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Morehouse College Glee Club Concert

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is excited to host the Morehouse College Glee Club for their annual midday performance.

The Morehouse Glee Club visits the library annually for their concert in downtown Washington D.C. We would love to invite you and your family to be a part of this cultural tradition and enjoy an afternoon concert to kick off the spring season. An ASL interpreter will be available for the entirety of this performance. 

The Morehouse Glee Club consists of 34 juniors and seniors, led by Dr. David Morrow. Learn more about this year's Quartet below.

This event will have an American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. For reasonable accommodations, please contact the Center for Accessibility at least seven (7) days in advance at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov

Meet the 2023-2024 Morehouse College Quartet

Lesh’In Edwards ‘25, a Music Major from Lithonia, Georgia - Tenor I

Desmond Thompson ‘25, a Music Major from Memphis, Tennessee - Tenor II

B’Nathaniel Orlu ‘24, a Music Major from Detroit, Michigan- Baritone

Jordan Stewart ‘25, a Music Major from Atlanta, Georgia - Bass

The Morehouse College Quartet has been in existence even longer than the Morehouse College Glee Club.  Campus oral tradition has it that from 1870 forward, there were notable quartet competitions on campus. These frequently included mandolins from the Mandolin Club and Quartet and the Atlanta Baptist (Morehouse) College Quartet with mandolins. These competitions between quartets of classes also made for exciting performances on campus.  The Morehouse College Quartet is the survival of quartet emphasis at the College.

This group of four was the first official singing organization at Morehouse College, and can boast of a number of memorable performances in its history. These include command performances for the late Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 in Warm Springs, Georgia, and a performance prior to the 1930s at the White House. In 1989, the Morehouse College Quartet performed on several occasions: a special luncheon sponsored by the 3M Corporation and the Morehouse Alumni Association's Minnesota Chapter, at which Morehouse President Emeritus Leroy Keith spoke; the Men's Day Concert at the St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Hamilton, Bermuda; and the Fifth Annual Conference on the Music of the Black Composer at the Smithsonian Institution, which honored Dr. Wendell P. Whalum and Hall Johnson and featured the Quartet.  During the 1993-94 academic year, the Quartet took part in a celebration of the music of African-American composers at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  They also performed at the Smithsonian Institution in honor of Dr. King's birthday on a program with Dr. Neil Rudenstine, then president of Harvard University, as keynote speaker.

In the spring of 2001, the Quartet sang for President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush at the Morehouse School of Medicine. In the Fall of that same year, they performed for Ray Charles at a special reception honoring him at Davidson House on the Morehouse College campus. Earlier that day, during Morehouse's Opening Convocation, Ray Charles received an Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree and donated $1 million to Morehouse College for the second time in 2001.

The Quartet has also performed for National Public Radio's A King Celebration. They also performed in 1997 at the Chicago Club reception hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Sara Lee Corporation Chairman and CEO John H. Bryan, where Ms. Winfrey donated $1 million for scholarships to Morehouse College (see Jet Magazine, December 8, 1997, p. 22). In December, 2008 the Quartet returned to Bermuda to sing for the annual Christmas concert at St. Paul A.M.E. Church.

In September of 2017 the quartet traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to participate in the HBCU-9 Sesquicentennial Summit. This summit was a celebration honoring the nine historically black colleges and universities that were founded in 1867. In March 2018, the quartet performed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, honoring the life of Dr. King in the place that he was murdered.

The Morehouse College Quartet performs at the discretion of the President of the college and continues to represent the college throughout Atlanta and beyond.

Director David Morrow

David Morrow is a native of Rochester, New York. He earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1980. While at Morehouse, he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa, was awarded the Kemper Harreld Award for Excellence in Music, received departmental honors, and graduated Valedictorian of his class. He received the Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan in 1981 and was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in 1995. He has studied conducting with Wendell Whalum, Thomas Hilbish, Elmer Thomas, John Leman, Earl Rivers, Elizabeth Green, Teri Murai, Fiora Contino and Donald Neuen.

Dr. Morrow has been a member of the Music faculty at Morehouse College since 1981. In 1987, he succeeded Dr. Wendell P. Whalum as Director of the Glee Club. He is also Director of the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus, Co-Director of the Morehouse-Spelman Chorus. He was recently appointed chair of the music department.

Dr. Morrow’s conducting honors include, conducting the Morehouse College Glee Club for the 1991 Kennedy Center Honors as part of the tribute to Robert Shaw, Conductor Laureate, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, conducting soprano Jessye Norman and the Spelman-Morehouse Chorus at Atlanta's Symphony Hall celebrating the 1994 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, conducting the combined choruses of the Atlanta University Center and Natalie Cole singing the National Anthem for Super Bowl XXVIII, conducting the Morehouse College Glee Club for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. In addition, there are numerous performances with the Glee Club in the United States including its centennial celebration, performances with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and international performances with the Glee Club include tours of Russia, Poland, Bermuda, the Bahamas, South Africa, Canada, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Algeria and Nigeria.

In 2002, Dr. Morrow was guest conductor for Centro Ecuatoriano Norteamericano’s first Festival of Spirituals in Guayaquil, Ecuador, was the conductor of the 2009 “105 Voices” HBCU Concert Choir at the Kennedy Center, was a recurring conductor on the masterworks series for the Colour of Music Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and conducted works by R. Nathaniel Dett and Adolphus Hailstork in Carnegie Hall on MidAmerica Productions 39th Season.  In addition, he has conducted honors choruses across the country, lectured or conducted workshops in public schools, colleges and universities, including the Detroit Public Schools, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Cornell University, University of Cincinnati, Westminster Choir College, Rutgers University, University of Arizona and Portland State University.  His choral arrangements of spirituals and other African American folk music have been published by Alfred Music Publishers, Hal Leonard Music, and Oxford University Press, and GIA Music Publishers.

Dr. Morrow is a member of Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association, past president of The National Association of Negro Musicians, and was a member of the Georgia Council for the Arts. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Intercollegiate Men's Choruses, Inc. and Chorus America, Inc. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, the Georgia Music Educators Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, is a “Friend of the Arts” member of Sigma Alpha Iota.

A Brief History of the Morehouse College Glee Club

The Morehouse College Glee Club is the premier singing organization of Morehouse College, traveling all over the country and the world, demonstrating excellence not only in choral performance but also in discipline, dedication, and brotherhood. Through its tradition the Glee Club has an impressive history and seeks to secure its future through even greater accomplishments, continuing in this tradition through the dedication and commitment of its members and the leadership that its directors have provided throughout the years. It is the mission of the Morehouse College Glee Club to maintain a high standard of musical excellence. 

In 1911, Morehouse College, then under the name of Atlanta Baptist College, had a music professor named Georgia Starr. She served the College from 1903-1905 and again from 1908-1911. Mr. Kemper Harreld, who officially founded the Morehouse College Glee Club, assumed leadership when he joined the College’s music faculty in the fall of 1911. Mr. Harreld became both, Chair of the Music Department and Director of the Glee Club. After faithfully serving for forty-two years, he retired in 1953. Mr. Harreld was responsible for beginning the Glee Club’s strong legacy of excellence that has since been passed down to all members of the organization. 

The Glee Club’s history continues in 1953 with the second director, Wendell Phillips Whalum, Sr., '52. Dr. Whalum was a prized student of Kemper Harreld. He served as Student Director during his tenure in the Glee Club. Dr. Whalum, was more commonly known as "Doc", and served Morehouse College and the Glee Club with the continued tradition of excellence through expanded repertoire and national and international exposure throughout his tenure at the College. Dr. Whalum took a sabbatical in 1961-1963 to finish doctoral studies during which Albert T. Perkins served as Interim Director. Dr. Whalum continued this fine legacy his passing in June, 1987.

In the fall semester of 1987, David E. Morrow, '80, assumed directorship of the Glee Club. David Morrow was a prized student of "Doc", just as "Doc" was of Mr. Kemper Harreld. He earned his Master's degree in 1981 and then returned to his alma mater, joined the music faculty, and served as Assistant Director of the Glee Club. During the 1992-1993 school year, Harding Epps, '74, served as interim Director, while Dr. Morrow finished doctoral studies. Dr. David Morrow continues to serve as the Director of the Morehouse College Glee Club which has gained world recognition through national and international tours.

On January 18, 1993, the Glee Club, as part of the Morehouse-Spelman Chorus, sang at Atlanta's Symphony Hall, with soprano Jessye Norman, in a concert celebrating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. The Glee Club also performed the National Anthem with Natalie Cole for Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994. The organization participated with Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, and Trisha Yearwood in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia. In February 2002, the Glee Club performed for the Witness Concert with the Plymouth Music Series (now Vocal Essence), where the work, Of Dreams and Other Possibilities, written by Patrice Rushen was premiered. In 2004, the Glee Club performed with Take 6 at the Rialto Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2008, the Glee Club recorded the spiritual, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, for Spike Lee’s movie, Miracle at St. Anna. Earlier that year, the organization performed with mezzo-soprano, Denyce Graves, for the inaugural concert for the 10th president of Morehouse College, Dr. Robert M. Franklin. In 2011, its Centennial year, the Glee Club performed commemorative concerts in Atlanta and New York’s Avery Fisher Hall, for events leading to the dedication of the King Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and recorded Zachary and the Scaly Bark Tree by Bill Lee for his son, Spike Lee’s movie, Red Hook Summer. In 2013, the Glee club performed at the 129th Commencement Exercises at Morehouse College, where President Barack Obama was given an honorary degree. In 2015, the Glee Club performed with Demetria McKinney at the “Portraits of John Lewis: Celebrating the 75th Birthday” festivities at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia, for the 83rd birthday celebration of Ambassador Andrew Young. and the Glee Club performed original works from musical composer, James Olivero, in a collection entitled, Songs from the World House. The Glee Club was featured on an American Family Insurance commercial with the famous recording artist Jennifer Hudson. Prior to the Covid Pandemic, the Glee Club with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra featuring the work Seven Last Words of the Unarmed by Joel Thompson.

The Covid 19 pandemic did not stop the Morehouse College Glee Club. We performed virtually for our annual concert in 2021 and 2022, and with the Spelman College Glee Club for our annual Christmas Carol Concerts. Additionally, the Glee Club did virtual workshops with choral organizations in Atlanta and Boston. In 2022 they safely finished the tour the they had to abandon in 2020 because of the Covid 19.

The Glee Club has performed internationally on several different occasions: African Nations – Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria (1972), Russia (1996), Poland (1998), Bermuda (2001), the Bahamas (2005), South Africa (2008), Canada and Puerto Rico (2011), Honduras (2018), Algeria (2019), and performed the 50th Anniversary Tour of Nigeria in July, 2022 also performing with other choirs from Lagos, Enugu, Nsukka, and Abuja.

Since the Glee Club’s origin, excellence through brotherhood, dedication and commitment and unselfish labors of love has continued in musical performance and in whatever the organization does. The current members come from all over the United States and even from other countries around the world. The Glee Club members all have different interests, which adds to the diversity of the organization. While some are music majors, members are in all academic divisions at the college. Even though some members take Glee Club as a course for credit, all members still sing as a labor of love and enjoy being ambassadors for Morehouse College.

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