Historic Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University will serve as the host site for “Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service”, featuring performances by the Concert Choir of Dillard University (New Orleans, LA), Black Celestial Choral Ensemble of Syracuse University, and a community choir comprised of Syracuse area residents.
This first-of-its-kind program at Jazz Fest will offer a dynamic and inclusive spiritual experience that fuses and celebrates Gospel and Jazz music, includes a pre-event welcome luncheon, and seeks to spark and sustain renewal in our local community and beyond. The 3:00 pm program and 12:30 pm luncheon are both free of charge, and open to all.
Black Celestial Choral Ensemble (BCCE) of Syracuse University
Founded in 1977 by Rev. Dr. Seretta C. McKnight to provide a spiritual home for Black students at Syracuse University, the Black Celestial Choral Ensemble (BCCE) ministers through Gospel music that fosters and supports academic excellence at a university welcoming to all. Led by student director
Gabrielle Pinkney ’24 and supported through The Alumni Group (TAG) of the BCEE, the choir has performed at numerous venues throughout North America, including the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA), the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and currently led by Rev. Dr. Senator Raphael Warnock.
Dillard University Concert Choir
Through the leadership of Samuel Carver Davenport, Dillard University’s Ray Charles Endowed Professor in Music, the nationally renowned Dillard University Concert Choir features vibrant student voices from across North America. The choir recently performed for the nationally televised Historically Black College and University (HBCU) All-Star Game as well as the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Annual Education Conference, with the choir being described as “surpassed only by the angels of heaven.” Located in New Orleans and established in 1869, Dillard University is Louisiana’s oldest historically Black college
