The History and Performance Practices of the Negro Spiritual with Dr. LaToya Lain

When?

Wed, May 7, 2025

7:00 pm — EST

Where?

Virtual

Information

 

In advance of our 2nd Annual Move On Up Gospel Sing-Off & Celebration on Saturday, May 10th, join us for a free, virtual program with Dr. LaToya Lain on the history and performance practices of the Negro Spiritual on Wednesday, May 7th at 7pm.

Spirituals, folk songs originating from the enslaved African community, were vehicles for resistance, solace, and identity. This lecture delves into their evolution, from creation on plantations to their adaptation in concert settings and their influence on modern genres like jazz and gospel. Further, it addresses the ongoing debate surrounding the performance of spirituals by non-African American singers, questioning issues of appropriation and the authenticity of dialect in performance.

Dr. LaToya Lain, a New Orleans native, is an acclaimed singer praised for her “rich” and “captivating” voice, an Associate Professor of Voice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and sings with the Metropolitan Opera Extra Chorus. LaToya has performed worldwide, including in two GRAMMY-winning casts, Porgy and Bess and Fire Shut Up in My Bones at The Met. At Carolina, she teaches “The History of Negro Spirituals” and she has created a lecture-recital based on the Slave Narratives of the 1930s Federal Writer’s Project. She has performed Narrative of a Slave Woman at numerous American Colleges and Universities and globally.  She is currently curating and recording spirituals with the State of North Carolina’s Department of Natural and Cultural History to be featured in historic sites across the state.

Pre-register here: https://monmouth.zoom.us/meeting/register/BWfCdaU0SfWhGge5LawCtw