The Howard University Choir

The Howard University Choir, the largest group, is composed of students, faculty, staff and alumni from the university community.

The Howard University Choir, the resident choir of the Nation's pre-eminent African-American University, is recognized as one of the most outstanding choral groups in the United States. A national treasure, the Choir gained national and international acclaim under the leadership of its former conductor, the late Dr. Warner Lawson. Under the leadership of Dr. J. Weldon Norris, its present conductor, the Choir has maintained its tradition of excellence, performing in some of the world’s major cities. Under Dr. Norris, the Choir has been critically acclaimed for its performances of choral works by J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and Poulenc. In 1978, after a performance of J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor, The Washington Post exclaimed, "the total effect was impressive and the chorus in particular was superb." True to its singular legacy, the Choir has become the definitive interpreter of Negro Spirituals and Work songs, as well as of choral works by composers of African descent. The Washington Post pronounced recently that the Choir's performance of Negro Spirituals was "mesmerizingly beautiful."

Since the appointment of Dr. Norris as its conductor in 1973, the Choir has performed in the International Choral Festival in Rome, Italy; the Music Festival in Cracow, Poland; the International Choral Festival in Tokyo, Japan; the International Choral Festival in Canada; as well as in concert in New York City, California, Washington, and the first International Festival of University Choirs in Valencia, Spain. The Choir has also toured the Caribbean and France, where one of its performances was in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Having won first prize in the Habanera portion of the International contest of Habaneras and polyphonic compositions in Torrevieja, Spain, in August 1994, the Choir returned in September 1996 to Spain, where it participated in the International Festival of University Choirs in Valencia to outstanding ovations and reviews. As a result of it stellar performances in Valencia, Spain, the Choir was asked to present a series of concerts in Russia. Sponsored by the Glinka State Conservatoire in Nizhzy Novgorod, Russia, the Choir traveled to Russia in May 1997. In addition to the concerts in Nizhzy Novgorod, the Choir also performed in the ancient town of Samara, Russia. In November 1996, the Choir toured St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, performing and giving workshops. The European concert tour of 1997 took the Choir to Belfort, France, where it participated in the annual International Festival of Music and to Oxford University (England) where the Choir performed in the chapel of Balliol College.