The McAninch Arts Center (MAC), located at 425 Fawell Blvd., hosts the three-time GRAMMY Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. This performance is the exclusive Illinois engagement of the group’s 2022 “Hope - It’s Been A Long Time Coming” U.S./Canadian tour. The New York Times calls the Soweto Gospel Choir “spirited and spectacular,” the Voice says, “It’s difficult not to instantly fall in love with the vibrant colors, bright personalities and gorgeous voices of the Soweto Gospel Choir;” and Jazz Times hails them as “nothing less than an international treasure.” A free pre-show MAC chat will be provided at 6:30 p.m., providing insight on the ensemble and the performance.
The joyful program commemorates South Africa’s Freedom Movement and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It open with a rousing program of South African freedom songs that inspired their Rainbow Nation. Then the choir’s uplifting performance moves to the U.S. with beautiful renditions of the music of the Civil Rights Movement, including works by legendary artists Billie Holiday, James Brown, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin.
The Soweto Gospel Choir, led by choir master, choreographer, tenor, dancer and founding member Shimmy Jiyane, was formed in November 2002. Their first album “Voices of Heaven” was recorded in December 2002. That album went on to reach the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s World Music Chart within three weeks of its release in the U.S. In just the second year of the choir’s formation, they won three awards, the Helpmann Award (Australia’s prestigious performing arts award for “Best Contemporary Music Concert”), the American Gospel Music Award for “Best Choir,” and the American Gospel Music Award for “Best International Choir.” They have garnered numerous awards and honors since, including three GRAMMY Awards, the most recent, for “Freedom” in the Best Traditional World Music Album category.
The Soweto Gospel Choir has made many television appearances, performed for notable individuals including President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Charles, Prince of Whales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and performed at the Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela at the Westminster Abbey. The choir has toured the world extensively, performing at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Syd-ney Opera House, the Nelson Mandela Theatre and Royal Festival Hall in London. They have per-formed at high profile festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival, the Adelaide Festival, the Hong Kong Festival and the London Festival.
Tickets:
McAninch Arts Center is located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, presents the Soweto Gospel Choir, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30. Tickets are $55 -$65. For tickets or additional information, call 630.942.4000 or visit www.AtTheMAC.org. Box Office hours are Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and three hours prior to the performance. A free pre-show MAC chat will be provided at 6:30 p.m., providing insight on the ensemble and the performance. For more information, call 630.942.4000 or visit www.AtTheMAC.org..
WDCB 90.9FM is Media Sponsor for this concert.
About the MAC:
McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355 at 425 Fawell Blvd. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 2 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org, @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Follett, and the College of DuPage Foundation. Hotel sponsor is DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville; Media Sponsor is WDCB 90.9 FM.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.