Music of Faith, Justice, and Freedom at Holman United Methodist Church

LOS ANGELES - Feb. 21, 2023 - PRLog -- Holman United Methodist Church revives its Annual Concert of Negro Spirituals Concert, curated and directed by William Campbell, Jr. The Negro Spirituals Concert is one of Holman's longest-standing musical offerings, and 2023 marks the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that Holman Choir will perform its signature concert live.

W.E.B. DuBois called the spirituals "sorrow songs," lamenting the far-reaching and multi-layered violations of slavery and projecting an eventual, often figurative, release from bondage. When forced to sing for the enslavers' entertainment on ships and on land, Africans were robbed not only of lifestyle and labor but also of creativity and sacred practice (Howard Dodson, "America's Cultural Roots Traced to Enslaved African Ancestors," National Geographic.com, 4 Feb 2003). But from these painful experiences emerged one of America's greatest art forms, the Negro Spiritual. With pride and hope, Campbell invites his audience "to come and listen, to sing, to be informed and to be inspired by these heritage songs of faith and freedom, Sunday, February 26 at 3:00 pm, in the acoustically phenomenal Holman Church sanctuary!"

Holman's musical programming month ends on Tuesday, February 28 at 7:30 pm, as the historic church welcomes the sons of jazz legend Dave Brubeck, baritone Phillip Bullock, and the groundbreaking Tonality: A Choral Spectrum to perform music inspired by the twentieth century Civil Rights Movement. Chris, Darius and Dan Brubeck will perform their father's cantata The Gates of Justice, "composed…in the aftermath of the 1968 the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." The concert will conclude with Dear Freedom Rider, "A new choral piece by Diane ("Dr. D") White-Clayton for the UCLA African American ensemble."

Annual Concert of Negro Spirituals
Sunday, February 26, 2023
3:00 p.m.
$20 suggested donation

Music and Justice Concert
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
7:30 p.m.
$10 suggested donation

Events -Upcoming – Holman United Methodist Church (holmanumc.com) (https://www.holmanumc.com/upcoming-events-2/)