This was a night where the voices of the two choirs melted as one and the angels could be heard in the rafters…the beauty of their voices just lifted one’s soul to heaven. In honor of Black History Month, the Mormon Choir of DC invited the Alfred Street Baptist Choir to participate in a weekend of song and music to celebrate their heritage and offer the community a way to come together and celebrate together. What a wonderful idea that turned out to be! The theater was packed, and the night begins with the strong, glorious voices of the Alfred Street Baptist Choir, followed by the beautiful, melodic voices of the Mormon Choir of DC.
From the very first song, I was sitting on the edge of my seat, whispering to my husband that I wanted to clap to the rhythm, wondering why no one else was feeling the same. After the choirs performed, and Alex took the floor, he livened up the crowd, sharing his story and humor, and started to sing. He encouraged everyone to clap and the crowd let loose. People were thoroughly enjoying themselves, the Alfred Street choir rocked to the crowd, while the Mormon Choir was a bit reserved, but later joined in as well.
The event was held at the Visitors Center of the LDS Washington Temple – a beautiful, glowing structure, illuminated by the lights and a vision of white.
http://lds.org/church/temples/washington-dc?lang=eng
The Mormon Choir:
Founded in 1980, the choir is composed of singers and musicians selected by audition with a current membership of 80 from approximately 50 congregations in the Maryland and Virginia regions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
http://www.mormonchoir.org/Default.aspx
The Alfred Street Baptist Choir:
Baptists in Alexandria, Virginia separated from the Backlick Baptist Church on Little River Turnpike, to form the Alexandria Baptist Society. Susan Black, a Negro slave was baptized as its first Colored member in May 1803. During this time Coloreds were invited to join this organizing group. In 1806, the Colored members formally established the Colored Baptist Society of Alexandria as a ‘conjoined’ church with the Alexandria Baptist Society. This created the first black Baptist church north of Richmond, Virginia. In 1815, its numbers grew when slaves from Mount Vernon Plantation join the Colored Baptist Society.
To learn more, go here:
http://www.alfredstreet.org/asbc-history.htm
These two choirs are phenomenal in their own right and this was the first time they came together to perform and what a night it was! The appearance of LDS entertainer, Alex Boye, was an added treat! His incredible talent and energy kept everyone tapping their toes, clapping their hands and out of their seats. With these two amazing choirs as backdrops, and his powerful voice, praising God in spirituals, that night was an audio extraordinaire.
Alex Boye:
Alex Boye’ was born and raised in London, England. He joined the church at the age of 16. He later served an LDS Mission to England Bristol. Alex sang regularly on his mission, and from the encouragement of his Mission President, pursued a career in music when he got home. Alex became the lead singer in the European Boy band “Awesome”, and signed a recording contract with Universal Records in 1996. The band had hits in over 15 countries, selling over half a million Cd’s and performed alongside such groups as N’SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, Missy Elliott, Bryan Adams, Mary. J.Blige, The smashing Pumpkins, and George Michael to name a few. Despite the fame, glory and fortune, Alex felt emptiness in his life that none of these worldly accolades could sufficiently fill. He explains, “I was climbing the ladder of success but when i got to the top, I found myself leaning on the wrong side of the wall”. in 2000′, Alex felt compelled to move to Utah, to pursue a career in gospel music, and is signed to Deseret Books’ Shadow Mountain Label.
http://www.alexboye.com/about-alex-boy%C3%A9
It was electrifying, fun and filled with a sweet spirit that touched the hearts of all present. Definitely a night to remember!
