A random encounter at another St. Louis cultural institution’s program was yet another example of how St. Louis Symphony’s IN UNISON Chorus is fulfilling their mission of using music as a vehicle for cultural harmony.
A patron stopped IN UNISON director Kevin McBeth during intermission of an Opera Theatre of Saint Louis production and told him he had attended one of their concerts. The man wanted to personally congratulate him on the work that IN Unison and the orchestra was doing.
“He went on to say, ‘some of us in our community are underexposed’,” McBeth said. “That’s really what we are in the business of – exposing our audience to this wide breadth – I mean, when you think about Black music, you really have to broaden your horizons.”
IN UNISON began as a one-time performance organized to recognize the contributions of Black music in the space of symphonic choir performances and bridge cultures. It is now celebrating thirty years as a vital thread in the diverse fabric of enrichment experiences that St. Louis has to offer.
“Our [St. Louis Symphony Orchestra] music director Stéphane Denève says that music is the quickest way from one person’s heart to another,” McBeth said. “And that has really been a theme around here – and it certainly shines through the music that we do.”
Back in 1994, The Alliance of Black Pastors and the Symphony teamed up to showcase the talent found within area church choirs. The late great Dr. Robert Ray was tapped to direct and conduct the performance back in 1994. IN UNISON member Carole Hughes was one of the singers for that performance.
She was a part of the staff for the Community Relations program – which evolved into the IN Unison program. Hughes was a member of the Legend Singers when Ray informed her of auditions for the performance.
“I hopped right over and have been living the dream since the very beginning,” Hughes said.
The original plan was for the chorus to come together for a performance of Hannibal Peterson’s “African Portrait.” According to her it was a musical journey that chronicled the history of Black music in America “That piece still resonates with me,” Hughes said.
“African Portrait” is a musical timeline that begins on the continent of Africa and continues through the Contemporary Gospel of the early 1990s.
“I thought it was going to just be that one-time thing,” Carol said. “But the response was so overwhelming that they brought us back – and kept bringing us back. And I’m just going to enjoy it until I can’t open my mouth anymore.”
Ray served as IN UNISON’s founding director until he personally tapped McBeth to succeed him 14 years ago.
“I was just in awe of his work and his love of the community and his way of bringing people together,” McBeth said of him. “I’m so honored to put my feet in those very big shoes and carry the legacy.”
Over the past three decades, IN UNISON has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music through its annual Gospel Christmas and Black History Month programs. Grammy and Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday and Kinloch’s own Jenifer Lewis are among the most memorable for McBeth during his tenure.
But McBeth’s absolute favorite are the singers who come from all walks of life through a shared love of music and sense of community as members of the choir.
“This chorus is made up of retired and active people,” McBeth said. “And students and lawyers and dentists. We used to have a UPS driver who sang in our tenor section.”
For Don Hutcherson, an executive assistant by profession and an IN UNISON Chorus member since 2007, singing with them is the manifestation of a childhood dream.
“I remember going to Powell Hall as a little bitty boy for field trips to see the orchestra,” Hutcherson said. He made a boldly prophetic declaration during a visit with fellow Griffith Elementary classmates and other students from area districts.
“I remember for the second grade they played ‘Peter and the Wolf’,” he added. “And I remember as a boy saying, ‘Man, one day I want to be on that stage.’ And boom – here we are.”
When he stands on stage, Hutcherson fills his lungs with as much air as humanly possible as the orchestra is tuning. “I take a deep breath and just smile because I know it is going to be phenomenal,” Hutcherson said. “I mean, who gets to sing with a Grammy Award-winning orchestra?”
And some of his favorite moments is seeing Grammy Award winners such as BeBe Winans and Take 6 moved to emotion by their performances.
Hughes is manifesting Grammys for IN UNISON’s future.
“I believe the Symphony Chorus has won a Grammy with the orchestra,” Hughes said. “I want that for us too – I want to be on a Grammy Award-winning album with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.”
She spoke of music’s defining award, but she gets an even bigger reward every time she performs with IN UNISON. One song in particular stands out as the most impactful of them all.
“Every time we sing our National Anthem, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’” Hughes said. “To see the pride in the audience, the people singing along with us and hearing them when we sing that song. I wish you could be on the stage and look at the audience and see you all’s faces.”
IN UNISON has entered a new era that includes global significance thanks to their recent partnership with Morning Star Music Publishers.
“This is very much a defining moment for us,” McBeth said. And with the major renovations coming to our performance space, he feels this is a prime time to be a part of the St. Louis Symphony.
“I want to be able to use this wonderful platform and podium that I have to support the arts – and black music,” McBeth said. “And to bring the finest music to the community and just continue to live in that vision.”
For more information about the IN UNISON Chorus and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, visit www.slso.org.