The Morehouse Glee club, an all-male choral group conducted by David Morrow from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, was hosted by TKE Philips School for music and the diocese of Lagos Mainland (Anglican Communion) to mark the 50th anniversary of the Morehouse’s first visit to Nigeria.
The choral concert held on Saturday, July 2 at the Cathedral Church of St. Jude Ebute-Meta, Lagos, was a moment refreshing for lovers of classical music, as the choral group performed a repertoire of African and American songs to the applause of the congregation you stayed glued to their seats for the over two hours concert.
The highlight of the night however, was joint rendition of the Yoruba song titled, ‘Edumare Seun Fun mi’ by the Morehouse Glee choral group in collaboration with the Lagos State University choir conducted by David Aina, the Lagos City chorale and the Diocesan choir of the Lagos Mainland, Anglican Communion.
According to Morrow, the Morehouse College Glee Club is rooted in Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior’s legacy. Dr. King, who sang in the Morehouse College Glee Club, was one of the notable alumni of the Historically Black College in the United States.
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The Morehouse Glee Club 50th Anniversary Tour of Nigeria is supported in part through a public diplomacy grant of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria and showcases the United States’ strong commitment to strengthening cultural relations between the people of Nigeria and the United States.
The 1972 visit to Nigeria infused African music into the Glee Club’s tradition and American Choral music in general. Fifty years later, choirs across the United States sing in Nigerian languages, highlighting the long-term impact of that exchange.
The Morehouse College Glee Club has since learned a variety of songs in Edo, Yorùbá, Hausa, and Igbo, including a piece specifically composed for them by Igwe Laz Ekwueme, famed Nollywood actor and University of Lagos professor.
