Ebony Heritage Singers to deliver first recital at Glass Center this weekend

Pictured is the Ebony Heritage Sisters. Photo courtesy of the Ebony Heritage Singers website.

Virginia Caesar | Contributing Writer

The University of Dayton’s Ebony Heritage Singers will perform their annual spring concert on

April 6 at the Roger Glass Center for the Arts, the first ever recital at the new center. 

The 7 p.m. performance is a free, unticketed event and guests will be admitted on a first come, first served basis.

The university’s gospel choir and has performed for audiences across the nation and the world for more than 30 years. The group’s mission is to dedicate themselves to the performance of African American sacred music. The group has provided students with unparalleled opportunities throughout the years including performing at the opening of the famed Tour De France bicycle race and as well as events in Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Ghana and West Africa.

The Saturday performance in the 386-seat concert hall is especially exciting for the group and community members alike because it will be the first-ever recital at the Roger Glass Center for the Arts.

The building, commissioned in December 2023, had a soft opening on Jan. 27, 2024, with an art exhibit. The facility sits on 4.9 acres and boasts a concert hall, experimental theater, art gallery and Flyer Media facilities. 

The Rev. Dr. Donna Cox, who guides the choir as its conductor, said that being the inaugural group to perform in the hall is “such an amazing opportunity for [the group]” and noted that she, as a faculty member for more than 30 years, has been “waiting a very long time for the realization of a new concert hall.” 

Dr. Cox said she is “beyond excited” for the performance.

The concert will follow the theme Sweet Meditation, based on Psalm 104, which also is the

title of one of the songs that will be performed. 

The Rev. Dr. Cox notes that she “loves the lyrics” of that song in particular, which in the King James Version begins this way: “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God. Thou art very great; thou art clothed in honour and majesty.”

Guests “should expect an experience, not just a concert,” she said, noting that guests will be encouraged to feel the music by clapping, standing, singing, and maybe even dancing.

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