Fisk Jubilee Singers were in Mount Vernon for a whirlwind tour, hosting a concert at United Methodist Church in Mount Vernon Saturday, April 19.

Cornell College director Christopher Nakielski said more than 60 emails had been exchanged to try and line up this concert in Mount Vernon.

“The end result is that the Fisk College students had to be on the bus at 4 a.m. Thursday, April 17, to arrive here in Mount Vernon for one of our first practices,” Nakielski said. “They will take off after the concert tonight to be back to their college for their commitments for Easter.”

The church was full of attendees, with a cap on tickets reached a week earlier. Volunteers and ushers from the church also had to work on helping people navigate some steps in the church, as the church elevator broke earlier in the week and repairs were two weeks out from being made.

Nakielski said that Cornell did not let the tour go to waste, however, learning from the singers about the differences between work songs and spirituals.

Both choirs performed separate repertoires for the concert, with Cornell Choir performing “The Word Was God” and “To Sit and Dream (Langston Hughes)” by Rosephayne Powell, “Great Day” by Moses Hogan “City Called Heaven” arranged by Josephine Polinitz and “Aint Got Time to Die” by Hall Johnson.

Fisk Jubilee Singers provided a selection of songs that highlighted The Seed of American Music, with “I’m Going to Sing Till the Spirit Moves in My Heart” by Moses Hogan, “Porr Man Lazarus” and “Elijah Rock” arranged by Jester Hairston, “Our Father” and “Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray” arranged by John W. Work III.

In the second set, the Fisk Jubilee Singers began with two pieces arranged by Willaim L. Dawson “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit” and “Soon Ah Will Be Done.” Other pieces in that set included “He’s  Got the Whole World,” arranged by Paul T. Kwami, Ride that Chariot arranged by William H. Smith.

Both Cornell and Fisk Jubilee Singers concluded the concert with “I Sing Because I’m Happy” by Rollo Dilworth.