The Queens College Choral Society’s 85th annual winter concert will feature music from legendary musician Duke Ellington.
Photo courtesy of the Queens College Choral Society
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The Queens College Choral Society announced that its upcoming winter concert will feature musical performances of songs by legendary musician Duke Ellington on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 4 p.m., in the university’s Colden Auditorium, located at 153-49 Reeves Ave. in Flushing.
The Queens College Choral Society’s 85th annual show, titled Duke Ellington, The Best of the Sacred Concerts, will feature 17 of the artist’s selections from his three “Sacred Concerts,” including “Come Sunday” and “David Danced.” More than 100 members of the Queens College Choral Society will be performing these songs.
This concert comes in collaboration with Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music, the Louis Armstrong House Museum and other special guests. The students from the Aaron Copland School of Music will account for the rhythm section and vocalists, while an all-star orchestra will be provided by the Louis Armstrong House Museum, with Artistic Director of Programs Bruce Harris leading them.
Aaron Copland School of Music Professor James John will be conducting the show. He earned a doctorate in conducting at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and is capable of playing multiple instruments. He has acted as the leader of the Queens College Choral Society since 2002.
The concert will be conducted by Aaron Copland School of Music Professor James John. Photo courtesy of the Queens College Choral Society
“I was thinking about what would be meaningful and uplifting for people, and we hadn’t done [“Sacred Concerts”] in a while,” Professor John said. “I’m so happy to be revisiting it for a number of reasons. It’s such a joyful piece, and people need that right now. It’s also amazingly beautiful and has incredible depth.”
One of the concert’s special guests will be Randall Keith Horton, who will serve as the narrator. On top of earning a Master of Arts and Music Theory degree from Queens College in 2013, Horton’s storied career also saw him serve as Ellington’s composing assistant and touring with his band. Horton will also be singing “My Love,” an Ellington devotional that he sang to Ellington’s sister, Ruth, on her deathbed.
Randall Keith Horton. Photo courtesy of the Queens College Choral Society
“Participating in this concert is a privilege, and I thank Dr. James John. ‘My Love’ is one of Ellington’s most beautiful — and least known — creations. It’s an expression of his private religious sentiment and addressing God in quasi-romantic language implies intimacy. He identifies God as the love of his life,” Horton said. “Ruth Ellington was my mentor during my decades-long service to her brother’s ‘Sacred Music.’ She and her nephew, Mercer Ellington, were cherished guides to my full-length concerto grosso orchestration of Maestro Ellington’s ‘Black, Brown and Beige.’ I have meaningful memories of singing [‘My Love’] for her when she was hospitalized late in life.”
Queens College Adjunct Professor and tap dancer Marshall L. Davis Jr. is the other special guest. He will be performing tap routines during the songs “David Danced” and “Praise God and Dance!,” with the latter being the last number of the concert.
The program is expected to run for approximately 2.5 hours, including an intermission. General admission for the event is $28 per person. Tickets are $7 for Queens College students and those under 18 years of age. Additional fees may apply. Tickets can now be purchased by calling (718)-793-8080 or going to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts website. Two free parking lots are located near the Colden Auditorium.