Enjoy an evening of elation, triumph, and hope. With joyous and powerful harmonies, brilliant costumes, and infectious spirit, the awe-inspiring 20-member Soweto Gospel Choir delights with its soul-lifting performances. Join the Grammy-winning ensemble for its latest production, “Hope: It’s Been a Long Time Coming,” at the Moss Arts Center on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
Co-sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Black Cultural Center, the performance will be held in the center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theater, located within the Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.
“Hope: It’s Been a Long Time Coming” celebrates American and South African artists who have been associated with struggles for civil rights and social justice. This unforgettable evening features emotional African gospel and freedom songs alongside selections inspired by the U.S. civil rights movement: beautiful and exceptionally moving renditions of songs by legendary artists including Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, and Ben E. King.
Hailing from Soweto (South West Township), a town outside of Johannesburg and home of South Africa’s democratic movement, Soweto Gospel Choir features a lineup of some of South Africa’s best vocalists. Formed in 2003 at the end of the apartheid era and during South Africa’s inspiring return to democracy, the ensemble performed on many occasions for South African President Nelson Mandela, including at his state funeral in South Africa and the subsequent commemorative service at Westminster Abbey in London. The group also performed at the funeral service for the late president’s first wife, Winnie Mandela, and serves as an ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Soweto Gospel Choir has shared the stage and collaborated with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, U2, Diana Ross, Peter Gabriel, Chris Martin, John Legend, Pharrell Williams, Jimmy Cliff, Ben Harper, Angélique Kidjo, Robert Plant, Celine Dion, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hugh Masekela, and Josh Groban.