Grammy and being named one […]
News and Notices
Musical with all-a-cappella accompaniment
When you first hear the remarkable singing in “Brick: An A Cappella Musical,” you scan the lineup of singers to find out where all those sounds are coming from. In place of a band, vocal arrangers Adam Hogston and Joe Mokrycki create instrumental sounds with voices: percussion, bass, melody line, rhythmic movement and harmonies — […]
Choir games estimated to bring $73.5M to Cincinnati
The 2012 World Choir Games, to be held in Cincinnati, will have an estimated economic impact of $73.5 million, according to a University of Cincinnati report released Thursday. The impact includes direct spending of $36 million by the operators and organizers of the event, participants who will stay at hotels downtown and elsewhere, and by […]
With Heart and Voice announcement
WXXI NAMES PETER DUBOIS NEW HOST OF ITS NATIONAL RADIO PROGRAM WITH HEART AND VOICE Rochester, New York (July 12, 2010) –Peter DuBois, Director of Music and Organist at Third Presbyterian Church, has been named host of With Heart and Voice, WXXI-FM’s national sacred choral and organ radio program. DuBois has served as […]
Brazael Dennard, 1929-2010
Dennard, who died Monday at age 81 at his Detroit home after a long illness, was a man of many accomplishments. He had a significant career as a teacher and administrator in the Detroit Public Schools. He co-founded Classical Roots, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s annual celebration of African-American composers and musicians. He built a nationally […]
David Fanshawe, ethnomusicologist and composer, 1942-2010
Many of us in the choral community have conducted and performed David Fanshawe's unique African Sanctus since it's creation in 1977. To say that David was an original is understated. He was a spirited and bold man who possessed contagious enthusiasm for preserving the vanishing musical cultures of people from small African villages to Southeast […]