The Morgan
State University Choir
Dr. Eric Conway, Director
The Morgan State University Choir, led for more than three
decades by the late Dr. Nathan Carter, the celebrated
conductor, composer, and arranger, is one of the nation’s
most prestigious university choral ensembles. The choral
forces of the critically acclaimed choir include the
University Choir, which is over 140 voices strong, and The
Morgan Singers – approximately 40 voices. While classical,
gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the choir’s
repertoire, the choir is noted for its emphasis on
preserving the heritage of the spiritual, especially in the
historic practices of performance.
The Morgan State University Choir has performed for
audiences throughout the United States and all over the
world – including the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Canary
Islands, Canada, Africa, Asia and Europe. Their most recent
overseas appearance was in St. Petersburg, Russia at the
invitation of Maestro Yuri Temirkanov, music director and
conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In Russia,
the Choir performed in the 5th International Festival Arts
Square to enthusiastic receptions by their Russian
audiences.
The Choir has appeared at the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln
Center and Carnegie Hall on numerous occasions – performing
and premiering works such as John Corigiliano’s “Poem On
His Birthday,” “Too Hot to Handel” arranged by Broadway
composers, Bob Christianson and Gray Anderson; and Hannibal
Lokumbe’s “African Portraits,” led by music director,
Leonard Slatkin, as part of the Kennedy Center’s African
Festival. One of the Choir’s most historic moments came
with the opportunity to sing under the baton of Robert
Shaw, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and joined by
Jessye Norman and others in Carnegie Hall’s One Hundredth
Birthday Tribute to Marian Anderson. A major milestone and
historical movement occurred in the 1996-1997 season with
the sounds of the “Silver Anniversary” concert being
broadcast into households throughout the state of Maryland.
The concert won three Emmy Awards for Maryland Public
Television (MPT). MPT continues to air this hallmark
performance during select sections of their membership
drives.
DSC_0249 Known for their consistency of excellent
performances, the Choir probably does more annual
appearances with major orchestras of the United States than
any other university choir. For example, season 1998-1999
included performances with the National Symphony, the New
York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The
Buffalo Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Knoxville
Symphony. During the 1999-2000 season, the Choir was
featured with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a
(then) newly commissioned work for the millennium, “All
Rise,” by Wynton Marsalis. The Choir reprised “All Rise” in
Prague, in October 2000 and recorded it with the Lincoln
Center Jazz Orchestra; the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and in
2003, the Choir recorded it in Paris. In December 2003 the
Choir performed “African Portraits” with the Baltimore
Symphony at the Gala Concert for the Reginald F. Lewis
Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.
In their May 2004 issue, Reader’s Digest named the Morgan
State University Choir “the Best College Choir in the U.S.’
in its list of “America’s 100 Best.”
In January 2005, under the leadership of Dr. Eric Conway,
the choir performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony #2,
“Lobgesang” with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as well
as sang for the State Department at the personal invitation
of Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice to wide acclaim. Most
recently, the Morgan State University Choir sang for the
service honoring Rosa Parks, the unassuming matriarch of
the civil rights movement, who became the first woman to
lie in honor at our nation’s Capitol Rotunda. Last summer,
in July of 2006, the Choir traveled to Prague, Czech
Republic, for two concerts with maestro Paul Freeman. In
November of 2006, the Morgan State Choir will participate
in a concert celebrating the Bicentennial Celebration and
Re-opening of the Basilica of the Assumption - the first
cathedral in America!
The Morgan State University Choir has shared its musical
gifts on many grand stages all over the world – with
numerous dignitaries and celebrated performers – making
them cultural ambassadors for Morgan State University, the
City of Baltimore, the State of Maryland and the United
States. Each spring, the Choir concludes its season at home
with its annual spring benefit concert – which large
audiences enthusiastically anticipate and
receive.
