The Kids are Alright. . .

In the dead of winter 1965, famed conductor/composer William Dawson journeyed north to Alexandria, Minnesota, at the invitation of Jefferson High School Choral Director Murrae Freng, to guest conduct the annual Clinic Concert. Dawson's credentials were impeccable,  he'd run the Tuskegee Institute music department for 25 years and developed the choir there into an internationally-known ensemble. His challenge that cold weekend in Minnesota was to teach a bunch of white kids how to sing a spiritual in a traditional format. . . quite unlike anything they'd attempted to date. The music was "Ain't A That Good News" and Mr. Dawson worked tirelessly for two days to get the choir to feel the syncopation in the music. Here's a live recording from the Saturday night concert. Click on forward and judge for yourself how the kids did.