The Maroon & White Fund, a 501(c)(3) support organization, will host a national tribute to the Morehouse College Glee Club’s “100 Years in Song” with a weekend celebration from Oct. 1-2 in New York.
Activities include the launch of the “Power of Ten” scholarship fundraising initiative, The Maroon & White Gala “A Salute to Excellence in Education at Morehouse College” at The New York Grand Hyatt , Oct. 1 and Centennial Benefit Concert and Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, Oct. 2.
It all began with a rising New York “Starr” — Georgia Starr that is. In 1903, Miss Starr, an Allegany New York native and graduate of New York’s Crane Institute of Music, Potsdam, New York, journeyed southward to become the first music teacher at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia (then known as Atlanta Baptist College).
At Morehouse College (America’s largest all-male institution of higher education – named for New York philanthropist, Henry Lyman Morehouse) Miss Starr was afforded great latitude to exercise her music education and abilities to teach young African-American men the art of music performance.
In spring 1911, she presented the first documented student concert at Morehouse with a group of 12 choral and six orchestral members. It is from this humble yet significant beginning and under the official directorship of Kemper Harreld in the Fall of 1911 that the World Renowned Morehouse College Glee Club was born.
The Morehouse College Glee Club, America’s oldest all-male collegiate glee club under professional directorship, has performed with excellence at The White House, state capitols, in famed concert halls throughout the United States, and on stages around the globe.
Other Weekend Activities include:
Sept. 30
Morehouse College Glee Club appearances on morning news programs and WNYC-FM 93.9’s live worldwide-simulcast “All Ears on 100 Years with the Morehouse College Glee Club” hosted by Morehouse alumnus Terrence McKnight at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space — “Alumni & Friends” reception at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Oct. 1
Educational Symposium, “From Your House to Our House: Preparing African American Males in K12 to Persist in American Higher Education”
Oct. 2
National Centennial Benefit Concert marking the Morehouse College Glee Club’s “100 Years in Song” at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, 6:00 p.m., under the direction of Dr. David Morrow with special performances by Spelman College Glee Club, Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir, alumni vocal artists and other celebrity guests.
Power Of Ten – National Scholarship Fundraising Initiative
The Maroon & White Fund chose the Glee Club’s centennial milestone as the catalyst to launch the “Power of Ten” national fundraising initiative, which is designed to elevate the national and international profile of Morehouse College as one of the top liberal arts institutions in America and establish global appeal for financial support of scholarships.
The “Power of Ten” is simply an appeal for your contribution of $10 per 10 decades ($100) in celebration of the Morehouse College Glee Club’s 100 years in song. If as few as 100,000 supporters of education and/or the arts subscribe to this $100 appeal, the goal of raising $10,000,000 for scholarships at Morehouse will be attained.
Ms. Oprah Winfrey, through her extraordinary generosity, was able to positively transform the lives of 415 Morehouse men.
