The 100-Voice Choir, Kent County’s celebrated gospel group, will perform its final benefit concert for the Vincent Hynson ’87 Scholarship Fund on Saturday afternoon, November 22, 2014 at Kent County High School in Worton. The concert is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.; doors will open at 3:15 p.m.
Choir organizers Sylvia and Bill Frazier, owners of S&B Productions, founded the choir in 2005 and produced the first 100-Voice concert that year as a fundraiser for the Vincent Hynson ’87 Scholarship. Named in memory of a beloved teacher, coach, pastor and community leader in Kent County, the scholarship is awarded to a Kent County resident from an underserved population who is an outstanding scholar and who emulates Hynson’s personal qualities and values. The College remains committed to the scholarship in Hynson’s name and to continuing to grow its endowment.
Sylvia Frazier says this will, indeed, be one of the last performances by the 100-Voice Choir. “It’s just time to bring it to end,” she says. “It’s been a very good 10 years, and I’m going to miss it, but health concerns have slowed us down and many of the original choir members have passed on.” Membership, which had started at 102, has diminished over the years to today’s 48 active singers.
Frazier is proud of both the quality of music the 100-Voice Choir has offered over the years and the way it has brought the community together. “It had been a dream of mine, a vision,” she says. “We had a lot of seekers. And I always told them, if you want to sing the gospel, this is the place to come.” That open door policy brought a diverse group together. “We have teachers, preachers, professors, people from all walks of life,” says Frazier.
This year’s 100-Voice Concert is co-sponsored by Washington College and the Kent County Arts Council. Advance tickets ($5) for the concert will go on sale November 1 at local retail outlets including Big Mixx’s Salon, Twigs & Teacups, The Bookplate, and Music Life. Admission at the door will be $7.
Out of town guest artists who will appear with the choir include The Sisters in Song (Delaware), Purpose (Grasonville) and The Second Generation Choir (Federalsburg). Kent County talent will include members of the Chester River Chorale, Serenity, The Sensational Stars, and God’s Wealth. Brother Clark Kennard, of Emmanuel U. M. Church, will serve as master of ceremonies.
For more information on the concert, contact S&B Productions at 410-778-6006. To learn more about the scholarship fund, visit the Office of Financial Aid page on the Washington College Web site: www.washcol.edu.
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