Marshall, TX – The International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) has invited the A Cappella Choir of Wiley College to share its rich gospel music tradition through performances and workshops during the 2014 IAMSCU Conference in Hiroshima, Japan on May 24-28. The choir will also travel to Tokyo where it will perform concerts on May 30 at Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School and Aoyama Gakuin University.
“Our students’ engagement in this unique outreach musical ministry and mission will sow the seeds for new friendships and bolster their appreciation and respect for a broader range of social and cultural ideas,” said Dr. Haywood L. Strickland, President and CEO of Wiley College.
“We extend warm thanks and gratitude to the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities for inviting us to the conference and to The United Methodist Church, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation, Wiley board trustees, alumni, and friends for the generous support that has made this trip possible.”
Twenty members of Wiley’s 100-voice A Cappella Choir will make the trip to Japan. In preparation for the trip, the students have immersed themselves in activities to enhance their knowledge of Japanese culture and language. They have also been rehearsing daily to prepare themselves for concerts on the literal international stage.
While this will be the choir’s first trip abroad, the A Cappella choir has traveled the U.S. extensively, garnering accolades wherever it performs. The choir performed holiday concerts at the White House in 2011 and 2013, and has also performed with Grammy award-winning ensemble Sounds of Blackness and Grammy award-winning artist Rita Coolidge.
“Our choir is delighted and humbled to have this rare opportunity to receive a global, real-world, faith-based educational experience,” said Stephen L. Hayes, Choral Director of the choir.
Wiley College is a four-year, private, historically black, liberal arts college located on the west side of Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church’s Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman’s Aid Society, it is notable as one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of the Mississippi River. The College is affiliated with The United Methodist Church and The UNCF.
Willey College press release
