Rolling Harmony was privileged to have a special masterclass with Dr Kathy Bullock, the world-renowned gospel leader from Berea, Kentucky.
It was an incredible opportunity for us to work with Kathy on two concert spirituals, hugely enriching our understanding and insight into these timeless songs: We shall walk through the valley of peace arranged by Moses Hogan and Get Away Jordan arranged by Stacey Gibbs.
Kathy was able to share an inspiring message sent to Rolling Harmony by Dr Everett McCorvey, Director of the African American Spiritual Ensemble:
“I would say that “We Shall walk Through The Valley in Peace” has one of the most profound texts found in all of Spirituals. Imagine a group of people who longed for freedom and longed for a place to call home. And throughout all of their struggles and all of the cruelties that they endured, the main thing that they wanted was peace, and a place to call home. It’s not so unsimilar to todays struggles. With wars in so many parts of the world, the escalating conflicts in the Middle East, the divisive political wars in the US, we seem to be a world that is so divided. Yet, I am convinced that in the midst of all of this strife, we all want the same things. We want to be able to provide for our families; we want to be able to raise our children in a peaceful environment; we want to feel safe, and we want to live in a world where we can be respected, supported and live without fear. In other words, we, as a people, want to walk through OUR Valley, in peace.”
We found this message deeply moving and uplifting, and look forward to sharing it with our audiences whenever we perform this song.
Kathy also shared insight from composer Stacey Gibbs, who has created a superb arrangement of Get Away Jordan, influenced by the rhythms and harmonies of the 10x Grammy Award winning group, Take 6, yet staying true to the song’s roots.
We are so looking forward to adding these two songs to our 2025 repertoire and sharing these inspiring insights with our audiences.
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