The African American Choral Ensemble is putting on a 50th anniversary concert celebration, bringing together 100 alumni and current members to honor the history and future of the choir. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Musical Arts Center.
Raymond Wise, the executive director of the African American Arts Institute and director of AACE said the ensemble was founded in 1975 due to an outgrowth of the IU Soul Revue, which had been established in 1971. The group had grown significantly in popularity over the years but had limited positions available. The founding director of IU Soul Revue, Portia K. Maultsby, and founder of African American Arts Institute, Herman Hudson, decided they needed to start a new choir, which became AACE.
Wise said the ensemble was originally called the Afro American Choral Ensemble and it began its growth and success under the direction of Michael Gordon, IU’s dean of students from 1981-1991, and Mellonee Burnim, an IU professor of ethnomusicology.
Wise said the choir was distinctive on campus because of its focus on performing choral works composed for, by and about African Americans, a quality the ensemble still embodies today. AACE continues to perform works that span all of African American history, from African music and spirituals to contemporary genres such as blues, jazz, gospels and anthems. Wise said no matter what genre AACE performs, the ensemble conveys a spirit of hope.
“Pretty much everywhere AACE sings, they sing this music which is a music of hope, it’s a music of inspiration,” Wise said. “It has a way of bringing people together, and that’s exactly what AACE has been able to do, from the students who are comprised of all races, all ethnicities, all backgrounds, to the community and the audiences that come, that are from all backgrounds. It’s a group that literally has a way of galvanizing or bringing people together that might not even normally be in the same space, and they do that through the gift of their song.”
Haylee Ward, a second year master’s student studying environmental science and public affairs, is a current member of AACE and will be performing in the upcoming concert. She said she was a part of a glee club and a gospel choir during her undergraduate studies at United States Military Academy West Point in New York. When she decided to attend IU for graduate school, she immediately started researching choirs in the community and found out about AACE.
She only joined AACE last semester, but she said she’s already enjoyed being a part of the choir.
“I absolutely love it,” Ward said. “I think more so in this choir than my previous ones, I just really feel inspired every time I sing. Like even if I come in tired, like, I just feel so refreshed after our concerts because we were just bringing so much hope through the songs.”
AACE members have already been preparing and rehearsing for the anniversary concert. Wise said the choir was able to digitize footage of early conductors from throughout the 1970s and ’80s, which will allow them to tie in and honor these conductors as well as older pieces the ensemble performed.
Additionally, Wise said he surveyed alumni about their favorite songs they performed when they were a part of AACE and will be including several of them in the concert’s program.
“It’s so interesting to me because we’ll be in rehearsal and we’ll be singing a song and I’m like ‘well this was something that the other alumni loved and I am also going to love this song,’” Ward said. “Even if we have so many differences, it’s, like, this music connects us.”
The anniversary concert will take place at the MAC, where, Wise said, AACE has not performed since the 1980s, so it feels even more special to the ensemble. Wise said their catchphrase for the concert is “pack the MAC,” encouraging the Bloomington community to show up for the choir.
“AACE is not gonna turn 50 again,” Wise said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to come, to see all the people there, to join in the fellowship and celebrate together.”
Wise said alumni will be coming from over 15 states to reunite with AACE and perform together.
William Robison, a 2023 graduate and current high school mathematics teacher, said he came into college planning to join a choir after participating in choir throughout high school. One of his TAs during his intensive freshman seminar course was a member of AACE who encouraged him to audition, and he never looked back.
Robison said being a part of AACE was a great opportunity for him to get out of his comfort zone after not having much exposure to African American arts growing up.
Robinson said his first concert was a recording at a local church in Bloomington. Though it wasn't technically a church service, he said it was his first time experiencing many of the things that go on very frequently in the African American church tradition.
Robison said there was no way he was going to miss the chance to perform alongside other alumni at this anniversary concert.
“AACE gave me so much,” Robison said. “I think it’s only fitting and appropriate for me to give back and to celebrate AACE in this 50th anniversary concert.”
Tickets are $20 for the general public and $12 for students and can be purchased through the Jacobs School of Music Ticketmaster page.
Wise said that when he is asked why the choir still sings after 50 years, he explains that what keeps them singing is the power of music.
“We have always seen that when we sing, and we sing from our hearts, it inspires people, it encourages people,” Wise said. “That’s what we hope people take away as we live in this era, in this particular climate where things are just so tentative and transitional and people are not really treating one another like equal human beings. We have this gift of song that we can use to try to make a difference and bring people together to see each other in a different way.”
