Noted composer, arranger, pianist, music educator, vocal coach, liturgical musician and clinician, Jacqueline Hairston will be presented the Howard Thurman Award at Fellowship Church’s 70th anniversary celebration and 19th annual Howard Thurman Convocation, Sunday, Oct. 19, 3 p.m., 2041 Larkin St. at Broadway, San Francisco.
Founded in 1944 by Drs. Howard Thurman and Alfred Fisk, the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples is the nation’s first fully interracial, interfaith congregation. Its focus is to bring people of diverse backgrounds together for profound spiritual experiences over a sufficient duration of time with the conviction that there would emerge among the people a sense of common ground that would undercut all the barriers that prevent deep community from being realized.
The Howard Thurman Convocation honors the life and works of Dr. Thurman. Described as a 20th century holy man by Dr. Lerone Bennett of Ebony Magazine, Dr. Thurman was probably the most prolific Black religious thinker and writer of the last century. The author of more than 20 books, he was also a mentor to some of the most dynamic and effective religious leaders the nation has produced, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Howard Thurman Award honors people or organizations whose works reflect and extend Dr. Thurman’s legacy. Past recipients include Danny Glover, Gloria La Riva, Leslie Feinberg, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Nelson Johnson, Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr., Rev. Cecil Williams, Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Chaplain James Yee Sr., Bernie Galvan and Friends of Negro Spirituals.
Jacqui is a product of Juilliard, Howard University and Columbia University. Well known as an award-winning ASCAP composer-arranger, pianist and music educator, she is a recipient of SF Channel 5 TV’s Jefferson Award for Preserving Negro Spirituals with similar recognition from Friends of Negro Spirituals.
Noted composer, arranger, pianist, music educator, vocal coach, liturgical musician and clinician, Jacqueline Hairston will be presented the Howard Thurman Award at Fellowship Church’s 70th anniversary celebration and 19th annual Howard Thurman Convocation, Sunday, Oct. 19, 3 p.m., 2041 Larkin St. at Broadway, San Francisco.
Her arrangements of African Diasporic music resulted in her being awarded the Los Angeles Living Legends Award. An inductee into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame for Culture and Art, Hairston’s works have been performed by renowned solo artists such as Kathleen Battle, Grace Bumbry, Denyce Graves and the late William Warfield as well as by orchestras worldwide.
In 2012 she made her Carnegie Hall debut as invited guest conductor with 300 singers from around the country performing her trademark choral arrangements of spirituals. She is slated to return to Carnegie Hall in 2016 with a performance that includes tributes to Pulitzer Prize writer Alice Walker, jazz phenomenon Wynton Marsalis, exquisite interpreter of African Diaspora music Kathleen Battle plus selected choral groups.
Additional performers at the convocation include Dr. Carl Blake, internationally acclaimed pianist; Pope Flyne, master drummer from Ghana; and inspiring sopranos Dr. Helen Dilworth and Gloria Taylor.
Drs. Dorsey O. Blake and Kathryn L. Benton are the current ministers. For more information, please visit our website, www.fellowhshipsf.org, or call 415-776-4910.