Soulful Christmas 2019: A Motown Christmas
Presented by the SUNY Plattsburgh Gospel Choir
Hosted by Kesean Joseph, SUNY Alumnus 2017
Sunday, Dec 8 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. (Doors open at 3:30 p.m.)
E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium (Hawkins Hall – SUNY Plattsburgh)
55 Beekman Street, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
PLATTSBURGH, New York – The Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir is delighted to present Soulful Christmas 2019: A Motown Christmas – The SUNY Plattsburgh Gospel Choir’s unique sound is a harmonic fusion of traditional gospel, urban gospel, contemporary Christian music, European aesthetics yet blended heavily with Caribbean and Afrocentric rhythms and spiritual overtones. This Winter we invite you to experience all this and more as we take several Motown songs into our concert repertoire. The energetic musical arrangements of the 60-voice chorus will put EVERYONE into the Holiday Christmas spirit. This lively-family oriented Holiday concert promises to lift your spirits as the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir kicks off the Christmas season! No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon with friends, family and the Plattsburgh community as we celebrate the favorite season of the year!
Some of the selections to be presented this year are: The Temptations’ rendition of “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”, “Silent Night” and “The Christmas Song”, and other Motown classics, as well as Gospel pieces such as The Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir’s “King of Kings”. There will be one special selection in loving memory of our beloved Dalton Criss who passed away unexpectedly in August. This year will feature both old and new powerful soloists as well as the Praise Dancers and Praise Team. The amazing harmonic melodies, which will be created by Jeff Wheel and the eight piece gospel band, will simply lift you out of your seat.
Special Guests
Kesean (pronounced Kay-shawn) Joseph is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He has been active in preaching ministry since the age of 11 years old. Kesean graduated from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in public relations and legal studies. He completed an internship with the Congressional Black Caucus and the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC. He also authored a book titled The Church with the Issue of Blood and two manuals for Old and New Testament Analysis. Kesean is a teacher at Brooklyn Ascend Middle School in New York City. He graduates with his Master’s degree in Leadership Studies in May from Church of God Theological Seminary.
Dr. Learie Nurse is a Barbadian native with a broad array of talents. He came to Vermont from Barbados to pursue advanced studies in Food and Beverage Management and Culinary arts. He started singing at the age of three with his parents in the church choir in Barbados, and through the years has developed his gift. He started singing with the Plattsburgh State Gospel choir in 2006 and led the Praise Team for several years before he moved to Colorado. He is appreciative of the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir community in every way as they created a home away from home for him. Dr. Learie has sung with many known gospel artists in the industry. Some of his more memorable singing highlights include singing with the Gospel Music Workshop of America, singing a duet with Grammy award winner Tramaine Hawkins (The Potters House), and opening for Kirk Franklin, Calvin Bernard Rhone, and Commissioned back in the day. He was also the winner of the Majors Cup in Plattsburgh in 2004 and the winner of X Factor Vermont in 2011. He has also sung with the Burlington Ecumenical Choir as a part of the Burlington, Vermont Gospelfest and has performed for Harry Belafonte as a part of the UVM’s Black History Month celebrations. These are just a few of his accomplishments. Learie is also a worship leader and a devout Christian, who firmly believes in the power of music in all of its genres to change lives. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Food & Beverage Operations from Barbados and Food & Beverage Management from the New England Culinary Institute, a Master’s degree in Education and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont. He currently serves as the Associate Dean of Students at The New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey. When he is not working or singing he loves being outdoors, cooking, traveling and reading when the opportunity presents itself, and spending time with his family. He currently lives in Livingston, New Jersey with his wife and two boys.
Wickmoore Jazz Trio. “What makes or breaks a group is the affinity members have with each other. As an audience member and listener, you can tell when affinity is high. The group listens to each other. They can change musical lanes like a getaway driver. They are bloody fascinating to watch”. The Moore brothers (locally produced and free-range; gluten/Ebola free) and Vihan Wickramasinghe (imported and inspected) were separated by a distance of 8498.4938 miles. It took true passion for music–and some sigh-inducing dad jokes–to bring them together. Through the most unlikely scenarios, from being in professional and college groups alike, these three seasoned musicians bring you hundreds of hours of collected affinity; an unbeatable jazz experience.
Dance Corps is a student-run dance group that focuses on the primary styles of American dance including Jazz, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Ballet, and more. They perform at various events across campus and put together their own show at the end of the Spring semester. Through dance they are able to craft friendships and share their passion for movement to the SUNY Plattsburgh campus.
African Unity is a student organization that was founded in 2001 at SUNY Plattsburgh. This campus group, today led by President Emmanuel Akuamoah and Vice President Tiemoko Soumano, works towards education, activism, acceptance, and both inter- and intra-community connections on and off the SUNY Plattsburgh campus. The mission of African Unity is to be able to unify the African community across multiple college institutions while engaging with other cultures and highlighting the existing similarities as well as differences. African Unity hopes to educate and captivate while accepting and strengthening cultural bonds, promoting activism, and implementing change.
PRESHOW
Wickmoore Jazz Trio
Box office opens at 3:00 p.m.
Doors open at 3:30 p.m.
SUNY Plattsburgh Gospel Choir
Under the artistic leadership of Dexter L. Criss, Ph.D., the choir has traveled internationally to Japan, St. Martin/Maarteen, Toronto, Montreal, and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago where the PSGC gave a private performance for President Anthony Carmona and his staff. In March 2019, the choir travelled to Memphis Tennessee, Clarksdale Mississippi, and Little Rock Arkansas where the choir performed both outside Central High and in the associated visitors’ center. This school is of course the historic Little Rock high school where the Little Rock Nine bravely impelled the facilitation of educational desegregation. The Choir has also performed at NYC’s Lincoln Center and has shared the stage with Lyle Lovett and with Shelia Raye-Charles. Most recently the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir opened for the Kingdom Choir, a well known gospel music group from the UK that performed at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.
With 20-30 performances a year, the gospel choir is busy performing on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus, churches, festival events, workshops, weddings, memorials and community events. Andrea D. Ogle, a UVM graduate in Early Childhood Special Education and SUNY Plattsburgh alum, serves as Associate Artistic Director and Choreographer. Ciarah Richmond, a junior from Brooklyn, serves as Student President. Dominique Burke, a junior from Mount Vernon, serves as Praise Team leader. Nelson Moore, a senior from Ausable, NY serves as Student Band Director. Dominique Lewis a junior from Dutchess County serves as Praise Dance Leader.
Ticket Pricing and Availability
Student Admission
- Early Bird—$3 (ended Oct. 31st)
- Advance—$8 (Nov 1st to Dec 8th)
- Door–$10
- (SUNY Plattsburgh Students; CCC Students; K-12 Students)
General Admission
- Early Bird–$10 (ended Oct. 31st)
- Advance–$15 (Nov 1st to Dec 2nd)
- Door–$20
- Age 5 & under FREE (must be willing to share a seat with an adult)
Ticket Sales
- Angell College Center Desk (SUNY Plattsburgh Campus)
- Christian Supply Center (164 Prospect Ave. Plattsburgh, New York)
- SUNY Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir Office (Hawkins Hall 133)
- Advance Music (Burlington, Vermont)
- Advance online ticket sales: www.plattsburghstategospelchoir.org
- Contact
- Phone: (518-564-2704)
- Email: gospelchoir@plattsburgh.edu
- Website: www.plattsburghstategospelchoir.org
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