VIRGINIA BEACH
It was 1972 when I. Sherman Greene answered a request to assemble a group of singers in observance of Negro History Week.
Forty-three years later, the I. Sherman Greene Chorale Inc. is still in existence as a community-based choir, sharing its music throughout Hampton Roads.
Vivian Carter Mason, with the Norfolk Committee for the Improvement of Education, asked Greene, who was the choral director at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, to gather a group of singers.
The first performance had them singing "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast" by Samuel Coleridge Taylor.
Today the chorale, which has 33 members from throughout Hampton Roads and Elizabeth City, sings a variety of music: sacred work, African American spirituals and songs by newer composers. The group has three concerts a year: Christmas Concert in December, Salute to Black Composers Concert in February and Spring Concert in May.
Chorale members will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday at Kempsville Presbyterian Church, 805 Kempsville Road.
The 90-minute concert will include "Gloria" by Vivaldi, "Great God Almighty" by Stacey V. Gibbs, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" by Moses Hogan, and "Sing and Rejoice" by Will James, among others.
"I love chorale music," said Jennifer Allen, of College Park. Allen has been going to the group's concerts since the very beginning.
Greene was the music director at Allen's church, Grace Episcopal in Norfolk, and her mother used to take her to the chorale's concerts.
In 2011, Allen joined the group she'd grown up listening to, and in 2014 she signed on as executive director of the nonprofit.
"Not only is it entertaining musically, but it tells the story of African American people," Allen said of the spiritual songs.
While many of the members are new - and younger, college-age students - there are still four of the original members: Ann McInnis, George Ricks, Dorethea Bagby and Elizabeth Eccles, who is the chorale's fifth music director.
Allen said they are always looking for new members to audition.
"We want to see more people rooted in the community," said Allen.
This summer, members will be rehearsing for a film project, "The Birth of an Answer," which they will be a part of.
As for the late Greene, who died in 1981, Allen said he'd surely be ecstatic to see - and hear - that the legacy he started lives on.
The I. Sherman Greene Chorale Spring Concert is at 4 p.m. Sunday at Kempsville Presbyterian Church, 805 Kempsville Road. The cost is $20 adults, $10 students. Visit www.ishermangreenechorale.org for more information or to learn about auditions.
Sandra J. Pennecke, pennecke@cox.net