The 64 voices of the Denison University Gospel Choir will present "A Concert of Gospel Music and Spirituals" at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (April 25) in Burke Recital Hall. Directed by Raymond Wise, a 1983 graduate of Denison, the program will feature a varied selection of spirituals and traditional and contemporary gospel music. Some of the titles include "Lord We Magnify Your Name," "We Shall Overcome" and a new arrangement of "To Denison." This concert is free and open to the public.

Wise is founder and president of Raise Productions, a gospel music production company in Columbus. He serves as an affiliated instructor in the music department at Denison as well as teaching at Ohio State University and the Columbus School for Girls.

Wise has composed more than 490 works and wrote the musical score for "Barefoot," an opera based upon a children's book about the Underground Railroad. He served as musical director for the production by The Children?s Theater Board of Winston Salem (N.C.), with narration by Maya Angelou. He also served as the chorus master for the world premiere of Leslie Burr's "Vanqui" by Opera Columbus last year.

During his undergraduate years at Denison, Wise reorganized the Black Student Union Choir and started the Black Student Union Ensemble and Dance Company. He earned a master's degree in music education from Ohio State and is currently working on his doctorate. He also has studied at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna and at San Francisco State University. He serves as associate minister and choir director at Faith Ministries Interdenominational Church in Columbus.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575