Image
The Atlanta University Center Community Chorus (AUCCC) was founded in 1966 to provide concert and commencement music for the Atlanta University Summer School. A notice from the late Dr. Wendell P. Whalum, the founding director of the Chorus, to a few experienced singers in the community brought an overwhelming response and they assembled each week for rehearsals.
From the beginning, the Chorus sought to give special attention to performance of Negro Spirituals. In recent years, other works by African-American composers and arrangers as well as a diverse repertoire by European classical composers have been included. This has remained the program format. The organization also sought to give local soloists opportunities to share their talents and training with audiences throughout the state and elsewhere.
In 1971, Dr. Thomas J. Anderson, who edited and orchestrated Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, invited the Chorus to take part in the world premier of this exciting opera. His invitation was accepted and immediate attention to this group resulted. Under the direction of Dr. Whalum, the Chorus was selected to sing during the Inauguration Ceremony of President Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C.
As a memorial and loving tribute to our founder, the AUCCC is now known as the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus, carrying on in the spirit and tradition of Dr. Whalum and continuing to bring to the community the same caliber of music it has always provided, as well as remaining true to our original purpose and goals.
Morehouse College and the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association (MAMA) presented Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem featuring the AUCCC in a memorial for founder Dr. Wendell P. Whalum in March 1989. Many members of past association participated along with guest artists and orchestras.
Under the direction of Dr. David Morrow, a 1980 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, the Chorus has since participated in such events as the U.S. Freedom Tour Academic Convocation for Nelson Mandela (June 1990). The program included the singing of Nkosi Sikelel’i Afrika in the Xhosa dialect. In addition, the Chorus provided the music for the dedication of Atlanta’s New City Hall. They also appeared in the Cultural Olympiad of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
The Chorus appeared in The Robert Nathaniel Dett 125th Birthday Celebration Choral Festival, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tennessee, in October 2007. In July 2008, the Chorus performed in the Opening Day Program of the National Association of Negro Musicians’ 89th Annual Convention, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
On November 20, 2016, the Chorus presented its 50th (Jubilee) Anniversary Concert, with former members participating, in Atlanta’s Allen Temple A.M.E Church, where Dr. Whalum was once the Minister of Music and many of the Chorus members attended.
In May 2022, the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus, as one of five choirs, performed Chariot Jubilee by R. Nathaniel Dett and I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes by Adolphus Hailstork at Carnegie Hall, through MidAmerica Productions. Both compositions were conducted by David Morrow.
