Spiritual celebration fills Jacobs School of Music

Doctoral candidate Dwyane Smith’s vision for a concert celebrating history’s composers came true Sunday night in the Jacobs School of Music’s second-annual “A Celebration of Spirituals.”\nThe concert was held inside the packed Auer Hall in the Jacobs School of Music. The program included 17 songs performed by various music ensembles and soloists.\nSmith thought of the idea to have the concert while reminiscing about the spiritual performances in which he used to participate every Palm Sunday while attending the University of Oklahoma. \nSmith then passed the idea along to Gwyn Richards, dean of the music school.\n“He was excited and gave us his blessing,” Smith said.\nThe planning for the concert began in the summer, narrator of the concert and planning committee member Mellonee Burnim said. \nThis year, Singing Hoosiers and a performance with steel drums were added to the concert, Smith said. The African American Choral Ensemble also participated in this \nyear’s performance.\nThe committee started auditioning students in the fall and selected all of the performers by December, Burnim said. The committee also selected the songs for the concert during this time.\n“I wrote the narration that went along with the program in order to put the music with a context and cultural meaning,” Burnim said. \nSmith, who also performed during the event, said he was nervous before taking the stage.\n“I haven’t sung in four years,” Smith said. “I was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.”\nStill, Smith said he thought the performance went well and hopes that the School of Music continues to host the concert every year. \nBloomington resident Marguerite Thomas, who thought the concert should be moved to the Musical Arts Center, still agreed with Smith.\n“All of Bloomington should have been here,” Thomas said. “The depth of the music should be shared.”