Norwich music director to conduct Catskill Choral Society performance

ONEONTA – This weekend’s Catskill Choral Society spring program, under the leadership of Norwich High School music teacher Mary E. Mayo, will be a tribute to the late choral composer, Moses Hogan.

A pre-concert lecture begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday with music beginning at 8 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St., Oneonta.

A native of Louisiana, Hogan is known for his choral and solo arrangements of African-American spirituals in the traditions of Harry T. Burleigh, William Dawson and Jester Hairston as well as for his original compositions in the spiritual style. The music is characterized by syncopated rhythms, exciting harmonies, and familiar spiritual melodies.

The concerts will include solos from Hogan’s “Deep River Collection” and feature soprano, Henrietta Davis, from Los Angeles, and bass, Robert Sims, from Chicago. Both soloists performed and recorded with Hogan before his untimely death at the age of 46 in 2003.

The Oneonta community enjoyed a connection with Moses Hogan during his visit to the Hartwick College Choral Festival in November 2001. He was the guest conductor of the festival chorus which performed to a standing room only audience the premiere of “There’s No Hidin’ Place,” a work commissioned by the college.

Wilhemina Wanda Hogan Stroughter, Hogan’s sister, will be attendance to present a pre-concert lecture.

Moses Hogan was one of the most celebrated contemporary directors and arrangers of spirituals. He became one of the most influential names in modern choral singing by rejuvenating the genre of African-American spirituals for both choral singers and audiences and founded and directed the New Orleans-based Moses Hogan Chorale, renowned for its powerful interpretations of African-American spirituals. He went on to edit the New Oxford Book of Spirituals (2001), which is considered to be the first comprehensive anthology of the art form, with examples ranging from early-20th century composers Hall Johnson and Harry Burleigh, to modern arrangers such as Jester Hairston and Moses Hogan.