The Spelman College Glee Club
“Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service”
As part of the 2025 Syracuse International Jazz Fest, the Spelman College Glee Club of Atlanta will perform at Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, June 29, 2025. The Spelman College Glee Club is the oldest collegiate choir of African American women in the United States. Under the leadership of Dr. Kevin P. Johnson since 1999, the Glee Club has achieved national and international acclaim, performing at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, and across Europe. With the motto ‘to amaze and inspire,’ the Spelman College Glee Club uplifts audiences with artistry rooted in tradition and shaped by innovation.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Program: 3:00 PM
Pre-Event Luncheon: 12:30-2:30 PM
There is no fee to attend the program or lunch. All are welcome. Attendance Capacity: 1,000 with overflow seating available outdoors
As the grand finale of the Syracuse International Jazz Fest in 2025, Hendricks Chapel of Syracuse University will once again host “Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service,” featuring performances by The Spelman College Glee Club, The Black Celestial Choral Ensemble (BCCE) of Syracuse University, and a community choir comprised of Syracuse-area residents.
This exciting program, which delighted nearly 600 patrons in 2024, will offer a dynamic and inclusive spiritual experience that fuses and celebrates Gospel and Jazz music, includes a pre-event welcome luncheon, and seeks to spark and sustain renewal in our local community and beyond. The program and luncheon are both free of charge and open to all.
No registration is necessary however, you may join the Facebook event to receive reminders.
RAIN AND INCLEMENT WEATHER
This event will be held rain or shine! For the luncheon, large event tents will protect everyone from the rain. In the event of inclement weather, attendees will be directed to a safe location.
Overflow Viewing
If we reach capacity (1,000 attendees), overflow viewing of the event will be available in the large event tents. In the event of inclement weather, outdoor viewers will be directed to a safe location.
Join the Community Chorus:
All interested in participating in the community choir may contact Cora Thomas at cathomas@syr.edu or Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901.
Parking:
Free parking will be available in the Irving Garage and the Raynor Lot.
Shuttles will start running from the Irving Garage and the Raynor Lot beginning at 11 AM.
For parking maps, visit: https://parking.syr.edu/visitors-to-campus/lot-directions-and-maps/
Accessibility:
For accessible parking, please call Hendricks Chapel at 315.443.2901 or email chapel@syr.edu.
CART, ASL and Aira will be offered at this event.
Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is the instant translation of the spoken word into English text using a stenotype machine, notebook computer and real-time software. This is useful for English speakers who are hard of hearing or deaf.
An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter translates a service or program for those who know ASL and are deaf or hard of hearing.
Aira is a visual interpreting service that makes visual information accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, or for any person with a disability who may benefit from verbal descriptions of visual information. Syracuse University is a proud Aira Access Partner. SU makes Aira visual interpreting services available to our community of students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and visitors on campus at no cost. Interpreters audibly describe a person’s visual surroundings via a live professionally-trained agent and the Aira Explorer mobile app.
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Spelman College Glee Club
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Spelman College Glee Club stands as the oldest collegiate choir of African American women in the United States. Since 1924, the ensemble has served as Spelman’s premier performance organization, representing the college with excellence through a wide-ranging repertoire of classical masterworks, Negro spirituals, world folk music, and commissioned works by African American composers. Under the leadership of Dr. Kevin P. Johnson since 1999, the Glee Club has achieved national and international acclaim, performing at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, and across Europe. With the motto ‘to amaze and inspire,’ the Spelman College Glee Club continues to uplift audiences with artistry rooted in tradition and shaped by innovation.
Dr. Johnson, the Glee Club director, is a composer, conductor, and educator whose work lies at the vibrant intersection of music, culture, and spirituality. He is associate professor of music at Spelman College leading the ensemble through a century of musical excellence and into a bold future. A Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting, Dr. Johnson’s compositions—including seven complete mass settings and over 300 psalm arrangements—are sung across the United States, especially in Black Catholic communities. His recent works include Hip-Hop Mass, commissioned by the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute, and Music Everywhere Chorus America. Johnson is also director of music at the Lyke House Catholic Center and founder of Lion and Lamb Publishing.
The Black Celestial Choral Ensemble (BCCE) of Syracuse University
Founded in 1977 by Rev. Dr. Seretta C. McKnight to provide a spiritual home for Black students at Syracuse University, the Black Celestial Choral Ensemble (BCCE) ministers through Gospel music that fosters and supports academic excellence at a university welcoming to all. Led by student director Joshua Garvin ’25 and supported through The Alumni Group (TAG) of the BCEE, the choir has performed at numerous venues throughout North America, including the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA), the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and currently led by Rev. Dr. Senator Raphael Warnock.
Gospel Jazz Community Choir
To honor the Sunday Gospel Jazz Service theme of “Return to Community,” a diverse community choir composed of Syracuse area residents will once again be led by Cora Thomas, known locally as “Syracuse’s First Lady of Gospel Music.” Born and raised in Syracuse, Thomas serves on numerous community organizations and hosts “Sunday Morning Gospel” on WAER 88.3 of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. All interested in participating in the community choir may contact Cora Thomas at cathomas@syr.edu or Hendricks Chapel at chapel@syr.edu or 315.443.2901.
Pre-Event Outdoor Welcome Luncheon
To express the Sunday Gospel Jazz Service theme of “Return to Community,” a pre-event outdoor welcome luncheon, featuring free food and refreshments, will take place on the Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle of Syracuse University from 12:30 PM-2:30 PM. At 2:30 PM, the first 1,000 guests will be ushered into Hendricks Chapel for the 3:00 PM Sunday Gospel Jazz Service start time.
Syracuse International Jazz Fest
For additional information on the 2025 Syracuse International Jazz Fest, please visit syracusejazzfest.com.
