The Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir
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The dynamic singers and drummers of the Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir will make their Marin Center debut. The magnificently arranged and harmonized songs of the Senegal Choir are taken from the folklore and tradition of Senegal and truly signify aspects of Senegalese life.
The Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir was founded in 1950 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s Ambassador Artist for Peace, Mr. Julien Jouga (1931-2001). Having an earnest pride for his country and its culture, Mr. Jouga, a true visionary in the development and preservation of the Senegalese Culture, was a fervent musician dedicated to the development of Catholic Choral singing utilizing the styles of Gregorian chant to polyphony inspired by the indigenous harmonic forms of Senegalese music.
Established more than forty-four years ago, the Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir is now led by Music Director, Mr. Ambroise N'Diong, and is composed of the Cathedral’s chorale, that of St. Joseph’s of Medina, who each Sunday, in the heart of Dakar’s most working-class neighborhood, interprets Gospel/Negro Spirituals, traditional African Songs, and the magnificent masses that Julien Jouga composed in his country’s four national languages: Ouolof, Diola, Sérère and Portugese Creole.
The voices – to which drums, guitar and kora are occasionally added – rise in a local polyphony signifying aspects of everyday life in Senegal. An ecumenical partisan, Mr. Jouga interpreted and combined both the Catholic liturgy and the indigenous Muslim songs of Senegal to create an extraordinary harmony between the two cultures that comprise the nation of Senegal. The Senegal St. Joseph Gospel Choir therefore represents the humanity and the fraternity that exists within the Capital City, Dakar, and throughout the country of Senegal.