Goodnight Celebration 2008

We had a marvelous time with Pix and Dan last evening. We celebrated New Year's eve by attending Charleston's Goodnight Concerts. These concerts were held at 6, 7, 8 and 9 P.M. The locations include the downtown churches plus other locations clustered nearby. The concerts last 45 minutes which allows 15 minutes for one to travel to the next concert. See the complete 2008 schedule at http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200812300603 .

What a great experience this is for us! The only problem is that there were 51 different performances with 30 different and very talented groups participating. Sadly one can only get to four of the concerts in an evening. Next year we shall sample another round of wonderful music so we can welcome 2010.

After a great Mexican meal, we were off to St. Mark's Methodist Church to hear at 6 p.m., Dr. Ethel Caffie-Austin (The Queen of Soulful Gospel). She was wonderful!!! Born in Bluefield, Caffie-Austin grew up in a home steeped in African-American heritage and culture. Her father, David, was the son of a first generation slave and he planted the roots of the old songs and old ways of the Alabama indentured slave culture in Ethel as he shared his father’s experiences and his own.

Her musical talent was nurtured by her parents. She began playing piano at the age of six, started accompanying church services at nine and directed her first choir at age 11. At 14, Caffie-Austin was organizing and directing the first state choir in Southern West Virginia for the Churches of God in Christ.

Throughout her life, she has carried on a rich tradition of African-American gospel singing, piano playing and worship. She has taken her music and ministry into prisons, schools and government projects, and has performed at festivals across the country and in Africa and Europe. What an amazing lady!

We stayed at St. Mark's for our second concert which were the Kanawha Kordsmen Chorus- a barbershop choir. These men were also outstanding and what fun to watch! The group is the performing unit of the Kanawha County Chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.

Roses are red and faces might be, too, when the Kanawha Kordsmen start delivering their singing surprises on Valentine's Day.

For about six years, the nonprofit Kanawha Kordsmen, which is a local chapter of the Society for The Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing In America, has provided singing valentines to surprised office workers, laborers, college students, housewives and others throughout the Kanawha Valley on Valentine's Day.

This Valentine's Day, about five barbershop quartets from the 52- member Kordsmen, will fan out across the area to sing love songs to unsuspecting loved ones. For $40, a barbershop quartet will visit your valentine. Pix has sent Dan a singing Valentine to his office in the past. I know Dan appreciated being the center of a love song performed by a group of singing guys.

From St. Mark's we headed for the 8 P.M. concert located at Christ Church United Methodist. This was the outstanding Martin Luther King Jr. Male Choir. We heard them last year and it is always a treat! The Chorus is under the direction of Leroy Robinson and is comprised of ministers and lay leaders from various denominations in the greater Kanawha Valley area. The Chorus was established in 1996 to participate in a celebration of Dr. King's birthday and since then has performed in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout West Virginia.

Our final concert (9 P.M.) was also at Christ Church and we experienced the group known as the WomanSong Chorale. When the singers of WomanSong raise their voices, they weave a rich musical tapestry in four-part harmony. The women sing in all styles from the 12th century to the twenty-first. The chorale sings Renaissance, contemporary, Broadway, classical, folk, spirituals, and Celtic and more. Another excellent experience for our group.

I would encourage you to attend next year's Goodnight Celebration. It is certainly a joyful experience.