Tuskegee Golden Voices, Iowa State Choirs Concert
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3
Stephens Auditorium
Iowa State Singers, Cantamus, Statesmen and Lyrica will join the Golden Voices on stage for a first-time collaborative performance.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free with a goodwill donation.
AMES, Iowa - In a tribute to one of the most influential agricultural scientists of the 20th century, Iowa State University will welcome the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir for a special performance celebrating George Washington Carver Day in Iowa.
The concert will honor the shared legacy of Carver, an Iowa State graduate and the university's first Black student, who went on to teach and conduct research at Tuskegee for 47 years.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3. at Stephens Auditorium. Admission is free with a goodwill donation and doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
"We are honored to celebrate George Washington Carver wherever he is celebrated, but the opportunity to celebrate him at his alma mater is quite unique," said Golden Voices conductor Wayne A. Barr, who has served as Tuskegee's choir director for more than 25 years. "Partnerships such as this place the choir before diverse, nationally gathered audiences who may not otherwise encounter Tuskegee's musical tradition. This visibility also helps the choir advance its mission of sharing the rich legacy of African American choral traditions, spirituals and cultural expression across the country."
The event will begin with an interactive lecture about spirituals by Barr and include demonstrations from his choir. For the finale, members of the four Iowa State choirs - Iowa State Singers, Cantamus, Statesmen and Lyrica - will join the Golden Voices on stage for a collaborative performance.
"Bringing the Tuskegee Golden Voices to Iowa State gives our choirs the amazing opportunity to collaborate and learn from one of our country's seminal choral ensembles," said Jennifer Rodgers, assistant director of choral activities and assistant teaching professor of voice at Iowa State. "I hope that our students and audience alike will appreciate what a mountain top opportunity this residency and concert bring to ISU."
The Golden Voices will also perform at Iowa State's annual George Washington Carver Day of Recognition Program on Monday, Feb. 2, in Durham Great Hall at the ISU Memorial Union.
The Golden Voices Concert Choir was launched in 1886 by Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee University, to lead vesper services and other campus events. The choir has performed at numerous significant events across the country, including the grand opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 1932 as well as the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., in 1994 for an audience that included Mother Teresa.
The Golden Voices have famously performed at Carnegie Hall, the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and for U.S. presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. In March 2012, the choir's return to the Lincoln Center in New York marked the 40th anniversary of its first performance there.
In 2022, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds designated Feb. 1 as George Washington Carver Day in Iowa. The annual designation encourages government offices, civic organizations, schools, colleges and universities to recognize the agricultural, scientific and global humanitarian accomplishments of Carver.
