Choral Ensemble pleases audience at MLK celebration

About 20 speakers and performance groups were on stage Monday evening at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration, but one of the audience’s favorites was the IU African-American Choral Ensemble.

The ensemble, a group under the umbrella of the African-American Arts Institute and composed of about 35 members, sang three songs: two a cappella African-American spirituals and one South African gospel song.

Although the first two numbers, “It’s Me, It’s Me, It’s Me Oh Lord” and “We Are Marching,” were spirituals, they were sung in rounds with American choral-style harmonies.  

Director Keith McCutchen said he chose the arrangements because he wanted to combine African and African-American musical elements with traditionally ascribed American and European ones, which he believed was symbolic of “building a bridge”
between the communities in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.

He also said he picked spirituals because they appeal to the universal human condition.

“Spirituals speak not only to the condition of slaves and the attitude expressed by oppressed people,” McCutchen said. “They also speak to the rights of humanity.”

Ensemble member Abby Ogunbekun, a junior, said she thought the songs were appropriate for a performance on Martin Luther King Jr. Day because they spoke to his spirit as both a political and religious visionary.

“They’re songs of struggle but also songs of hope,” Ogeunbekun said.

The third song was a gospel sung in South Africa and Swaziland. It was partly in English and partly in Khosa, an African language, and had a much different tone than the first two songs.

The ensemble sang, danced and clapped to the song while McCutchen accompanied the group on piano.

Audience members said they enjoyed the performance’s liveliness.

“This is my second time seeing them,” sophomore Audrey Speicher said. “I can’t get enough.”

Speicher also said she loves the cultural richness the group has in its performances.
Sophomore Emily Bedal said she was also a fan of the ensemble because of the energy of their performances and has seen the group multiple times.

“I would definitely say Professor McCutchen’s passion for what he wants to do with the show is what kept me coming back,” she said.

She said McCutchen’s vision for the group is what sets them apart.

“It’s a learning experience as well as aesthetically pleasing,” Bedal said.