Morehouse College Glee Club Celebrates 100 Years
LINCOLN CENTER CONCERT AND LAUNCH OF "POWER OF TEN" CAMPAIGN SALUTE MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GLEE CLUB'S 100 YEARS IN SONG
NEW YORK, Aug. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maroon & White Fund, a 501(c)(3) support organization, will host a national tribute to the Morehouse College Glee Club's "100 Years in Song" with a weekend celebration to include the launch of the "Power of Ten" scholarship fundraising initiative, The Maroon & White Gala "A Salute to Excellence in Education at Morehouse College" @ The New York Grand Hyatt - October 1st and Centennial Benefit Concert @ Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center - October 2nd, 2011.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110818/DM54118 )
It all began with a rising New York "Starr" -- Georgia Starr that is. In 1903, Miss Starr, an Allegany New York native and graduate of New York's Crane Institute of Music - Potsdam, New York journeyed southward to become the first music teacher at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia (then known as Atlanta Baptist College). At Morehouse College (America's largest all-male institution of higher education - named for New York philanthropist, Henry Lyman Morehouse) Miss Starr was afforded great latitude to exercise her music education and abilities to teach young African-American men the art of music performance. In spring 1911, she presented the first documented student concert at Morehouse with a group of 12 choral and six orchestral members. It is from this humble yet significant beginning and under the official directorship of Mr. Kemper Harreld in the Fall of 1911 that the World Renowned Morehouse College Glee Club was born.
The Morehouse College Glee Club, America's oldest all-male collegiate glee club under professional directorship, has performed with excellence at The White House, state capitols, in famed concert halls throughout the United States, and on stages around the globe. A few notable occasions include: presidential performances for Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Earl Carter, and George H.W. Bush; at the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., on U.S. State Department tours, The Kennedy Center's salute to Robert Shaw, with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, and at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. The glee club also performed for Oprah Winfrey and Ray Charles, who subsequently became generous benefactors of Morehouse College. In fact, inspired by the work of the Morehouse Glee Club, Ms. Winfrey established the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program at Morehouse College which enabled hundreds of "Morehouse Men" (all of whom appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show - United Center Celebration) to graduate!
Other Weekend Activities includes:
September 30th
Morehouse College Glee Club appearances on morning news programs and WNYC-FM 93.9's live worldwide-simulcast "All Ears on 100 Years with the Morehouse College Glee Club" hosted by Morehouse alumnus Terrence McKnight at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space -- "Alumni & Friends" reception at Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
October 1st
Educational Symposium, "From Your House to Our House: Preparing African American Males in K12 to Persist in American Higher Education"
October 2nd
National Centennial Benefit Concert marking the Morehouse College Glee Club's "100 Years in Song" at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, 6:00 PM, under the direction of Dr. David Morrow with special performances by Spelman College Glee Club, Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir, alumni vocal artists and other celebrity guests.
For the entirety of its 100 years, the Morehouse College Glee Club has represented the best of Morehouse College and America. Glee Club alumni include:
Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr. -- Former Atlanta Mayor-Maynard Jackson -- Congressman Sanford Bishop -- Presidential Candidate - Herman Cain -- Former Secretary of Health & Human Services - Louis Sullivan -- Famed African Drummer Michael Babatunde Olatunji -- White House Liaison to Historically Black Colleges & Universities - John S. Wilson
POWER OF TEN – National Scholarship Fundraising Initiative
In light of the world's current economic crisis, the need to pursue alternative scholarship fundraising strategies has become critical. The Maroon & White Fund chose the Glee Club's centennial milestone as the catalyst to launch the "Power of Ten" national fundraising initiative, which is designed to elevate the national and international profile of Morehouse College as one of the top liberal arts institutions in America and establish global appeal for financial support of scholarships. The "Power of Ten" is simply an appeal for your contribution of $10 per 10 decades ($100) in celebration of the Morehouse College Glee Club's 100 years in song. If as few as 100,000 supporters of education and/or the arts subscribe to this $100 appeal, the goal of raising $10,000,000 for scholarships at Morehouse will be attained.
Ms. Oprah Winfrey, through her extraordinary generosity, was able to positively transform the lives of 415 Morehouse men. So, imagine what can be accomplished if you BELIEVE that one person can make a difference and you GIVE to the Power of Ten. You will GAIN the personal satisfaction of knowing that you positively changed the lives of current Morehouse students and that you helped light the world with future Morehouse Men!
We cordially invite the nation and the world to join us for the national salute to this prized American jewel by contributing to the "Power of Ten" campaign and attending both The Maroon & White Gala and the Centennial Benefit Concert at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center.
Call 800-884-5813 for Corporate Sponsorship opportunities and/or for additional media information.
SOURCE The Maroon & White Fund
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