Ebony Singers, the University gospel choir that now boasts a history of amazing performances, did not disappoint the sold-out crowd Monday night at Crowell Concert Hall. The choir of about 150 students, conducted by Pastor Marichal Monts ’85 of the Hartford church Citadel of Love, performed a powerful and energetic ten-song show. Every member wore pastel colors that added to the positive atmosphere of the night. The audience spent at least as much time singing and dancing as they did sitting down, if not more so.
Monts, a Wesleyan alumnus and the creative force behind the biannual concert, has been involved with the Ebony Singers for twenty years as a singer, assistant director and conductor. He became the choir director during the 1986-87 school year.
While MUSC 448, the class listing for the gospel choir, is one of the most popular classes at Wesleyan, it has not always been that way.
“When I took over the choir, there were twelve people in the choir,” Monts said. “We now have ten times as many people.”
Interest has increased not only in the class but also in Ebony Singers’ concerts.
“When I was a student, we rarely got more than 150 – 200 people at out concerts,” Monts said. “No—hich is still amazing to m—e sell out usually a month in advance. I also think our songs are a little more energetic and lively…when I became the conductor, we really changed our style to a more contemporary Gospel flavor.”
Monts commented that turning people away from the class is one of the more challenging parts of his position.
“I hate having to turn people away. I wish that I could take everybody who wanted to be in the class, but we don’t have enough room in [our classroom] for all of the people,” Monts said.
Students in Monts’s class receive more than a musical education each week. In addition to vocal instruction, he offers advice and insight into subjects outside of singing.
“Pastor Monts always ends each class with a little sermon, usually a version of what he said the day before at church. One thing that he talks about a lot is finding your destiny and going after it,” said Mariah Klaneski ’04.
“I like to take time to encourage my students at the end of the class so that they will be motivated to complete their assignment in life, and not just their assignments in my class or their classes at Wesleyan. I believe that each and every one of us has a purpose for being here, and mine is not only to teach them good music, but it is also to push them into their destiny,” Pastor Monts said.
Love, specifically love for Jesus, was a theme frequently sung and talked about during the program.
“He has a way of sticking with you when he finds out the ugly stuff about you. Jesus loves you the way you are,” Pastor Monts said during a segue between songs.
Bess Thaler ’04, who snuck into the sold-out show, got the message loud and clear.
“I feel guilty about getting in for free,” she said, “but Jesus loves me anyway.”
The Ebony Singers concert also featured a visiting group, whose songs shared the show’s themes of love, Jesus, and acceptance. The Soulful Spirits, a small choir of six women from Waterbury, Conn., have been performing for 25 years and feature a more traditional style of Gospel music. The adherence to tradition did not affect the energy level, however, as the group blasted out an incredible, non-stop set that featured synchronized choreography moves.
The Soulful Spirits inspired enthusiasm among students.
“You can really tell that they love what they are doing and that they have fine-tuned their singing for years together,” said Mara Baldwin ’06 about the Spirits’ performance.
Their outstanding musical and performing ability was matched by their enthusiasm for Gospel singing.
“Their ‘perfection’ wasn’t about their choreography or harmony or anything like tha—it’s more about the fact that they all love doing what they’re doing that brings them together as a group of people,” Baldwin said.
“The Spiritual Souls were by far the best guest group I’ve seen at an Ebony concer—hey were amazing!” Klaneski said.
The show attracted people from the surrounding community.
“I’m from Hartford, and I come every semester,” said Rosalie Dwyer, a member of Pastor Monts’s congregation. “They get better every time I see them.”
For those interested in hearing more Gospel music in the area, Pastor Monts will be featured in a concert with Pastor Shirley Caesar in Hartford’s historic Bushnell Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, May 15 with 200 singers.
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