Texarkana Gazette

SoulFest will celebrate Black History Month in song,

- By Junius Stone

SoulFest, an annual celebratio­n of African American music, is coming to the Truman Arnold Student Center Great Room at Texarkana College at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9. This gathering of vocal talent features the coming together of singers from Texarkana College, Texarkana Regional Chorale, LibertyEyl­au Varsity Choir, Texas High School Tiger Tones and Veritas Academy in recognitio­n of Black History Month.

“This is a gathering of adult, college-age and young people in a united vocal effort,” said event conductor Marc-André Bougie. “This program, which will last about an hour, will feature these three choirs each performing their own sets. And at the grand finale, they will get together as one and perform the final numbers of the evening, including ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing (the African American Anthem),’ ‘I’m Happy Because I Sing’ and ‘Total Praise.’ At that moment, there will be over 100 singers on stage at the same time, all performing together. Before that, the choirs will have their own numbers, there will be solos and more, all in celebratio­n of Black History Month.”

“This concert is in the loving memory of Connor Wright Patman, who was a very generous supporter of Texarkana music as well as Texarkana College,” he said. “He passed away a little over a year ago and this event honors him and his support of young people. This event is also about bringing the community together and featuring our young singers displaying their talents. We are very excited and hope many will take advantage of this celebratio­n of Black History Month.”

Texarkana Regional Chorale features MarAndré Bougie as conductor and Mary Scott Goode as pianist. The Liberty-Eylau Varsity Choir features Sherri Pickering as director. Texas High Tiger Tones features Jennifer Colton-Fowler as director and accompanis­t. Veritas Academy Choir is directed by Stephanie House.

Admission to the concert is $5 at the door. Tickets are only available at the door on the day of the performanc­e.

 ?? Staff file photo by Hunt Mercier ?? ■ Members of the Texarkana Regional Orchestra play and the choir sings "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" while being directed by Marc-André Bougie at the 2019 SoulFest. SoulFest is part of the local Black History Month celebratio­n each February. This year’s event takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, in the Great Room of the Truman Arnold Student Center at Texarkana College.
Staff file photo by Hunt Mercier ■ Members of the Texarkana Regional Orchestra play and the choir sings "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" while being directed by Marc-André Bougie at the 2019 SoulFest. SoulFest is part of the local Black History Month celebratio­n each February. This year’s event takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, in the Great Room of the Truman Arnold Student Center at Texarkana College.

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