St. John’s Episcopal Church, Portsmouth presents The American Spiritual Ensemble live in concert at 3pm on Sunday, April 7, 2024. Admission is $30 suggested donation, available for purchase online, or at the door. Please note, only 250 total tickets are being offered for pre-sale. We will offer admission for up to 200 more at the door, and individuals will be able to pay with cash, a credit card, or check at the door.

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The American Spiritual Ensemble (ASE), whose mission is to continue the tradition of storytelling through the performance and preservation of the American negro spiritual, was founded in 1995 by Dr. Everett McCorvey. "Performing these spirituals serves as a tribute to the many lives lost or destroyed during slavery in the United States; a horrible time for human kind. These songs, a combination of African, American, and European traditions, create a new type of melody in which a sense of identification was created within the enslaved community. These songs, beloved all around the world, now stand as a testament of the strength found through faith during times of hardship as well as a unifying force among all peoples."The ASE is a world-class choir whose members have performed in such venues as the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Boston Opera and the Atlanta Civic Opera. They have also performed abroad in England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Scotland, and Spain. (source: www.americanspiritualensemble.com/about-ase)

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This concert will be approximately 75 minutes in length with no intermission. We are also proud to partner with several local organizations doing good in the Seacoast area who will be stationed in our Roberts Hall exhibition area to meet you and share information about their organization's mission and work. Exhibition hall will open at 2:15pm, and remain open for approximately 15-30 minutes at the conclusion of the concert.

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