Tradition of gospel music will be celebrated April 15 at Ernest J. Matthews College Benefit Concert

Tradition of gospel music will be celebrated April 15 at Ernest J. Matthews College Benefit ConcertMarch 16, 2006Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Gospel music will serve as the thread that connects the Syracuse University and greater Syracuse communities on April 15at the Ernest J. Matthews College Benefit Concert. The event, featuring national recording artistsJ.J. Hairston and Youthful Praise; Tye Tribbett and Greater Anointing; and Karen Clark Sheard,will be held in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium.Doors open at 4 p.m., and the concert begins at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for SU students (courtesy of the SU student activity fee) and $20 for the general public, and are currently on sale at the Schine Box Office (443-4517) and the Evangelical Church of God in Christ, Inc. (4325 S. Salina St.). Public parking will be available in the Waverly, Marion and University Place parking lots. For more information on the concert and performers, visit www.empoweringmindsmovement.com or contact Vincent E. Cobb II at 491-2761,or vecobbii@syr.edu.

The concert is hosted by the University’s Black Celestial Choral Ensemble and community partner Evangelical Church of God in Christ, and is presented by the Empowering Minds Movement (EMM) at SU. Sponsors of the event include the Office of the Chancellor, the Division of Student Affairs and U. Encounter.

The concert is held in collaboration with the Evangelical Church of God in Christ Charities. Proceeds from the concert will benefit a $5,000 scholarship that will be given to an SU student and will be presented in honor of the Evangelical Church of God in Christ founder Ernest J. Matthews. The scholarshipwill be announced at a reception earlier in the day, and the recipient will be acknowledged at the concert. For details on applying for the scholarship, visit http://www.empoweringmindsmovement.com.

“This concert, which has never been done at this caliber at Syracuse University, has received great responses from the community and students as something very new and creative to celebrate the black tradition of gospel music here at SU,” says Vincent Cobb II, a junior in The College of Arts and Sciences and co-founder of the EMM. “This event also reinforces the diversity in programming and Chancellor and President Cantor’s message of ‘connected communities.'”

“The Empowering Minds Movement inspires the enterprising mind to pioneer programs that are impacting and unique,” says Travis Mason, a senior in The College of Arts and Sciences and co-founder of the EMM. “This gospel concert embodies something refreshing, interesting and new, which captures the essence of what this whole movement is about.”

Kenneth W. Reed, pastor of the Evangelical Church of God in Christ, the co-host of the concert, says: “It is such a great honor and privilege to collaborate with Syracuse University to honor a man who made a huge impact on the greater Syracuse community. While we honor the legacy of Ernest J. Matthews, we are promoting education and stirring enthusiasm in and for gospel music on campus, celebrating the impact of the gospel and its power in uniting communities.”