Renowned gospel choir honors MLK day at Wellfleet Preservation Hall

Since its opening in May 2011, Wellfleet Preservation Hall has proven true to its mission to reenergize the heart of Wellfleet Center by offering a range of music, art and educational programs year-round. As the area’s newest community cultural center, it has enticed a wealth of local and off-Cape performers to bring their talents to the acoustically inviting space. By bringing the acclaimed Higher Praise Gospel Choir from Boston to honor the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., “Prez Hall,” as it is known affectionately, continues its charge.

Scheduled in conjunction with Wellfleet’s 10th Annual MLK Walk and celebration in the town center, this one-night only performance on the eve of the town-wide march promises an exceptional choral blend of solemnity and joyous energy. 

Directed by Minister Melvin Murphy, who is himself a gifted musician and composer, the Higher Praise Gospel Choir, with singers from all around the greater Boston area, has toured to “minister in song” to audiences all over the country, including New York, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Tampa. Combining traditional with contemporary gospel music, the choir has performed with Josh Groban and many other vocal artists. Founded in 1985, this group is the Boston chapter choir of the Gospel Music Workshop of America. Director Murphy has sung with such gospel greats as Shirley Caesar, Al Green, J.J. Hairston and Youthful Praise, and country singer Charlie Daniels. In 2005 the choir recorded a live CD in Boston, entitled “We Come to Praise Him,” with all numbers written and arranged by Melvin Murphy. The group is currently working on two new CDs, one contemporary gospel, the other “Christmas Gospel,” intended for release later this year.

The Jan. 15 concert will be the local debut for Higher Praise Gospel Choir. Preservation Hall’s managing director, Janet Lesniak, says via e-mail that she made initial contact with the group by “another ‘happy accident’ for the hall.”

“I went out to hear my husband play music in Orleans last September and ended up sitting next to a woman who told me she was a member of a large gospel choir in Boston,” says Lesniak. Thinking it would be wonderful to book the choir at the hall sometime, Lesniak gave the woman her business card and eventually the choir director contacted her. “We talked about ‘sometime in the future,’ but when we started working with the folks who organize the Martin Luther King Day march and celebration here in Wellfleet, I thought it would be great to extend the celebration over the weekend, and the gospel choir came to mind,” she says. “I contacted [Murphy] and found they were thrilled to be part of the celebration.”

According to Lesniak, the Higher Praise performance, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 15, “promises to be another not-to-be-missed night at Preservation Hall.” Anticipating a sell-out performance, she “hopes to see people from all across the Cape” in attendance and recommends an early advance ticket purchase, at $15 per general admission. Tickets are available online at the Preservation Hall website, www.wellfleetpreservationhall.org, or by calling (508) 349-1800. This exceptional community music experience will usher in Wellfleet’s 10th annual MLK Day walk, scheduled to begin the following day at noon from Town Hall. Instead of concluding at the public library, as has been customary previously, this year the commemorative procession will end with music, art and a potluck meal at Preservation Hall, 335 Main St., Wellfleet.

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