Bishop Townsley Gospel Jubilee
WHERE: David and Carol Lackland Center, 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown
WHEN: Saturday, February 12 at 8 PM
TICKETS: $22.50 in advance, and $25 the day of performance. Seniors and students are $20 in advance and $22.50 the day of performance, with special group discounts for churches and choirs. Tickets may be purchased through the CSC Box Office at 908.979.0900, online at www.centenarystageco.org, or in person at the David and Carol Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown (box office hours 1-5 Monday through Friday, and 2 hours prior to each performance)
Townsley’s Gospel Jubilee singers are 2nd and 3rd generation descendants of some of the great pioneers of Gospel Music—the legendary Selah Jubilee Singers, who were renown as a major force in gospel during the “golden age,” and were the first gospel group to perform at the Apollo Theatre in NY in 1955. Gospel Music has its roots in Blues and Negro Spirituals. It is said that when Ma Rainey ’s piano player, Thomas A. Dorsey “the Father of Gospel Music," turned his back on playing the Blues, musically speaking, “Saturday night" met “Sunday morning."
Led by Bishop Townsley, the 15-member choir’s repertoire includes African Chants, Negro Spirituals, Jubilee Songs as well as Hip Hop Gospel of today, a widespread style that bridges the sacred and the popular. While Townsley is well known as a pioneer of Contemporary Gospel, vocalist Sylvia Dyson Ruth leads the group in the soulful, traditional strains of Gospel music at its best. The performance will be narrated by Tony-Award winning actress Trazana Beverley.
Performances at the Centenary Stage Company are made possible in part through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts and the following local businesses: Heath Village Retirement Community (the CSC 2011 Platinum sponsor), Panther Valley Pharmacy, Skylands Community Bank, and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, as well as individual CSC members and sponsors
