Fisk Jubilee Singers with the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Singers

The Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts 2009-2010 season continues on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 7:30pm with The Fisk Jubilee Singers. These sixteen talented young men and women are vocal artists and students of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This concert will be presented in collaboration with the King Arts Complex.

The original Jubilee Singers introduced songs of slavery to the world in 1871 and were instrumental in preserving what is known today as Negro spirituals. They broke racial barriers in the United States and abroad in the late 19th century, and entertained Presidents, Kings and Queens. At the same time they used their concerts as a means of raising money in support of their beloved school.

In 1999, the Fisk Singers were featured in The American Experience, a PBS award-winning television documentary series. Produced by WGBH, Boston, the program was called Singers: Sacrifice and Glory.

In July 2007 the Fisk Jubilee Singers travelled for the first time to Ghana at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy. This history-making visit allowed the Fisk Singers to join Ghanaians in celebrating the nationâ??s 50th independence anniversary.

In 2008, the Fisk Jubilee Singers were selected as a recipient of the 2008 National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artists and patrons of the arts. The award was presented by President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush during a ceremony at the White House.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers continue the tradition of singing Negro spirituals around the world, allowing the ensemble to share this rich culture globally while preserving this unique American musical tradition.

Joining the Fisk Jubilee Singers on stage Saturday night at the McCoy Center will be the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Singers.