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Tracing gospel music: Africa to today
By MOLLY MOORHEAD The stage was small; the set was minimal. The performers had to do costume changes in the dark area behind the audience. In all, the performance by the Saint Leo University Gospel and Multicultural Choir was a modest production. But the music -- that's a different story. The 13 or so Saint Leo freshmen paraded down the aisles Wednesday evening, belting out a song in Swahili, familiar spirituals such as Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and the classic crowd rouser Precious Lord, Take My Hand. By the end, audience members were up clapping and singing along. The show "The History of Gospel Music," chronicled the evolution of the genre, from tribes in Africa, through slavery in America and into the churches of the civil rights movement and today. The choir, remarkable simply for its existence at a Catholic university, is also interesting for who's in it. Half the members are white. Many had never sung gospel music before joining. "It really shows the diversity of our campus," said school spokeswoman Jacqui Cash. "We are very accepting of students and people of all faiths." Ivar Jesurun, a 19-year-old from Miami, said he's been singing all his life but found something new in gospel music. "It's been something completely different from what I'm used to doing," said Jesurun, who is also the choir chaplain. "I'm a Catholic." Jesurun lives on campus, across the hall from his friend Derrick Washington, the precocious 19-year-old who created the choir and leads every rehearsal. Washington, who was raised Baptist, also researched, wrote, directed and performed in the show. He made it come together on a budget of $230. "I'm just so happy," Washington said with a huge grin as children came up to hug him after the show. Washington had help from faculty member Preceida Richardson, whom the students call Mamasita, researching the topic and putting together a script. Richardson's captivating voice opened the show as the students danced down the aisles to the beat of a drum singing Mie Ne Toleo, which means "I am delivered." For the scene depicting slaves, Jesurun, a tall young man with curly hair and a rosy face, sang out "Have you got good religion?" and the choir responded "Certainly, Lord." Barefoot and wearing tattered clothes, the group walked among potted trees picking cotton balls. Washington's script credited musical pioneers Thomas Dorsey and Mahalia Jackson, whose music is often noted for its part in the civil rights movement. Jackson sang at the funeral of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The choir changed into church clothes and sat in rows of chairs, banging tambourines and shouting "Amen!" Lyrics such as "With your love, life has brand new meaning" filled the small dining hall. At many points during the show, the overlap of dramatization and real emotion was evident on the faces of the choir. They weren't just acting out the scenes -- they were clearly moved by what they were singing. "It's really touching," Christine Gore, 19, said afterward. "We sing what comes from our hearts." The audience picked up on the energy, too. For the closing number, many in the crowd of about 75 came to their feet and called out words of encouragement. Some sang along. Washington stood in front, his back to the audience, and directed his group with sweeping arm movements and exaggerated facial expressions. Add a few gray hairs and a white robe, and Washington looks like a well-traveled choir director with a gift for bringing forth sweet melodies. The determined young man from Gainesville who dreams of being a pediatrician and a youth minister seemed particularly moved by the lyrics, "I know somehow and I know some way we're going to make it."
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