Lake Braddock New Voices Choir. Photo contributed
Last Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Lake Braddock Secondary School (LBSS) welcomed the Howard Gospel Choir of Howard University (HGC) to headline its first musical Celebration of Gospel. The concert was sponsored by the Minority Parents for Excellence in Education (MPEE), a parent-led organization that has been active at LBSS for almost 30 years. The program opened with the LBSS JROTC presenting the colors and LBSS Principal Dave Thomas recognizing special guests in the audience. Fairfax County School Board At-Large member, Ilryong Moon; Dr. Angela Atwater, Assistant Superintendent, Region 4; a few other special guests, Lake Braddock families, numerous community members from nearby churches in Alexandria and even friends coming across the bridge from Maryland were in attendance.
The New Voices Choir, comprising seven extremely gifted high school students with a calling for musicianship, opened the evening of singing; they came to the stage and uplifted the audience with several notable selections including a civil rights anthem from the 1970, “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” originally made popular by Nina Simone.
The Howard Gospel Choir took to the stage of the Little Theater with a rousing arrangement of “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” a Gospel standard that raised the audience to their feet and involved in a sing-a- long. The choir sang other Gospel standards including “Take my Hand, Precious Lord” that is currently experiencing resurgence in popularity since being featured in the film “Selma” and Beyonce’s rendition at the recent Grammy Awards ceremony. The concert culminated with HGC and New Voices Choirs singing a rendition of “Oh Happy Day.”
The Celebration of Gospel concert was the MPEE’s premier event this school year designed to support fundraising efforts for scholarship awards for deserving minority students at Lake Braddock Secondary School. The mission of the MPEE is to foster a commitment toward academic and personal excellence through increasing awareness, generating educational opportunities and representing the diverse interests of minority students at LBSS. The concert was not only to support their mission to generate funds for scholarships, but also to bring a cultural awareness to high school students and the community during this year’s Black History Month. Visit their website at www.mpee-lb.org.