THE TOUGALOO COLLEGE CONCERT CHOIR IN WOODWORTH CHAPEL, APRIL 3, 2002

   The Tougaloo Choir outdid itself in this extraordinary concert,
opening with F. Melius Christiansen's best known work, "Beautiful
Saviour", sung a capella and exquisitely. Mendelssohn's "He Watching
Over Israel", with Director Kathy Castilla at the piano and student
Justin Belt conducting, followed, then Virgil Thompson's arrangement
of "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need". Next, with student Tyrone Harris
at the piano, was Samuel Barber's "Sure On This Shining Night", new
to me and quite effective. The first group closed with Bob Chilcott's
arrangement of Billy Joel's "And So It Goes", with Justin Belt, Tenor,
and Kelli Young, Soprano. The second group - one piece - featured
Lyric Soprano Tessika McClendon in "Ain't It A Pretty Night" from
Carlisle Floyd's opera "Susannah". McClendon, a senior, will be
entering the prestigious Boston Conservatory next fall. From this
performance it was easy how she gained entry. The third group began
with Undine Moore's arrangement of "Daniel, Servant of the Lord",
with Justin Belt, Tenor, and Isaiah Castilla, Bass. It was followed
by William Lawrence's arrangement of "Let Us Break Bread Together".
Next was Hall Johnson's arrangement of "Ain't Got Time To Die",
with Tessika McClendon, Soprano. Tommy Dorsey's "Precious Lord",
arranged by Arnold Servier, was next, followed by Moses Hogan's
well-known arrangement of "The Battle of Jericho". As the program
progressed through these piece, my inner voice kept saying "More!
More! More!" until the program closed, with Hogan's "We Shall Walk
Through the Valley" - a song of peace - less well-known but by far
the most moving selection of the evening, given the world situation.
It also was especially memorable because of the fullness of the sound
over the entire pitch range. Many of the pieces ended with all parts
at the high end of their ranges, to achieve the maximum sound, which
was very exciting, but here the richness of the bass voices lent
a powerful quality to the message of the song.

   Woodworth Chapel has just been restored, and this was the first time
I had heard the Tougaloo Choir sing there. The chapel has a relatively
large volume for the main seating area, and hard surfaces everywhere -
from ceiling and walls (wooden "bead" board) to floor (beautiful pine).
These features ensure good acoustics, with a noticeable "ring" after
a loud sound is cut off. Further, the chapel is very quiet - no 
electrical hum and no air conditioning compressor rumbling. The chapel 
contributed to the choral sound in three ways: first, it makes all
sound seem alive; second, when choirs sing, and the singers get feedback
from the room, it excites them and moves them to sing better; third,
in this particular case, the psychological lift provided by the chapel
(probably akin to the advantage athletic teams have when playing "home"
games) also enhances performance. In short, these are the things that
can lead an already excellent choir to new heights. Congratulations to
Director Kathy Castilla! 
                                                     - Glenn A. Gentry