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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State

Event Slides Per Node 1415

  • A woman wearing a braided headband, bracelets, and a dress adorned with beads sings while a members of a chorus in the background raise up their arms.
  • A chorus of men and women wearing costumes featuring similar designs each raise up one arm while they sing.
  • Two male dancers jump high while choir members behind them sing, clap, and make hand gestures.
  • A chorus of men and women wearing costumes featuring similar designs sing and dance while a keyboardist and congo drummer perform on opposite ends of the group.

Soweto Gospel Choir
Songs of the Free
Celebrating the Centenary of Nelson Mandela

7:30 pm Tuesday, November 27, 2018

The two-time Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir has been spreading sheer joy to audiences across the globe for nearly two decades! Comprised of twenty of the best artists in South Africa, the choir invites you to enjoy the incomparable and inspirational power of African Gospel music.

These uplifting performers have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music, including U2, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Robert Plant, Celine Dion, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Josh Groban.

For the first half of this concert, the choir will perform Songs of the Free, a rousing program celebrating the centenary of the birth of the father of their Rainbow Nation, Nelson Mandela. Following that, the performers will share international gospel classics and holiday favorites, including their hair-raising takes on “Silent Night” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Just try to stay in your seat!

Adult $38
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $28

sponsor
Foxdale Village, A Quaker-Directed Continuing Care Retirement Community

All In

This presentation is part of the Center for the Performing Arts Diversity and Inclusion Collaborative, which seeks to: immerse an array of people in the performing arts; educate the community about cultures and art forms different from the familiar; influence thinking so we become a community that embraces diversity and promotes inclusion; ensure the activities of the collaborative have a sustainable impact on the community. Funds from across Penn State and throughout the community support the initiative. The University’s Equal Opportunity Planning Committee provides lead funding. Sandra Zaremba and Richard Brown provide support.

Artist Websites: 

Secondary Events on Each Event

Freedoms of our Students:
An Intergenerational Discussion

6:00 pm Monday, November 5, 2018

New Leaf Initiative
State College Municipal Building
243 S. Allen St., Suite 337, State College

Free and open to all ages

How can the power of art inspire change? Songs of the Free, Soweto Gospel Choir’s compilation of music loved by the late South African President Nelson Mandela, will be the touchstone for a discussion about notable student protests, localized effects, and elder perspectives in response to social justice. The two-hour discussion will be facilitated by Charles Dumas, Penn State professor emeritus of theatre, in conjunction with Annemarie Mingo, Penn State assistant professor of African American Studies and Women’s Studies, and Penn State undergraduate student Kiran Panday. For a list of suggested readings, email Medora Ebersole, Center for the Performing Arts education and community programs manager, at mde13@psu.edu. Penn State students from America Reads will read to younger children about Mandela.

A Celebration of Cultural Expression

6:00 pm Monday, November 12, 2018

Pasquerilla Spiritual Center
Memorial Lounge
Corner of Allen and Curtain roads, University Park

Fee and open to the public

This one-hour event is inspired by the life of the late South African President Nelson Mandela and Soweto Gospel Choir’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Penn State students from various faith, cultural, and performance groups will showcase their organizations’ freedom songs, objects, and dances.

Sheila’s Day Reader’s Theatre

7:00 pm Monday, November 12, 2018

Pasquerilla Spiritual Center
Memorial Lounge
Corner of Allen and Curtain roads, University Park

Free and open to the public

The public is invited to participate in a Reader’s Theatre performance of Sheila’s Day by playwright Duma Ndlovu. The play explores the empowerment of black domestic workers through song, dance, and their collective struggle for freedom. Charles Dumas, Penn State professor emeritus of theatre, directs the two-hour event.

Artistic Viewpoints

6:30 pm Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Eisenhower Auditorium

Artistic Viewpoints—an informal moderated discussion featuring Soweto Gospel Choir’s Vincent “Shimmy” Jiyane, choir master; Milton Ndlakuse, musical director; and Siya Mkefa, choir member—is offered one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.