February 1, 2006
Detroit choir shares spiritual songs
Renowned Brazeal Dennard Chorale will perform Sunday, Feb. 12 at First Congregational Church
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The Brazeal Dennard Chorale will raise the roof next weekend during their one-show appearance in Traverse City.
The renowned African-American choir, based in Detroit and 45 voices strong, will perform Sunday, February 12, at the First Congregational Church.
Mel Larimer, music director emeritus for the church, engaged the group for the church's annual Dick Johnson Concert Series. A longtime friend and colleague of Dennard, he wanted to share the ensemble's signature sound with the community. Grants from the Robert Hughes Foundation plus an anonymous donor helped fund the program.
"They're such big voices and they sing with such enthusiasm and joy," said Larimer. "I think everybody is going to get a completely new perspective on how to perform spiritual and gospel music."
Health issues will prevent founder and director Dennard from coming to Traverse City next weekend. In his stead, Dr. Augustus Hill of Wayne State University, one of the chorale's three assistant directors, will conduct the group.
Dennard founded the chorale in 1972 and initial membership drew heavily from music teachers in the Detroit school system. The chorale has performed around the United States and Canada over the decades. A versatile group with a wide repertoire, their specialty is gospel and spirituals. They have published four compact discs and created a DVD on the history of African American music. Some of Dennard's arrangements of spirituals are performed widely by other artists.
Donald Robinson, a retired Detroit Fire Marshal, and his wife, a retired music teacher, have been singing with Dennard since the late 1980s. They share the stage with physicians, teachers and other professionals and retirees who are united by a mutual vision.
"We have people from all walks of life," said Robinson, executive director of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale for 14 years. "The common denominator is that we all love music and of course our mission is the preservation of the Negro spiritual genre."
In 1985, Dennard founded a community chorus, which serves as a feeders system for his more prestigious and rigorous chorale. He also created the Brazeal Dennard Youth Chorale for singers ages 14-19. The three groups perform separately and together while the Chorale participates in seminars and workshops at colleges and schools around the country. In 1977, Dennard's chorale helped develop the Classical Roots Concert Series with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
"They are not a run-of-the-mill group, they are top flight," said Larimer of the chorale.
Dennard and Larimer met during the 1960s while both were high school choral directors: Dennard at Northwestern High School in Detroit and Larimer then at Pontiac Northern High School. Their paths crossed many times at music festivals and conferences, nurturing both professional collaboration and a friendship.
Dennard later became the supervisor of music for all of Detroit and Larimer wound up at Olivet College. For many years, Dennard brought carloads of promising high school students to Olivet to audition for music scholarships. Dennard, determined that his students try for good scholarships and get a quality education, provided the only transportation they had. Dennard also conducted a summer music camp at the college for years.
"I just respect him so much as a teacher and a person, he's just an outstanding individual" added Larimer, who served as music director with the Traverse City Public Schools from 1962-1970.
"Dennard is retired from teaching but he sees himself as the Pied Piper of the Detroit music scene and of black music history," continued Larimer. "He's really taken that on as a challenge for himself."
The Brazeal Dennard Chorale will perform on Sunday, February 12, at 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Road. The concert is free and open to the public; a free-will offering will be taken.