EACC will host a free performance by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Vesper Choir on Thursday, February 7th at 12:30 p.m. in the EACC Fine Arts Center.  The performance is one of many events scheduled on EACC’s campus in observance of African American History Month. 

The UAPB Vesper Choir is nationally recognized among historically Black colleges and universities for its diverse repertoire and excellent performances.  This 65-70 member select ensemble, founded in the 1940s by Professor Ariel Lovelace and conducted for more than 40 years by Professor Shelton J. McGee, has a rich choral tradition that includes numerous performances on radio and television, as well as performances across the United States and online. 

This year, the Vesper Choir enters a new era under the direction of UAPB Vesper Choir alumnus, Mr. Jerron A. Liddell.  Liddell is the fourth director in the choir’s 70 year history, and he follows the retirement of Dr. Michael J. Bates, Professor and Vesper Choir Director Emeritus, who conducted the choir for nearly twenty years. 

The UAPB Vesper Choir has a mission that is educational, artistic, and cultural.  As a service organization, the choir performs during significant campus, community and state events.  They have performed in numerous churches, schools, and other performance venues in more than twenty states, including major cities of Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, San Antonio, Memphis and others. 

In 2006, the UAPB Vesper Choir took a performance tour to Italy, and a highlight of the 2010 performance schedule was a performance at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. During March 2015, the Vesper Choir’s spring tour included New York City performances at the historic Seventh Day Adventist Church in Greenwich Village and the Cathedral of St. John Divine, the fourth largest Christian church in the world.  In 2017, choir members toured Spain, where they performed in Madrid, the Royal Palace at El Escorial, and Toledo. 

The UAPB Vesper Choir will offer a free performance in the Fine Arts Center at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 7th.  This performance is sponsored in part by EACC’s Office of Student Activities and the St. Francis County UAPB Alumni Association.  For more information about the performance or other events scheduled on campus in observance of African American History month, call 870-633-4480 ext. 304.