The Wiley College A CAPPELLA Choir returns to the concert stage

For Immediate Release
(Wiley College, Marshall, TX)

After a three-year pause, the Wiley College A CAPPELLA Choir returns to the stage to present its first spring concert since 2018, under the direction of Dr. Gregory A. McPherson. This year’s concert will be held on Sunday, April 24, 2022, at 5:00 pm at the Marshall Memorial City Hall performance Center, 110 East Houston Street in downtown Marshall, TX. The concert will also feature special guests and friends of the Wiley College A CAPPELLA Choir, including Mr. David Sea of the Temptations, Mr. Lennie Williams, and renowned opera soprano Ms. Brenda Wimberly. 

“I am delighted to share in this very humbling and noble moment with the A CAPPELLA Choir, and the continue the legacy of our Dearly Beloved Wiley College. As we gather, we are excited to showcase the talents of our students and welcome our special guests. We offer eternal thanks for the privilege to carry more than 125 years of great music in and throughout this community, the United States, and globally” – Dr. Gregory A. McPherson, Director of Choral Music.

The program will share wonderful music from the Black Music Diaspora, highlighting the extraordinary sound that the Wiley College A CAPPELLA Choir is known for worldwide. Wiley College is excited to have this opportunity to perform for the community. The Wiley College A CAPPELLA Spring Concert is free and open to the public. 

For more information please contact Jasmine Farmer, Director of Marketing and Communications, Jasmine Farmer at jfarmer@wileyc.edu.

___________________________________________________________________________

About Wiley College: Founded in 1873 in Marshall, Texas, Wiley College is a historically Black, liberal arts, residential, co-educational, baccalaureate degree-granting institution affiliated with The United Methodist Church. Committed to the principle of educational access, the College serves traditional and non-traditional students from diverse backgrounds who have expressed a desire and potential for learning in a Christian environment.  Home of “The Great Debaters,” Wiley has an intentional focus on social good and leadership and its motto is “Go forth Inspired.”

About Mr. David Sea: Mr. David Sea comes from Birmingham, Alabama. He became lead singer with his family’s gospel group before forming David Sea & The Question Marks in 1970. Later they changed their name to David Sea & The Uptown Movement, basically a rock & roll group. As a solo soul singer, he initially recorded for the Hy-Tyde label, releasing singles including ‘Angel’ and ‘Destiny’ in the early ’80s. In 1984, he switched to the Crown Limited label for the Roscoe Robinson produced ‘Do It Right Now’ and ‘Who’s Been Warming My Oven’ before coming close to replacing Dennis Edwards in The Temptations.

About Mr. Lennie Williams: Although Lenny Williams has had a long solo career, he is still best-known for his three years as the lead singer of Tower of Power, one of the top funk/soul bands of the ’70s. But Williams was pursuing a solo career before joining Tower of Power, and he resumed his solo career after leaving that famous Oakland outfit in 1975. Born in Little Rock, AR, on February 6, 1945, Williams was only a child when he started singing in church (the place where so many great R&B singers got their start). Williams, who moved to Oakland, CA, when he was 14, planned to become a Christian minister but ended up changing his mind and decided to pursue a career as a secular R&B singer. In 1969, Williams signed with Fantasy and recorded his first single, “Lisa’s Gone,” a soul ballad that was far from a big hit but did receive some airplay in the Bay Area.

About Ms. Brenda Wimberly: Soprano Brenda Wimberly is, Native of Shreveport, Louisiana, and holds degrees in Voice Performance from Prairie View A&M University (B.M.) and Master of Music for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Equally at home with Classical or Contemporary, an active free-lance Vocal Concert Artist is in demand as a recitalist and orchestral soloist. Classically trained with an innate gift to interpret folk, popular, jazz, and traditional gospel styles.  Her performances have included cities in more than thirty states in the Continental United States and abroad to cities in Western Germany, Austria, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, and the Caribbean.  “I feel my passion to continue to share, inspire, uplift, excite and educate through my artistry is priceless!”