Echoes from the Bell Tower

The Grammy award-winning Fisk Jubilee Singers performed at Saint Meinrad on February 27, 2025, as part of the Sacred Music and Race workshop.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an acclaimed African American a cappella ensemble from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 1871. Originally formed to raise funds for the financially struggling university, the group introduced the world to the rich tradition of African American spirituals, blending deep musical artistry with cultural and historical significance. Touring internationally, they broke racial barriers and garnered widespread acclaim, helping to preserve and elevate spirituals as a vital genre of American music. The legacy of the original ensemble continues today through modern successors who honor their groundbreaking mission and musical excellence.

The performance at Saint Meinrad included opening remarks by Dr. Karen Shadle, a musicologist and director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of Louisville and closed with a Q&A session.

Br. John Glasenapp, OSB, opened the evening with the following remarks:

Welcome and thank you! Good evening.

My name is Br. John Glasenapp, director of the Saint Meinrad Institute for Sacred Music, and it is my great privilege and a true honor to be with you this evening for this performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

This concert is offered in conjunction with the course Sacred Music and Race taught through the Saint Meinrad Graduate Theology Program. That course, which begins right now, is led by Dr. Karen Shadle, a musicologist and specialist in American sacred music. We are also very blessed and grateful to be joined by The Most Reverend Shelton Fabre, archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky and former chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.

We come to concerts for a number of reasons, most often to be entertained. And while tonight may be “entertaining,” the goal of this program of African-American spirituals is much more ambitious, important, and timely. We are here to learn and to connect, and I hope all of us will feel by the end of the night that the worlds we inhabit got a little bigger, a bit more interesting, more beautiful, and more inspiring than the one we woke up in this morning. This music and its story, particularly as it has been passed down through the Fisk Jubilee Singers, teach us who we are as spiritual people, as people with a shared past, and as people striving for a better and more united future.

The program this evening will begin with remarks by Dr. Karen Shadle, after which our performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers will begin. Following the concert, we will have a brief intermission. We will gather back in the theater at 8:15 p.m. for a discussion and Q&A that will open with remarks by Archbishop Shelton before we open the floor to questions and comments for the archbishop, Dr. G. Preston Wilson Jr., the director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and Dr. Shadle. As we begin this evening, I kindly ask that you silence your phones.

Now, it is my privilege to introduce Dr. Karen Shadle, who has served as director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of Louisville since 2016. She previously held positions in parish and campus ministry. A Louisville native, Karen earned a bachelor’s degree from Centre College and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with specializations in sacred music. In her role at the Archdiocese of Louisville, Karen is responsible for the ongoing liturgical formation of clergy and laity, offering classes on various topics related to liturgy and sacred music. She prepares Archdiocesan liturgies, often serving as choir director or master of ceremonies. Karen also teaches occasionally in the Institute for Sacred Music at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology and has recently been involved in national advisory committees for the Eucharistic Revival. Karen, her husband, and two children are members of St. Raphael the Archangel parish in Louisville. It is my great pleasure to welcome Dr. Shadle as our pre-concert speaker tonight.

View the video recording of the Fisk Jubilee Singers performance on our YouTube page.

To learn more about the Saint Meinrad Institute for Sacred Music, visit: https://www.saintmeinrad.edu/sacred-music/. The webpage is filled with upcoming events, resources, past videos, and at the very bottom, a sign-up form for our e-newsletter.

You can get a Liturgical Music Certificate from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Learn about that program here: https://www.saintmeinrad.edu/sacred-music/liturgical-music-certificate/.

If you are interested in supporting the work of the Institute for Sacred Music and helping such free and open-to-the-public programs to continue here at Saint Meinrad, please consider donating on our donation page by selecting Institute for Sacred Music as the designee:
https://4agc.com/donation_pages/2466b1b6-3ebd-4ff6-bacf-9876ee58b668

Support Fisk University and Fisk Jubilee Singers at: https://connect.fisk.edu/donate.

Video recorded by JLS Collective: https://www.jlscollective.com.