Luke Powery Lecture “I’m Gonna Sing! The Faith and Music of the Unknown Black Bards”

The Reverend Dr. Luke Powery presents “I’m Gonna Sing! The Faith and Music of the Unknown Black Bards” on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Lee University Chapel as part of the 2012-2013 Arts and Cultures Series.

This second event in the Arts and Culture Series is presented in conjunction with Lee University’s Humanities Coalition, the Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities, and the Faculty Diversity Committee.

Powery’s lecture is an interactive combination of spoken and sung word focusing on the historical context, spiritual themes, and musical influence of African American spirituals.

The evening opened with a performance by Lee music faculty Dr. Andrea Dismukes and Dr. John Wykoff. The duo performed Wykoff’s new arrangement of the spiritual “Give Me Jesus.”

Powery also spoke in the Conn Center on Thursday, Feb. 28 at Lee’s regularly scheduled chapel service.

Luke Powery is the dean of Duke Chapel and an associate professor of the practice of homiletics at Duke Divinity School. He received his ThD from Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, his MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his BA in music with a concentration in vocal performance from Stanford University.