A performance by the 100 Voice Choir is this Saturday’s Music in the Park concert – the climax to a day-long celebration to mark the dedication of the restored Grand Army of the Republic Building on Queen Street. As an added bonus, the Vaughn Bratcher Project will play a jazz set before the 100 Voice Choir.
Note the changed time and venue for this performance, the Vaughn Bratcher Project starts at 5:00 pm and the 100 Voice Choir will begin at 6 p.m. Both performances will be across from the GAR hall at 206 S, Queen St. The concert will take place, rain or shine, with a tent to protect the audience and performers. Audience members should bring something to sit on. Only limited seating is available.
The 100 Voice Choir, founded and conducted by Kent County’s own Sylvia Frazier, draws from all segments of the community. It sings traditional and modern gospel music, with instrumental accompaniment. Since its founding in 2005, the group has appeared regularly at the Chestertown Tea Party festival, at Washington College, in churches throughout the region, and at the town’s Music in the Park Concerts.
The choir has several featured soloists, including Lester Barrett Jr. and Frazier herself. The choir’s high-energy, soulful performances have made it one of the highlights of every event it appears at.
In addition to the choir, there will be a full day of ceremonies and music to mark the reopening of the Charles Sumner No. 25 GAR Post, one of the nation’s two surviving meeting places of black Civil War veterans. The GAR was the official organization of Union veterans, accepting members of all races, though the posts were segregated.
After the death of the last veterans in the late 1920s, the building became a social club for the black community, the Centennial Club. In its heyday, it hosted dances with well-known bands such as the Chick Webb orchestra and the Sweethearts of Rhythm. It was also at one point a church. It fell into disrepair as the neighborhood changed, and was in danger of demolition until a group called Preservation Chestertown bought it and did basic structural repairs.
The final restoration has been done under the auspices of Charles Sumner No. 25 GAR Post, a project sponsored by the Kent County Arts Council. Local contractor Jay Yerkes did the interior work.
The dedication celebration, which begins at 10 a.m., will include music from a number of local performers, including the Pam Ortiz band, God’s Wealth, the Pilgrim Travelers and the Vaughn Bratcher Project.
There will also be several speakers, a march to Monument Park for a wreath-laying at the U.S. Colored Troops monument and a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Food vendors will be on hand throughout the day.
Butch Clark is the technical director of Music in the Park. Jane Jewell is the program director.
Music in the Park is sponsored by the town of Chestertown with support from the Kent County Arts Council and community contributors. To help make these free programs possible, please send donations payable to the Town of Chestertown and designated for Music in the Park, to 118 N. Cross St., Chestertown, MD 21620.
Excerpted with permission from the Kent County News
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