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Gospel Meets Symphony in Akron: a chat with Jennifer Jones
by Mike Telin
The Akron Symphony will present the 18th edition of Gospel Meets Symphony — one of the most anticipated cultural events in the region — on Saturday the 5th of February at 7:30 PM at The University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. Maestro Christopher Wilkins will lead the orchestra and a 200-voice choir prepared and directed by Jennifer Mekel Jones in a tribute to the late Grammy-winning Gospel Music legend Walter Hawkins. Now in her third season as chorus master of the Gospel Meets Symphony chorus, Jennifer Mekel Jones says that it is the wonderful spirit of community that makes the event so special. “I feel that Gospel Meets Symphony is a true testament to what people can do when they work together. We are all working and growing together, and to see it all unfold on stage is amazing. “
We spoke to Jennifer by telephone and we asked her to tell us some highlights of this years edition.
Jennifer Jones: We are very excited about this year’s edition, we have a lot of new arrangements by Akron Symphony member David Kempers. We have created a medley of pieces to honor a Gospel great, Bishop Walter Hawkins, who passed away in 2010. The medley was arranged by Karen Palmer, who is a member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church. Brendon Scarbourgh, another Akron area musician, assisted with musical arrangements, and David Kempers did the orchestration. David also did a wonderful arrangement of Wade in the Water that goes from the spiritual to some jazz, it’s a real musical journey, so we actually to get to “Wade” our way through the piece.
When the planning committee sat down to discuss this year’s program, the pieces I just mentioned were at the top of our list, but there are also a number of pieces that have never been performed at Gospel Meets Symphony. The cool thing about Gospel music is that it borrows from so many different musical genres, so audiences will get to hear a little bit of everything. We’ll begin with a piece that has a “praise and worship” feel, that could easily be sung in your own church. There is also a classical anthem, as well as another anthem that has more of a gospel feel to it. Then there are the spirituals like Wade in the Water and a contemporary version of Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho. There are some traditional gospel songs like We Can Work it Out, that you would have heard years ago in churches across the country. It’s a piece you can stomp your feet and clap your hands to. Yes, we are going to be doing quiet a bit of traveling, but it’s all going to have you moving.
MT: Who are this year’s soloists?
JJ: This year we have several. There are eleven from the Gospel Meets Symphony Chorus. We also have five members of the clergy from the churches that are participating. Pastor Bunton from Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Pastor Elliott from the Greater Bethel Baptist Church, and Pastor Glenn from the Macedonia Baptist Church. They will perform as a trio during the Hawkins tribute. Pastor J. Michael Martin of the Christ is the Answer Ministries and Minister Faye Roberts from the Christian Revival and Discipleship Center will be lending their voices on We can Work it Out. We thought it would be a cool treat to include some of the leaders of the churches in the program. We are very excited about this because we know that they will bring all of who they are to the stage. It will be gospel at its best.
MT: How did you become involved with Gospel Meets Symphony?JJ: It was a fellow church member and member of the Gospel Meets Symphony committee, Edra Frazier, who asked me if I would be interested in being the chorus master. I am really just a regular churchgoer, I sing and I direct the choir, but I had never done anything like this before, so I was honored and humbled by the invitation.
MT: I seem to remember that last year you also conducted the orchestra?
JJ: Yes I did. It was like Wow! It was overwhelming, but a lot of fun. I never imagined myself in that position, but Maestro Wilkins invited me and I said of course I will. It was almost like a dream come true.
MT: But you have studied music at university?
JJ: Yes, I started as a vocal performance major at the University of Akron and since then I have moved on to begin a master's program at the Ashland University Theological Seminary. So I am still a student, still learning and growing.
MT: Is this a master's in church music?
JJ: No, it’s actually a master's in Black Church studies. I do want to combine it with a musical component as well.
MT: How have you seen the event evolve?
JJ: It was during my first year that we did the taping for the PBS special, and I had no idea what I was getting into. I had no concept of how many people would be involved and how many people would view the special. And it continues to grow each year. I remember my second year we had almost two hundred and thirty-five chorus members but we could only fit two hundred on the risers.
I think that people are really blessed by the experience, and it is something that they have ownership of. I can say that each choir member feels that they do own a part of it, and it is part of who they are. Everyone involved has worked together in order to bring the event to another level.
Musically I have tried to make sure that we not only include repertoire from the past but also some of the present. I try to keep an eye out for what is currently happening in the gospel music field, and try to be sure that is brought to the discussion table. I think that Maestro Wilkins has a knack for choosing some of the most beautiful classical pieces for chorus that I have heard. He really knows how to couple the classical with the gospel. I do think it is the growing of the community where the evolution is most apparent.
MT: It has been fun to watch this event grow over the years.
JJ: I must say that everyone on stage really does have fun. The chorus loves watching the orchestra play, and last year when Maestro Wilkins got off the podium and started dancing across the stage, we were all like, “Oh my gosh! Look at that!” It was hilarious. We really had no idea that he was going to do that, but apparently he felt free enough to do it, so we just went with him.
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