Amidst a year of tension and anger in Ferguson, one of the most powerful instruments for community engagement and dialogue has been art—including concerts by the IN UNISON Chorus. Created by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1994 as a way to improve musical resources for the African-American community. With over 100 members, the chorus has become a powerful voice alongside that of the St. Louis Symphony, instilling civic pride while engaging new audiences with their sweet harmonies.
Each year, IN UNISON performs two special programs with SLSO, including “A Gospel Christmas,” and “Lift Every Voice,” a Black History Month concert. Its season then finishes up with a free Community Concert. Last September, IN UNISON performed an additional #HealFerguson concert, which was organized by IN UNISON Artist-in-Residence and national recording artist Brian Owens.
Get a guide to the region’s booming music scene
Subscribe to the St. Louis Music newsletter to discover upcoming concerts, local artists to watch, and more across an eclectic playlist of genres.
Owens, a Ferguson resident, took advantage of his connections with SLSO to create a positive musical experience for North County. This Sunday, IN UNISON chorus comes full circle with a Community Concert at the Greater Grace Church in Ferguson.
“The STL Symphony and the IN UNISON Chorus Advisory Committee, a group of singers, elected from the chorus, who advises Symphony administration on chorus-related issues, agreed that our community concert should be in the Ferguson area,” says Maureen Byrne, Director of Community Programs.
“Many members of the IN UNISON Chorus live and work in Ferguson, and they felt it was the right place to be, given the challenging events that have transpired in their community. Given the size of the chorus and our usual audience, the church needed to be large. One of the members of the advisory committee personally reached out to a couple of churches in the area, and Greater Grace was the best fit. Bishop L. O. Jones, pastor and founder of the church, has been very enthusiastic in his support. “
Byrne also commented on how the IN UNISON Chorus has become a vital tool for the St. Louis Symphony’s community outreach.
“IN UNISON, both the Chorus and Church programs, are the flagship outreach programs of the STL Symphony,” Byrne says. “The Church program was the first of its kind in the world, launched 22 years ago. From that sprung the IN UNISON Chorus, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary season.”
Byrne adds that the program continues to evolve in many different directions, including a therapeutic songwriting program for middle school students, collaboration between Owens, Maryville University Music Therapy, and Confluence Academy Old North. Six student songs will be selected to be professionally recorded, and on June 4 at 7 p.m., the songs will be performed in a free showcase concert at the Sun Theater.
This weekend’s concert also marks a festive homecoming for guest conductor and St. Louis native Rollo Dilworth. A former chorus member and protégée of IN UNISON founder Robert Ray, his composition Freedom’s Plow debuted at Powell Symphony Hall in 2009. Dilworth has also authored several books and has published over 150 choral compositions and arrangements. He currently serves as a Professor of Choral Music Education at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music in Philadelphia.
Sunday’s repertoire includes Walk in Jerusalem, Oh! What a Beautiful City, I Want Jesus to Walk With Me along with two Dilworth-composed works, Justice (based on a text by Paul Laurence Dunbar) and Witness. There will be additional selections by IN UNISON Music Director and Conductor Kevin McBeth, who selected some works for the program including I Will Rise, which features three Monsanto Young Artists Jazmyn Cole, Montel Moore, and Chauncey Strayhorn. The concert will also feature Soon and Very Soon, a tribute to Andre Crouch, who died earlier this year.
The planned showstopper for Sunday’s concert will be a version of John Legend’s Grammy-winning song “Glory,” which has been arranged for the chorus and six musicians from the St. Louis Symphony by composer Adam Maness.
“This music is the ground we can all occupy whatever our race, our religion, wherever we may live,” Byrne says. “A shared uplifting emotional experience is a powerful bond.”
The IN UNISON Community Concert happens 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 26 at Greater Grace Church, 3690 Pershall. Sunday’s concert is free, but a plate will be passed for audiences to give free-will offerings; proceeds will be split between IN UNISON’s scholarship and the Ferguson Youth Imitative.
