Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora Main Menu Will the Circle Be Unbroken? The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora Enter the Exhibit What is African American Sacred Music? From Spirituals to Soul Songs of the Underground Railroad The Legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers Women and Worship Music of the Revolution: Sacred Music and Protest Gospel Roots: African American Churches in Los Angeles Albert J. McNeil Jester Hairston Don Lee White Hansonia Caldwell Opening the Exhibit What’s a Music Exhibit without the music? Take an audio journey through the CSUDH Sacred Music Archives collections Sign our Guest Book! Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University Dominguez Hills

The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers

37308
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS), known as "America's foremost Negro choir," have played a significant role in the development of African American sacred music traditions in the United States and are among the most honored singing ensembles in the world. The AMJS was founded by choral director Albert McNeil. McNeil was inspired by the story of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, an all black college choir founded in 1871, made up of four black men and seven black women who gained international fame traveling throughout the United States and Europe giving concerts singing four-part a cappella arrangements of sacred songs called spirituals. In 1968, the AMJS went on their first European tour. Since then, they have travled the globe on 18 sold-out European tours, 12 tours of the United States and Canada, and tours of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America. They were selected three times to serve the U.S. State Department and USIS Cultural Exchange Program, traveling to East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iran, India, North and West Africa, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

This page has paths:

  1. Albert J. McNeil Beth McDonald
  2. What is African American Sacred Music? Beth McDonald
  3. Enter the Exhibit Beth McDonald
  4. Will the Circle Be Unbroken? The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora Beth McDonald