Westminster Jubilee Singers

Vinroy Brown, conductor

Composed of students selected by audition, the Westminster Jubilee Singers is modeled after the historically acclaimed Fisk Jubilee Singers.   Its repertoire, while specialized and select, is very diverse and focuses on solo and ensemble artistic expressions from its singers.  Part of Westminster Choir College’s Sacred Music Department, the ensemble performs literature that includes African-American spirituals and folk songs; classical music by African-American composers; gospel music and secular songs by musical greats such as William Dawson, Duke Ellington, Walter Hawkins, AndraéCrouch, Richard Smallwood, Kirk Franklin and Dr. Nathan Carter, as well as Westminster graduates, Rosephanye Powell, Donald Dillard and M. Roger Holland.  Also explored and performed are works by non-African-American composers, including George Gershwin, Alice Parker, Robert Shaw, Robert Page, Gail Poch, Steve Pilkington and others who have composed and/or arranged music of the African-American experience.

VIEW a video of the Westminster Jubilee Singers' November 24, 2019 Concert "My Faith Looks Up to Thee."

In addition to its rich repertoire of African-American spirituals, hymn arrangements and gospel songs, the Westminster Jubilee Singers has performed classical works, such as And They Lynched Him On a Tree by William Grant Still and Shout for Joy and I Will Lift Up My Eyes by Adolphus Hailstork. Highlights of recent seasons include the performance Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts and R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses.

Previous seasons have included appearances at the: 

• Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in Kansas City
• Regional Conference in Baltimore
• American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Regional Convention in Boston
• A performance with Denyce Graves at New York’s Apollo Theater to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Children’s Defense Fund
• A joint concert titled Living the Dream with Penn State University’s Essence of Joy ensemble as a tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Lincoln Center debut performing in An Evening of Choral Artistry presented by the American Choral Directors Association.

The ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra, under the baton of Skitch Henderson, in a concert version of Porgy and Bess.  At the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, it has presented joint concerts with the Fisk University Jubilee Singers and the legendary Sweet Honey in the Rock.