WS Chronicle

United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem was near capacity as The Twin City Choristers   celebrated “The Birthday of A King” during its Christmas Concert on Sunday, Nov. 25.

The Twin City Choristers, an all-male choral group in Winston-Salem that has been around since the late 1950s, offered a variety of Christmas favorites, religious and secular in nature. The group has produced several recordings over the years.

The Sunday concert featured the choral group’s favorite selections over the last six decades.

The new senior pastor of United Metropolitan, the Rev. Dr. Alvin Armstead Jr., said the prayer at the beginning of the program.

Dr. Beth Day-Hairston, mistress of ceremony and a member of United Metropolitan, introduced the group with much fanfare.

“Ladies and gentlemen, was I right? Were they unique? Were they dynamic? Were they exceptional? Were they handsome? Were they marvelous?” she asked the audience after the first part of the program, before the intermission.

The group sang in its first part: “Wasn’t That A Mighty Day,” “Go, Tell It On the Mountain,”  “Mary Had A Baby,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” “The First Noel,” and “The Birthday Of A King.”

In the second part of the program, several songs had upbeat tempos, including “De Mornin’ Come,” which was led by tenor Adrian Swygert, and “African Noel,” which featured tenors Bruce Caesar, Garland Wallace III and Brian Womble.   Several well-known songs also were in the second part, such as “Silent Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

At the end of the program, although the song was not on the program, the group presented a rendition of the “Hallelujah Chorus” from “Handel’s Messiah” to a standing ovation.

The concert was free and open to the public, but donations were appreciated. The concert featured favorite selections of the Choristers over the last six decades.  Copies of the Choristers’ CDs were available for sale immediately following the concert.

The Choristers are under the direction of Dr. Fred D. Tanner accompanied by Freddye Dixon, according to a press release.  In September of 1957, Dr. Permilla Flack Dunston founded and organized The Twin City Choristers and served as The Choristers first music director. The group was composed of primarily male high school students from Carver High School where Dr. Dunston taught music.

Auditions for The Twin City Choristers are open to all men who have a desire to sing the truly beautiful music available for male choirs. Membership is without regard to race, creed, religion, or national origin.

For more information, go to www.thetwincitychoristers.com