The Chariot Jubilee: A Black History Month Celebration

Name: The Chariot Jubilee: A Black History Month Celebration
Start: 2026-02-28T16:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-28T17:45:00-05:00
Location: Immanuel UCC

Schedule

Sat Feb 28 2026 at 04:00 pm to 05:45 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Immanuel UCC | Reading, PA

Vox Philia’s annual Black History Month will be held on Saturday, February 28 at 4:00 pm. The concert is at Immanuel UCC, 99 South Waverly Street, Shillington. This year’s concert involves several choirs and directors from Berks County and beyond:
Vox Philia and Penn State Berks Campus Choir - David McConnell, conductor
Kutztown University Choir - Derrick Thompson, conductor
Muhlenberg College Choir - Victoria Pitre, conductor
Wilson High School Choir - Emily Fredericks, conductor
Schuylkill Valley High School Valley Voices - Jarrod Miller, conductor
Berks Youth Chorus: MasterSingers - Dan Behler, conductor; and the combined Chorale and Choristers - Grace Mittleman & Michael Adams Megan, conductors
The choirs join together for several selections, including the regional premiere of Nathaniel Dett’s “The Chariot Jubilee.” Written in 1919, “The Chariot Jubilee” sets a text assembled by Dett from the Bible, Black spirituals and folk songs, performed by a solo tenor, choir and small instrumental ensemble. Both the tenor and ensemble are from Kutztown University, all under the direction of the school’s Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Derrick Thompson. After its premiere, the orchestral score was lost, but in the 1980s scholar Hale Smith recreated the orchestral parts, which eventually led to a new premiere by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in 1998. The remainder of the program features a wide-ranging selection of works highlighting the brilliance of historic and contemporary black composers and writers.
Join us on Sunday, February 28, 2026, at 4:00 pm. The concert is at Immanuel UCC, 99 South Waverly Street, Shillington 19607. Tickets are $15/Adult and $5/Student. Purchase your tickets online now at: https://buytickets.at/voxphilia/2025363
or at the door.
Vox Philia, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit chamber choir serving the Reading and Berks County communities. To learn more, visit https://www.facebook.com/VoxPhilia