Bridgewater College will present a Gospel Extravaganza at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 22, in the Carter Center for Worship and Music at Bridgewater College.
The concert includes the Bridgewater College Lift Your Voice Gospel Choir and James Madison University’s Contemporary Gospel Singers. Also featured are renowned musician Joyce Garrett and the gospel group Roderick Giles and Grace.
Bridgewater College’s Lift Your Voice Gospel Choir is under the direction of Dr. John McCarty, assistant professor of music. Student directors are Rianna Hill, a junior English and communication studies double major from Richmond, Va., and Justin Bartlett, a sophomore liberal studies major, also from Richmond.
Garrett created the Eastern High School Choir of Washington, D.C., during her 27-year teaching career at the school. In retirement, she founded the Washington Youth Choir, a city-wide choral ensemble based on the principles of teamwork, perseverance, high achievement and self-discipline.
Giles, a former member of the Eastern High School Choir, is CEO of Giles Music Group LLC and is the founder of Grace, the primary singers for the Giles Music Group.
Giles is director and lead singer of the Harlem Gospel Choir (DC Division).
The program is free and open to the public.
Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to approximately 1,800 undergraduate students.