Background and Goal

Barbershop music is rooted in African American music of the late 1800s.  It was slowly appropriated by white men who started the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) in 1938 and charted the destiny of the art form and its practitioners ever since.  Even with recent efforts on diversity and inclusion, the ranks of barbershop singing remain largely older, white males.  

African-American music continued to evolve and has influenced virtually every genre of American music since.  While the musical threads diverged, the shared interest in and love of sung harmony persisted.  But the wound of appropriation has never been addressed.

Roots Re-Visioned is a project of the Great Northern Union Chorus (GNU), an iconic Twin Cities barbershop chorus that, two years ago, set out on a path of radical inclusion.

The goal of Roots Re-Visioned is to look at barbershop singing and barbershop culture through the eyes of the descendants of the communities from which it was appropriated.  We can alter the course of ourselves and our music by re-creating it with Black voices and influences.

Collaborators

The Great Northern Union is bringing together four key collaborators to create Roots Re-Visioned.

• Bruce Henry — An internationally known Black vocalist, composer, storyteller, recording artist and educator.  The Evolution of African-American Music is a major body of work he has created tracing the survival of African culture in America from 1619 all the way to the modern forms of rock, gospel, R&B, soul, jazz and hip-hop.  It is presented as an “informance” which traces the story through the actual performance of the music through every point in the timeline by Bruce and his top-level band.

• Dr. David Wright — One of the most prominent figures in the world of barbershop signing.  He is the top musical arranger and historian emeritus of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and a leading scholar on the African-American roots of Barbershop

• Courtland Pickens and the choir he founded, KNOWN Mpls — An audition-based, Twin Cities community youth choir striving to train and develop the next generation of singers and composers throughout the Twin Cities Area.  Since its inception in late 2019, Known has shared the stage with prominent artists including Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker & Israel Houghton on the Festival of Praise Tour, and Shane & Shane for a National Live TV Broadcast, and recorded music with Kaycyy Pluto, Darnell Davis & Maya Buckner.

• T Mychael Rambo — An iconic figure in the Twin Cities arts and activism scene.  He is a Regional Emmy Award-winning actor, vocalist, arts educator and community organizer who has made an indelible mark in the Twin Cities, performing at The Guthrie, The Penumbra, The Ordway, The Minnesota Opera, the Dakota and Crooners.  

Project Concept and Design

The project has three parts.

Community Workshop

On Saturday, November 18, Bruce Henry and David Wright, will combine to present a highly participatory interactive workshop that maps the parallel histories of African American music and barbershop singing.  The workshop is open to the public.  Bruce and his band will perform samples across the entire timeline from 1619 until present, and David will present related barbershop samples via recordings and performances by a GNU quartet.  At every step the attendees will be invited to lend their voices to the demonstrations.

Creation and workshopping of a new piece

GNU Artist in Residence Mo Field and Bruce Henry are creating a new composition which attempts to roll back the styles and re-merge them.  The piece will be introduced on Saturday, rehearsed by KNOWN, GNU and any community participants who wish to learn and sing it on Sunday, and then performed on the Sunday afternoon public performance.

Roots Re-Visioned Concert

The weekend will culminate with a public performance featuring Bruce Henry and band, KNOWN Mpls and the Great Northern Union on Sunday afternoon, emceed by T Mychael Rambo.  Each group will perform a set of its own music and all will come together for the world premiere of the newly commissioned piece.

To get tickets for our Sunday Concert, Click Here

Schedule For Saturday

Community Workshop

• Saturday, November 18, 9:30am-2pm in the Paradise Community Hall at the Capri.

• Free admission includes complimentary healthy snacks throughout the workshop.

• A free will offering will be taken up.

About the Great Northern Union Chorus

Great Northern Union Chorus is a storied barbershop chorus in the Twin Cities, internationally, ranked for several decades among the top five barbershop ensembles in the world.  Beginning in 2020, we completely revisioned our vision and mission around using close vocal harmony to unite communities and culture.  From our legacy as a white male chorus we flung our doors open to people of all cultures and identities and refocused all of our programming on making authentic connections with new communities.

Our mission is to create unity between and among artists and communities, by sharing deeply human vocal harmony.  Our vision is Harmony in Union With Humanity

Roots Re-Visioned is part of a community focused programming arc that also includes the ChoirsAlive! choral festival and the ChoirsPopping! community workshop series.

Project Funding

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to legislative appropriations from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

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