US Mission facilitates tour to strengthen American-Nigerian people-to-people ties
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to 40 students and faculty members from Morehouse College Glee Club (MCGC) in Atlanta, Georgia will embark on a three-city tour and cultural exploration of the rich music heritage of Africa’s most populous nation between 26 June and 9 July.
The United States Consulate Lagos says the tour will help strengthen American-Nigerian cultural and people-to-people ties through music, arts and film which bring diverse people together and create space for discussion and exchange.
MCGC is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first tour in Nigeria in 1972 and will offer public concerts in Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu. The group will also visit universities and high schools, meet students, and explore historical ties to Nigeria.
The 1972 visit infused African music into MCGC’s tradition and American Choral music in general. Fifty years on, choirs across the US sing in Nigerian languages, highlighting the long-term impact of that exchange.
MCGC has since learned a variety of songs in Edo, Yorùbá, Hausa, and Igbo, including a piece specifically composed for them by Laz Ekwueme, famed Nollywood actor and University of Lagos professor.
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Exchange of musical knowledge
MCGC will during this visit carry out a dynamic exchange of musical knowledge with the broad spectrum of the Nigerian society, singing in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba languages.
U.S. Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard said the visit will strengthen the longstanding ties between American and Nigerian institutions of higher learning, and expand the scope of academic and cultural relations between the US and Nigeria.
Her words: “Cultural exchanges such as the upcoming visit of the Morehouse College Glee Club help contribute to strengthening the bonds of friendship and collaboration through music and arts, offering an opportunity for Nigerian students to learn about academic experiences in the United States.”
Many of the student members of MCGC see their upcoming visit as an opportunity to connect with their African roots.
“I love the culture of Nigeria,” said 19-year-old Schneider Grandpierre, a junior third-year student of music and computer science at the Morehouse College.
“It is going to be such an enriching and amazing experience to be able to reconnect with our cultural roots and sing Nigerian music in different languages. I look forward to an extended stay here even after this tour.”
John Batey, 23, a business administration major and tenor singer for the choral group, disclosed he has traced his roots to Nigeria through a DNA test.
“We will be exploring the Nigerian creative and entertainment industry. I am excited about the upcoming tour,” Batey said.
MCGC Director David Morrow, a professor, explained that the choral group will perform a repertoire of African and American songs particularly African-American spirituals which have roots in West African music traditions.
Backstory
Morrow said MCGC is rooted the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr, who sang in MCGC and was one of the notable alumni of the Historically Black College in the US.
MCGC 50th Anniversary Tour of Nigeria is supported in part through a public diplomacy grant of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria and showcases the strong commitment of the US to strengthening cultural relations between Americans of all hues and Nigerians.
Delta Airlines and individual donors from across the US have also supported the upcoming tour.
