On February 28, Boston Latin School Gospel Choir celebrated the life and legacy of Ms. Roseanna Fernandes, a beloved music teacher at BLS for 26 years and founder of the Choir in the 1980s.
The celebration took place in the auditorium, where the Gospel Choir’s program consisted of 11 songs, marking it as the most robust program they had rehearsed this year. The Choir also invited past alumni to sing with them at the celebration for the first time since the portrait unveiling ceremony of former Head of School Rachel Skerritt in November.
In preparation, the Choir first assembled individual recordings of all the planned songs and sent them to the students and alumni. Then, on the Saturday before the celebration, the alumni and students gathered for the first time to rehearse. The tight schedule required everyone to bring their best efforts.
Gospel Choir member Tony Zhang (I) reflects, “Since I joined this year, I have always been surprised by how enthusiastic and lively everyone is at rehearsals. […] This time, we had practiced a total of 11 songs, which meant it was more stressful than usual, but I can tell [Ms. Lewis Bradford] always puts a lot of effort into maintaining a happy mood.”
Ms. Kristen George and Mr. Brian Simmons, both former Gospel Choir leaders at BLS, helped organize the event. Along with Ms. Koriana Lewis Bradford, the faculty advisor of Gospel Choir, they put together the program, created advertisements and decorated the auditorium to prepare for the celebration.
The evening also featured a collaboration with the Rose Conservatory, which was founded by Ms. Fer-
nandes’s son Greg Fernandes and provides musical access for members of the Brockton community. The con-
servatory students presented several performances, including
drums, singing and a full orchestra, culminating in a grand finale of singing “Oh Happy Day” with the Gospel Choir.
Ms. George also conducted the song “Brighter Day” by Kirk Franklin, which the Choir performed with basic choreography, including side-stepping and clapping. The performance used songs that included stories about the history of Gospel music and highlighted the influence of the music on many other popular genres, such as Rhythm & Blues and jazz.
Ms. Lewis Bradford comments, “Seeing three generations of people impacted by Ms. Fernandes’s legacy united to sing on one stage was incredibly moving.”
This event was a continuation of the first Gospel Fest, which BLS hosted in 2019. This program included other local gospel groups, members of the Boston Arts Academy and some choirs from local churches. It was originally intended to be held every two years but was disrupted by the pandemic. However, the music department hopes to bring back the tradition and build community through gospel music.
In the next few months, Gospel Choir plans to perform at the Massachusetts Instrumental Choral and Conductors Association on April 4 and Music Night on May 1.
Program Director for the Visual and Performing Arts Department Ms. Margaret McKenna summarizes, “It was pure joy. […] It wasn’t a somber memorial; it was all just celebratory and happiness and living life to your fullest and bringing it through song.”