Courtesy of Hylton Performing Arts Center
“One of the most famous gospel groups in America” (NPR) and 2,022 recipients of National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowships, The legendary Ingramettes will perform their favorite family carols sprinkled with uplifting Christmas music at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on December 3rd. The performance includes a special guest appearance by local students in Manassas Park High School Chamber Singers. As Hylton Center Artist-in-Residence, The Legendary Ingramettes will also engage with the community through classes and workshops surrounding their performance at the Hylton Center.
Richmond’s “First Gospel Family” was started six decades ago by evangelist “Mama” Maggie Ingram, who found inspiration in the black male gospel quartets of the 1940s and 1950s. Ingram breaks new ground by creating her all-female quartet. With the charged spirit of a Sunday morning service, the ensemble is now led by Ingram’s daughter Reverend Almeta Ingram-MillerWHO along with the vocalists Cheryl Maroney Yanceyand Carrie Jackson, and house-rocking rhythm section, are built on the musical legacy of the band’s founder, taking the music of the Legendary Ingramettes to new heights. Whether performing in concert halls or at national festivals across the country, the legendary Ingramettes inspire audiences with gospel fervor.
Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller expands on the group’s commitment as artist-in-residence at the Hylton Center: “The legendary Ingramettes are excited to get to know the Masonic community and share our history and music. We are a family group and we hope that by the end of this residency our family has expanded tenfold to include the students and community that we will be able to meet, engage with and sometimes even sing with!”
Launched in the 2019–2020 season through George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), Artist in Residence The program connects artists who appear at the Hylton Center and sister venue the Center for the Arts and with communities on and off campus. Artist-in-residence classes and workshops surrounding The Legendary Ingramettes performance on December 3rd at the Hylton Center are detailed below.
Mason Arts Management Student Discussion
Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller will join Associate Director at the Center for Cultural Vitality, Josh Kohn, for an evening with Arts Management students at Mason. The conversation will focus on the strategy of making the leap to bigger stages, the challenges of presenting spiritual music to a secular audience, the challenges the band has endured throughout its long and important history, and what the future holds for one of America’s great gospel powerhouses.
Potomac Place Noon Performance
The Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller, Cheryl Maroney Yancey, Carrie Jackson and keyboardist Patrick Newby, accompanied by Center for Cultural Vibrancy founder and executive director John Lohmann, will perform a noontime concert for residents of Potomac Place Nursing Home in Woodbridge.
Visiting Mason’s Folklore Classroom
Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller, Cheryl Maroney Yancey, Carrie Jackson and keyboardist Patrick Newby, accompanied by Center for Cultural Vibrancy founder and executive director John Lohmann, will visit George Mason University’s Public Folklore course at Mason’s Fairfax campus, taught by Mason Folklore Program Director Prof. Lisa Gilman.
Chamber Singers Workshop at Manassas Park High School
Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller, Cheryl Maroney Yancey, Carrie Jackson and keyboardist Patrick Newby will visit the Manassas Park High School Chamber Singers for a special workshop in preparation for the Dec. 3 performance.
Lifelong Learning Institute lecture demonstration
The legendary Ingramettes will be joined by Center for Cultural Vibrancy founder and executive director John Lohmann for a lecture and demonstration with George Mason University’s Lifelong Learning Institute at the Hylton Center. The event will discuss the important role of black gospel music in achieving civil rights in the American South.
Artist-Activist Speaker Series, an initiative of CVPA’s ARCAM
Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller will join moderator Dewberry School of Music, Director of Concert Band, and Professor William Lake, Jr. for an event as part of the Artist-Activist Speaker Series, an initiative of ARCAM (Anti-Racist Arts Collaborative in Mason).
Mason School of Integrative Studies Classroom Visit
Reverend Almeta Ingram-Miller will attend the Mason School of Integrative Studies’ Black Feminist Thought course led by Prof. Wendy Manuel-Scott.
Hylton Center Performance Information:
Artist in ResidenceThe legendary IngramettesSunday, December 3 at 2 p.m$48, $41, $29; half price for youth up to 12th grade This performance by The Legendary Ingramettes is made possible in part through Mid Atlantic Arts’ Mid Atlantic Tours program with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.