Welcome to the Official Website for the
Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus. We will present who we are and also provide a
schedule of our The Atlanta University Center
Community Chorus (AUCCC) was founded in 1966 to provide concert and commencement
music for the Atlanta University Summer School. A notice from the late Dr. Wendell P. Whalum, the founding
director of the Chorus, to a few experienced singers in the community brought an
overwhelming response and they assembled each week for rehearsals. During future summers, the group
developed into one that included not only the graduates of the Atlanta University, but all
the undergraduate colleges in the Atlanta University Center
as well as persons who had graduated from other institutions outside the Atlanta
area. The initial number of twenty (20) singers has grown to as many as sixty (60),
with an ongoing enrollment of fifty (50). In 1971, Dr. Thomas J. Anderson, who
edited and orchestrated Scott Joplin's Treemonisha,
invited the Chorus to take part in the world premier of this exciting opera. His
invitation was accepted and immediate attention to this group resulted. Under the
direction of Dr. Whalum, the Chorus was selected to sing during the Inauguration Ceremony
of President Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C. President Hugh Gloster of Morehouse College granted space for rehearsals and
encouraged the Chorus to continue. Robert
Shaw, Atlanta's famous conductor (Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra) not only praised their efforts, but urged them to return one year
later to Symphony Hall in the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center and take part in the concert
presentation of Gershwin's
Porgy and Bess. This completed, he invited the Chorus
to sing Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony along with his own Symphony Chorus for the inauguration of
Mayor Maynard Jackson. Morehouse College and the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians
Association (MAMA) presented Johannes
Brahms' A German Requiem featuring the AUCCC in a memorial
for founder Dr. Wendell P. Whalum in March, 1989. Many members of past association
participated along with guest artists and orchestras. Under the direction of Dr. David Morrow, a 1980 Phi Beta
Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati's College
Conservatory of Music, the Chorus has since participated in such events as the U.S.
Freedom Tour Academic Convocation for Nelson Mandela (June, 1990). The program
included the singing of Nkosi
Sikelel'i Afrika in the Xhosa dialect. In addition, the Chorus
provided the music for the dedication of Atlanta's new City Hall. They also appeared
in the Cultural Olympiad of the 1996 Summer Olympic
Games in Atlanta. From the beginning, the Chorus sought to
give special attention to performance of Negro Spirituals. In recent years, other works by
African-American composers and arrangers as well as a diverse repertoire by European
classical composers have been included. This has remained the program format.
The organization also sought to give local soloists and opportunity to share their talents
and training with audiences throughout the state and elsewhere. For information on booking the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus for your
event, please contact: The Wendell P.
Whalum Community Chorus This website was created by NerdNight ~ Meeting Your Needs. For more information on how NerdNight can assist you in creating a web presence,
please click on either of our hyperlinks above to contact us!
As a memorial and loving tribute to our founder, the AUCCC will now be
known as the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus,
carrying on in the spirit and tradition of Dr. Whalum and continuing to bring to the
community the same caliber of music it has always provided, as well as remaining true to
our original purpose and goals.
c/o Morehouse College
830 Westview Drive, S.W. - Brawley Hall
Atlanta, GA 30314
or e-mail us at
WPWChorus@hotmail.com
Thank You!
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