Program to Include:
Leonard Bernstein, Mass (excerpts)
George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess (excerpts)
Selections from The Beatles
Plus Choral & Gospel Favorites
Morgan State University Choir
The Morgan State University Choir is one of America’s most prestigious university choral ensembles. While classical, gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the choir’s repertoire; the choir is noted for its emphasis on preserving the heritage of the spiritual, especially in the historic practices of performance.
The Morgan State University Choir has performed around the world to critical acclaim. Named “Best College Choir” in 2004 by Reader’s Digest magazine, the choir has performed with several major symphony orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra. For over 30 years, Dr. Nathan Carter was the conductor of this ensemble.
Dr. Eric Conway is currently the Director of the Morgan State University Choir and Chairperson of the Fine Arts Department. During his tenure, Dr. Conway has led the choir to many acclaimed performances, including a special performance at the service honoring Rosa Parks, the first woman to lie in honor at our nation’s Capital Rotunda. In 2015, at the request of First Lady Michelle Obama, the choir sang at the White House for a nationally televised concert in the East Room of the White House along with Aretha Franklin, Shirley Caesar, and Tamela Mann. During the summer of 2018 the choir traveled to Slovakia, Germany, and Austria, where they sang in Vienna’s famed St. Marks Cathedral. In the fall of the same year, the choir performed Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under the
baton of Maestra Marin Alsop. Other recent and upcoming performances include a holiday concert with CeCe Winans and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a performance of Porgy and Bess, also with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony.
Since 2008, the Choir has performed all over the world including in Russia, South Africa, Canada, Colombia, China, Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Italy, Middle East, Australia, Cuba, Spain, and Central Europe. In the May of 2019 they will make their debut tour of the United Kingdom.
MSUC has shared its musical gifts on many grand stages all over the world–with numerous dignitaries and celebrated performers–making them cultural ambassadors for Morgan State University, the City of Baltimore, the state of Maryland and the United States. For further information, see www.msuchoir.org.
Dr. Eric Conway, Director
Since 2004, Eric Conway has served as the director of the Morgan State University Choir as well as chair of the Fine and Performing Arts Department. Conway has travelled virtually all over the world, directing the choir in Czech Republic, Ghana, China, Russia, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, and Colombia, to name just a few destinations. Prior to serving as Director, Conway served as principal accompanist for the choir for over twenty years.
He received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he majored in Piano Performance and minored in Conducting. While at the Peabody, Conway was a recipient of the prestigious Liberace Scholarship, as well as a winner in the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition where earned the honor of playing Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.
Some of his significant accomplishments as pianist include, a tour of Eastern Africa, sponsored by the United States Information Agency. One of the highlights of the tour was a solo performance for Madagascan television and radio. He has performed as soloist with several orchestras including, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Concert Artists, Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, Georgetown University Orchestra, and the Millbrook Orchestra in Shepardstown, West Virginia. In January 2006 he performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to wide acclaim.
Dr. Conway is also sought after as a collaborative artist. He has worked with several leading artists including Trevor Wye, Hillary Hahn, Daniel Heifetz, William Brown, Janice Chandler, to name a few. He is also an orchestral pianist for the Baltimore Symphony. In 1994 and 1997, he toured with the orchestra to Eastern Asia.
Dr. Conway’s choral accomplishments include working closely with some of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century including Robert Shaw, Sir Nevelle Mariner, and Donald Neuen. In 2001, he was chorusmaster for the Baltimore Symphony Chorus’ performance of the Verdi Requiem. He travels around the mid-Atlantic area giving Choral Master Classes and workshops for Collegiate and High School levels. In June of 2006, Dr. Conway was Chorusmaster for performances of Mahler Symphony #2, ending the tenure of Baltimore Symphony’s music director, Yuri Temirkanov.
Most recently, he conducted the forces of both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Soulful Symphony in the Meyerhoff Hall’s Annual Martin Luther King Concert. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he holds degrees in both Accounting and Business Management and is also a Certified Public Accountant. Most recently, Conway has been appointed by Governor O’Malley as a member of the MD State Arts Council.
Please note, this event is not a VCM Foundation event. Please use the links above for ticket purchases and other queries.
