POET NIKKI GIOVANNI, GOSPEL CHOIRS TO REDO CLASSIC ALBUM IN CONCERT

From: Media Relations

The Monday Night Concert
February 8, 2006

HARRISONBURG, Va. — To recreate a ground-breaking recording first made in vinyl, poet Nikki Giovanni will join the voices of five Virginia college gospel choirs in concert Monday, Feb. 27, in James Madison University's Wilson Hall Auditorium.

The concert commemorates the 35th anniversary of the release of Giovanni's 1971 album, "Truth Is On Its Way" — a first-of-its-kind recording, which combined traditional gospel spirituals with Giovanni's own contemporary poetry and powerful speaking voice.

[Photos of the Feb. 27 concert may be viewed at Photo Events.]

The JMU event is the first time Giovanni has reproduced the album in concert.

The free, public concert — featuring student choirs from James Madison, Virginia State University, Eastern Mennonite University, Mary Baldwin College and Washington & Lee University — will begin at 7 p.m.

Giovanni, who is a University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech, is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist for civil rights and equality, and educator. She has written more than two dozen books and received more than 20 honorary degrees, including a 1988 honorary doctorate of humane letters and humanities from her alma mater, Fisk University. Among numerous other accolades, she received the 2000 Virginia Governor's Award for the Arts.

A best-selling album in 1971, the original recording included the New York Community Choir. "Truth Is On Its Way" was chosen Best Spoken Album by the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers in 1972. Still available on CD, "Truth Is On Its Way" was an inspiring, much-loved recording of many who owned it. A critic reviewing the recording in 2005 wrote: "It's about time we give Nikki Giovanni her due as a godmother of hip-hop."

The JMU concert may also be viewed live via JMU's Web, or later archived on the Web or heard later via a podcast.

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WRITER: Cindy Mooy