Antonio Jones of Greenwood will perform with Coahoma Community College’s Gospel Choir tonight during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
Jones will accompany the choir on piano at the Gospel Extravaganza, which will be held from 8 to 10:30 p.m.
At the 46th annual conference, Coahoma Community College’s Gospel Choir will represent Mississippi, the Georgia Mass Choir will represent the state of Georgia, the Word Tabernacle Choir will represent North Carolina and the E.L. Clyburn Memorial Choir will represent South Carolina.
Jones is the director of the Boys & Girls Club in Greenwood. He is a graduate of Greenwood High School and attended Mississippi Valley State University, where he studied music and was a member of the choir.
Jones serves as music director of St. Luke Church of God in Christ, where he also plays the organ and presides over the choir.
Coahoma Community College’s Gospel Choir was extended an invitation to the event after U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson witnessed a performance during CCC’s Cultural Awareness Week program last spring.
“I am very proud to have the Coahoma Community College Gospel Choir perform in Washington, D.C., for this year’s Gospel Extravaganza,” said Thompson. “I am most excited to have the opportunity to display the talents of these young people and show the caliber of students being produced by Coahoma Community College and by the Mississippi Delta.”
The group headed to the nation’s capital Wednesday evening.
The choir will showcase traditional Southern gospel with renditions of “Run and Tell That” and “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.”
Thompson said he is sure that performance will not disappoint.
“The choirs I have invited from Mississippi in the past have always delighted the audience, and many participants come to the event expecting that Mississippi’s choir will be the best,” said Thompson. “I have no doubt that the young people from the Coahoma Community College Gospel Choir will more than exceed those expectations.”
CCC Choir Director Kevin Towers said he doesn’t take the invitation lightly.
“We’re carrying the burden on our shoulders to represent the state of Mississippi, but it’s an honor that we gladly accept,” he said. “We know that the constituents in the state are rooting us on, and we plan to make them proud.”
In addition to the Gospel Extravaganza, the conference will include an on-site employment fair and authors’ pavilion, the National Town Hall, the Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts awards ceremony, the Black Party, the annual Prayer Breakfast, a jazz concert, exhibit showcase, and the culminating event, the Phoenix Awards Dinner, where President Barack Obama is expected to give his last address before he exits the White House.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
