News from SUNY Cortland

For more information contact: Jennifer Wilson, 607-753-2232

International Gospel Vocalist J. Christine Johnson Sinclair

To Headline College's Gospel Choir Spring Concert On May 4

CORTLAND, NY (04/28/2008; 1134)(readMedia)-- Internationally recognized gospel singer J. Christine Johnson Sinclair, a Cortland native and 1989 SUNY Cortland graduate, will join the SUNY Cortland Gospel Choir as the featured guest performer for its 22nd annual Spring Concert on Sunday, May 4, at SUNY Cortland.

The program, featuring Sinclair singing two selections with the choir, will begin at 4 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium. A reception will follow on the Old Main third floor mezzanine.

The admission price is $2 for students with I.D.; $4 for faculty, staff and senior citizens; and $5 for general admission. Children under 12 are admitted free and complementary tickets are available on a need basis. Proceeds will support the Gospel Choir Scholarship Fund.

The choir, comprised of local College, high school and community members, will sing a selection of contemporary and traditional gospel music and jazz under the direction of Robert Brown. A SUNY Cortland adjunct instructor in Africana studies and communication studies, Brown also teaches music at Blodgett Elementary School in Syracuse, N.Y., and directs music at the New Life Community Church in Syracuse.

The choir, which has been recognized for its outstanding performances at the National Collegiate Gospel Competition, will present much of the program from its 2008 tour to Toronto, Canada, and Niagara Falls, N.Y. The Toronto concert was presented at the First Baptist Church of Toronto, which was founded in 1826 by fugitive slaves from the U.S. Selections will include: “Perfect Praise,” by Richard Smallwood, with Sulema Iriarte; and “Calling My Name,” with Rose Graham as soloist.

The Gospel Choir Jazz Ensemble will perform “Spring.” The ensemble, which is also the choir band, includes Reginald Siegler on bass guitar, Benjamin Terry on percussion, and Andy Rudy on keyboard, all from Syracuse, N.Y.; Brown on trombone; and Jamie Yaman of Cortland, N.Y., on tenor saxophone.

During the concert, Sinclair will sing “For Every Mountain” by Kurt Carr and “Order My Steps” by Glenn Burleigh with the choir. Additional selections will include a solo of her resounding rendition of the audience favorite, “Amazing Grace.”

“The opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the world through song is truly a privilege,” says Sinclair, who will be making her third performance with the choir. “God keeps opening doors.”

Sinclair of Stamford, Conn., is the daughter of Joan R. Johnson and the late jazz musician and SUNY Cortland emeritus professor of history, Ellis A. Johnson. A former member of the Gospel Choir, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from SUNY Cortland and has studied in Germany.

She has shared her unique vocal style, which blends classical and gospel, with audiences in the U.S. as well as in several European countries, the Caribbean and in Canada. Sinclair has appeared on numerous worldwide radio and television shows including BBC, 3ABN, ACN, the Hope Channel and The Bobby Jones Gospel Show on The Word Network.

She has performed in concert with Aretha Franklin, Vickie Winans and Cissy Houston. Her venues have included the Apollo Theater, Madison Square Garden and the Skydome in Toronto before an audience of 80,000 people. Sinclair is a scheduled featured artist for the 2008 Caribbean Music Awards in New York City and received the 2006 Caribbean Gospel Music Spiritual Award. A documentary of her life, titled “My Story, My Song,” was filmed in January and will be broadcast worldwide later this year on The Hope Channel.

“Praise From the Soul,” Sinclair’s most recent recording, was released in 2007. Previous recordings include “Yes God Is Real” and “Holy Ground.”

Concluding their year as officers are Cynthia Echefu, president, a biology major from Bronx, N.Y.; Paula Gooden, vice president, a biomedical science major from Queens Village, N.Y.; Elizabeth Alarcon, secretary, Childhood and Early Childhood Education major from Bellerose, N.Y.; and Michelle Loomis, treasurer, an early childhood education major from Hamburg, N.Y. Tour manager this year is Mark Santiago, a sophomore physical education major from Albertson, N.Y. Dorothy Thomas ’77 from Cortland, N.Y., continues to serve as alumni officer.

The concert is sponsored by the SUNY Cortland Africana Studies Department, Center for Intercultural and Gender Studies, Cortland College Foundation, student activity fee and offices of the Division of Student Affairs, President, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Alumni Affairs. For more information, contact Professor Samuel L. Kelley at kelleys@cortland.edu or Distinguished Teaching Professor Seth Asumah at (607) 753-2064. For more information on Sinclair contact www.sinclairmusic.com or rcsinclair@aol.com.

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J. Christine Johnson Sinclair