Celebrating 40 years of performing African American spirituals all over the world, the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers will gather many of the 170 singers who have performed with the ensemble for a reunion concert Nov. 1 at St. Bernadette Church in Los Angeles.

In addition to the rich repertoire of spirituals for which the Jubilee Singers are famous, the group will sing Gospel Mass composed in 1978 by Dr. Robert Ray, professor of music at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and also perform a set of secular songs and choreographed Broadway selections. The concert is a fundraiser for St. Bernadette parish.

The Jubilee singers are named for founder Albert McNeil, a native of Los Angeles who as a child sang at St. Joseph Church downtown and is currently a parishioner of St. James in Redondo Beach. He earned Bachelor and Master degrees at UCLA, and did his doctoral studies at USC, the Westminster Choir College of Princeton, and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. McNeil is a former teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, professor of Ethnomusicology at USC, and director of Choral Activities at the University of California at Davis where he also headed the Music Education Program.

McNeil has personal ties to the Baldwin Hills community served by St. Bernadette. He once owned a home in the area, but lost it in a flood caused by a failed levee in 1963. After meeting St. Bernadette's pastor, Father Allan Roberts, through a parish cantor who once sang for him, McNeil became interested in doing something to help the parish which, like so many others, is struggling financially in today's tough economy.

"I am very passionate about this concert and I want to help keep this parish going," McNeil told The Tidings, adding that the professional singers who will perform are donating much of their time so that a substantial donation can be made to the parish from concert proceeds.

Noted Father Roberts: "I am impressed with the splendid performances of the Jubilee Singers, and I am looking forward to their well-polished and beautiful renditions of spirituals and gospel music here at St. Bernadette."

The Jubilee Singers are an ensemble of 12 to 15 singers who perform most of their music a cappela (without instrumental accompaniment). Under McNeil's direction they have performed in more than 70 countries. During the summer of 1997 they completed their third tour of South America after numerous transcontinental tours of the U.S., Hawaii, and Canada.

Although their focus is the rich genre of African American music known as the Negro Spiritual, they also perform choral music of African American composers, opera and theatre music. The singers are all excellent musicians and performers who are dedicated to spreading the joy and heritage of the music.

"The music can transcend race and cultures," notes Aleta Braxton, a former Jubilee singer and lifelong acquaintance of Albert McNeil. "It's beautiful. It's fun. It's upbeat and uplifting." People all over the world, she adds, find a connection in the Jubilee Singers' performances. "The music communicates to people on several levels, and really it's part of everyone's history."

Reminiscing about her time with the Jubilee Singers, Braxton observed that European audiences seemed especially drawn to the concerts. She discovered that, during tours of Germany and Switzerland in the 1990s, her German language skills augmented the language of music for both the group and the audiences.

"Since I speak a bit of German, I did a lot of translating for the rest of the group," she recalls. "Al (McNeil) got wind of this and brought me out during each concert to speak to the audience. It was a lot of fun and forced me to brush up on my German. There are very few black people in Germany and Switzerland, and most of the shows were completely full."

In addition to their international fame, McNeil and the Jubilee Singers have the respect and recognition of national choral organizations and audiences. McNeil has been honored on four occasions with "Command Performances" before the prestigious American Choral Directors Association, most recently in 2000, during the ACDA Western Division Convention at Loyola Marymount University.

The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers' concert takes place Nov. 1, 4 p.m. at St. Bernadette Church, 3825 Don Felipe Dr., Los Angeles. Tickets are $20; for information, call (323) 293-4877.