The Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir will infuse the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech’s new season with the spirit-lifting sounds of West African gospel music during its performance on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The choir will perform in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Moss Arts Center’s Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.
The Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir has become a symbol of peace, hope, humanity, and brotherhood throughout its homeland of Senegal since the ensemble’s founding in 1950. The choir interprets gospel spirituals, traditional African songs, and Masses that its founder Julien Jouga composed in his country’s four national languages: Ouolof, Diola, Sérère, and Portuguese Creole.
Their voices represent Senegal’s language, rhythms, and music traditions. Catholic liturgy and the indigenous Muslim songs of Senegal are combined to create an extraordinary harmony between the nation’s cultures.
Prior to the performance, the Center for the Arts will host a presentation by Virginia Tech faculty members and graduate students working with the Education and Research in Agriculture in Senegal program. Managed by Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development, the program works to improve the system of agricultural education at the college level in the West African nation.
Virginia Tech faculty leaders for the project will discuss their work, along with Senegalese students pursing master’s degrees in agricultural fields as part of the project’s capacity building efforts. The free event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Moss Arts Center Cube and will feature Senegalese hors d’oeuvres.
Registration is required and can be completed online. Poster presentations highlighting the project will be on display in the Grand Lobby.
Tickets for the performance are $20-$45 for general public and $10 for students and youth 18 years old and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center’s box office, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 on weekends.
– Susan Bland
