MCLA PRESENTS! MARGRET A. HART '35 GOSPEL FEST

NORTH ADAMS, MA - Pioneering gospel a cappella group The Persuasions will headline this year's Margaret A. Heart '35 Gospel Fest on Friday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the Church Street Center at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for the next MCLA Presents! performance.

Sharing the stage with the Persuasions will be Williams College Gospel Choir, Berkshire North County Ecumenical Gospel Choir, Price AME Church Choir and the Visions in Praise step team from Clark University. All proceeds from this annual event will go to the Margaret A. Hart '35 scholarship fund. Hart was the first person of color to graduate from MCLA (then North Adams State) and the first person of color to teach in the Berkshire public school system.

"It is always great to be able to bring communities together," said Jonathan Secor, MCLA director of special programs. "There are some perennial favorites like the Price AME and Williams College Gospel choirs, and some new favorites like the North County Ecumenical Gospel Choir. Performing for the first time this year will be the Visions in Peace step team. And to be able to culminate this fundraiser with the kings of a capella for the last half of a century - The Persuasions - is a true treat."

The Persuasions are in their 45th year as America's foremost a capella singing group. They have produced 25 CDs ranging from a children's and a Christmas recording to their more recent series of tribute albums to groups such as U-2, The Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Grateful Dead. They have performed with Liza Minelli, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, The Neville Brothers, Country Joe McDonald and B.B. King.
Their music has turned up in films from "Joe and the Volcano" to "E.T," and they continue to tour internationally, delighting audiences with their unique and soulful sound, based in clear gospel roots, Secor said.

The Williams College Gospel Choir - a Christian-based group that worships God through song and prayer - aims to foster love and compassion among the members and with the student body. Berkshires Ecumenical Gospel Choir, a group of 40-plus singers from churches throughout the Northern Berkshires.
Vision in Praise (VIP) was created in 2004 by students through the Christian Campus Ministry at Clark University.

The Margaret A. Hart '35 Gospel Fest is produced in association with MCLA's African, Latino, Asian and Native American Association (ALANA). All proceeds from this concert will go to the Margaret Hart Scholarship fund at MCLA.Tickets for general admission are $12, $5 for MCLA facility and staff. MCLA Presents! members and MCLA students are free. To reserve tickets, call (413) 662-5204. For more information, go to www.mcla.edu/presents .