WS Chronicle

Farrow

The Big 4 Choir will travel to Clinton tomorrow to perform at the 143rd Anniversary of First Baptist Church of Clinton, which is led by Pastor Thomas Farrow Jr.

The two-day celebration begins tomorrow with a banquet at the Sampson County Agri-Exposition Center, where the Big 4 Choir will share the spotlight with Dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and the former pastor of President Barack Obama, who will give the keynote address.

Dr. Alfonza Williamson Jr. recommended the talented Choir for the event. Williamson, a Clinton native and accomplished musician, is a friend of Big 4 Choir Musical Director Eddie Bines Jr. and assisted with last year’s Big 4 Worship Service. After that event, Williamson told Farrow that the Big 4 was the “best gospel choir you’ve never heard.”

Dr. Williamson and his father, Alfonza Sr., went a step further by graciously providing bus transportation for the choir. The Big 4 Alumni Association, which includes graduates of Winston-Salem’s four historic black high schools, Anderson, Atkins, Carver and Paisley, sponsored a second bus to complete travel accommodations for the approximately 90 choir members and musicians.

“This is certainly a privilege and an awesome opportunity for the Big 4 organization … to share the good news of the gospel outside the Winston-Salem area,” a statement from the Choir reads. “We are always proud to represent the Big 4 (and) add that to the opportunity to share the stage with the renowned Dr. Jeremiah Wright and you have a grateful and certainly favored choir.”