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Jubilee Singers Wiki Information
The Fisk Jubilee Singers
are an African American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University, that was first organized in 1871. Their early repertoire centered on spirituals, but also included some Stephen Foster songs. In 2002 the Library of Congress honored their 1909 recording of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" by adding it in the United States National Recording Registry. [1]
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JUBILEE SINGERS TICKETS
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History
The Singers were organized as a fundraising effort for Fisk University, a black university in Nashville, Tennessee, that had been formed at the end of the American Civil War for the purpose of educating freed slaves and other young African-Americans. The five-year-old university was facing serious financial difficulty. In an effort to avert bankruptcy and closure, Fisk's treasurer and music director, George L. White, gathered a nine-member chorus of students to go on tour to earn money for the university. On October 6, 1871, the group of students, consisting of two quartets and a pianist, left for their U.S. tour, under White's direction. [ The first tour began in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over the next 18 months, the group continued to tour through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.. [2]
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After a concert in Cincinnati, the group donated their small US$50 profit to the victims of the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871. [3] The group then traveled on to Columbus, Ohio, feeling tired and discouraged. To raise their spirits, White named them "The Jubilee Singers." This was a reference to the year of Jubilee described in the 25th chapter of the book of Leviticus in the Bible. In Old Testament history, each fiftieth Pentecost was followed by a "year of jubilee" in which all slaves would be set free.[ The name "Jubilee Singers" had particular meaning because most of the students at Fisk had been slaves.][
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Some initial audiences were not receptive to the Jubilee Singers' performances, which were a departure from the familiar "black minstrel" genre in which white musicians performed in blackface. As the tour continued, audiences came to appreciate the singers' voices and the group began to receive praise for its talents. The Jubilee Singers are credited with the early popularization of the Negro spiritual tradition among white and northern audiences in the late 19th century; many were previously unaware of its existence. [4] The initial concerts were not financially successful, but the first United States tours eventually earned $40,000 for Fisk University. [5][
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After singing at the World Peace Festival in Boston in 1872, the group was invited to perform for President Ulysses S. Grant at the White House in March 1872.[ They gave a separate performance in Washington, D.C., for Vice President Schuyler Colfax and members of the U.S. Congress, and traveled thereafter to New York City where they performed before enthusiastic audiences at preacher Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church in Brooklyn and at Steinway Hall in Manhattan.][
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In a tour of Europe in 1873, the group, which by then had 11 members, earned enough money to send back to Fisk to construct the university's first-ever permanent building. That building, named Jubilee Hall, is still standing today and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.[ [6]
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The original Jubilee Singers disbanded in 1878 after a grueling touring schedule had led to exhaustion and health problems among the members. A new Jubilee Singers choir was formed in 1879 under the direction of George White and singer Frederick Loudin. [7]
Alumni
Notable people who were members of the Jubilee Singers at one time include:
- Roland Hayes, lyric tenor who was the first African American male concert artist to receive wide international acclaim
- Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, soprano whose repertoire included grand opera, light opera, and popular music
- Patti J. Malone, mezzo-soprano
Jubilee Day
Fisk University commemorates the anniversary of the Singers' first tour by celebrating Jubilee Day on October 6 each year.[
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Recent accomplishments
The Jubilee Singers continue to perform as a touring ensemble consisting of Fisk University students. As of 2000, the group had 14 members who sang without instrumental accompaniment and with their director offstage. [8] They have appeared with popular performers including Danny Glover, Hank Williams Jr., Faith Hill, and Shania Twain.[
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In 1996, the National Arts Club honored the Singers with a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. [9]
In 2000, the Singers were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and in 2006 the group was honored on the Music City Walk of Fame. [
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The song "Poor Man Lazarus" on the Singers' 2003 recording In Bright Mansions
was honored with a Dove Award in 2004.[ In Bright Mansions
also was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Recording Package category. [10]
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In 2008, the group was awarded the National Medal of Arts.[
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In 2009, Fisk Jubilee Singers, along with Jonny Lang, released the song “I Believe” on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. [11]
Notes
- The National Recording Registry >> Registry Choices 2002
- Jubilee Singers Timeline 1869-1974, ''The American Experience'' website, PBS and WGBH, accessed August 4, 2009
- Fisk Jubilee Singers: Our History, accessed August 4, 2009
- Ben S. Austin, The Fisk University Jubilee Singers, Middle Tennessee State University. Accessed 5 January 2009.
- {{PDFlink
- Kay Beasley, Fisk Jubilee Singers (1871–), Tennessee State University. Accessed 31 August 2006.
- George Leonard White, ''The American Experience'' website, PBS and WGBH, accessed August 4, 2009
- Jon Pareles, Music Review: Ambassadors Transcending Time and Race, ''The New York Times'', Thursday, March 9, 2000
- Fisk Jubilee Singers: Music, accessed August 5, 2009
- Fisk Jubilee Singers: In Bright Mansions, accessed August 5, 2009
- Jon Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah go gospel for "Day"
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