Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 8 - 14, 2023 UCW 15 On Saturday, Feb. 18, voices will rise up in song at the Cumberland Hall Auditorium as members of the Cumberland Choral Arts hold a con- cert honoring Black History Month. e concert, which will start at 7:30 p.m., will be a mix of classical pieces, spirituals, hymns and contemporary music. is will be the third year members of the choir have held the event. Lift Every Voice and Sing began as an idea from Cumberland Choral Arts member Brenda Vandevort- Miller. "When I did this in 2020, it was re- ally done very selfishly," Vandevort- Miller said. "Being part of this com- munity and going to different Black History Month events, I found that there were a lot of similarities in the events that were being offered." "e focus was on things that most people would know about from general education. It's a lot of Martin Luther King Jr., lot of Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass. With this being a military town a lot of focus is on Buffalo Soldiers," she said. "And all of those things are great and it is important for those stories to be told and to continue being told. But I wanted to offer something different. I wanted it to be focused more on music because there is a lot of Black history with music at large." Lift Every Voice and Sing will be broken down into three parts. e first part of the concert will focus on classical and 20th century pieces. Corey Leak will be performing "La Donna E Moble" by H. Leslie Adams. Monique Butler McLeod will be per- forming a Puccini piece, "Vissi Darte Vissi Damore." Vandevort-Miller will be peform- ing a piece titled "I Have a Dream." "It is Dr. King's speech set to music, composed by Phyllis Luidens Reed. I did it on a live stream two years ago, but I have yet to do it in front of a live audience, I'm excited to see how it is received," Vandevort- Miller said. e second part of the concert will be gospels, spirituals and sacred music. Pieces such as "City Called Heaven," performed by Dr. Denise Murchison Payton from Fayetteville State University will be sung. "I Walk With God" and "ere Is a Balm in Gilead" will also be performed. Co- rey Leak and Chris Colon, members of Cumberland Choral arts, will be doing an arrangement of "Amazing Grace." e final part of the concert will feature this year's theme, Ladies Night. "We are concentrating on music that is either written by or tradition- ally performed by Black women," said Vandevort- Miller. "ere will be a little Chaka Khan in there, Aretha and Whitney." Five soloists from Cumberland Choral Arts are the main performers of the concert, but they will be joined on stage by the Fayetteville Tech and Fayetteville State University Choirs. e Cross Creek Chorale, the smaller auditioned ensemble within the Cumberland Choral Arts, will also be making an appearance. e show will include some spoken word and monologues from different shows that are Black centered. "It bridges a lot of gaps that you won't necessarily get from your school, or your church or events in the community," said Vandevort- Miller. "e goal is always to offer a different perspective on Black history and enlighten the community about things they didn't know previously." Cumberland Choral Arts is the premier community choir within the Sandhills region. It began in 1991 as Cumberland Oratorio Singers by Alan Porter. He put together a group to sing Mozart's "Requiem" during the bicentennial of Mozart's death. It was supposed to be a one time event, but people enjoyed themselves so much that the choir was born. Five year ago, the group changed their name to Cumberland Choral Arts. Dr. Michael Martin is currently the choir's director. "e name changed to make it a little more accessible. I think the feeling was that we were only doing these mass pieces that were serious and stodgy and that's not the case at all," said Vandevort-Miller. "We do a little bit of everything like the Blue Grass Mass that will be closing out our season." e choir is available for people to join, all they have to do is fill out an interest form and set up a time to sing for Dr. Martin to familiarize himself with someone's voice and decide where to place them within the choir. A prepared piece isn't necessary, stressed Vandevort-Miller. Cumberland Choral Arts encom- passes the smaller, auditioned en- semble of the Cross Creek Chorale. A youth choir is also now a part of the mix, the Campbellton Youth Chorus. For more information on how to join, visit https://www.cumberland- choralarts.org/join-cca/ Lift Every Voice and Sing will be held on Fayetteville State Univer- isty's campus at the Cumberland Hall Auditorium on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and are $15. For tickets or more information visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ lift-every-voice-and-sing-a-musical- journey-through-black-history-tick- ets-514993498417?aff=ebdsoporg- profile. Celebrating Black History Month: Cumberland Choral Arts hosts Lift Every Voice and Sing by ALYSON HANSEN EVENT Call us at 781-821-2204 or donate online at MatchingDonorsDonations.com Donate Vehicles, Boats, Real Estate, Planes ... anything! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DONATE A KIDNEY TO SAVE A LIFE 100% of the proceeds help save the lives of people needing organ transplants on MatchingDonors.com, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Every donation is tax deductible. We take donations in any condition, with fast, free pickup. Matching Donors ALYSON HANSEN, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. (910) 484-6200 Follow Us Today! Stay up to date on all the Up & Coming Events in Cumberland County and surrounding areas! LIKE