Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. in Brooklyn

(Brooklyn, NY – February 11, 2011) – The Music Ministry at Elim International Fellowship will host a Black History Month celebration concert on Sunday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. The concert will be held at Elim International Fellowship, 20 Madison Street (between Classon and Franklin). The concert was developed by Frank Haye, Director of the Choir Academy at the Elim Conservatory of Music at Elim International Fellowship, to celebrate the rich musical history of Brooklyn and to highlight exciting new groups that are sure to have a future impact on the borough, New York City and the gospel and music industry nationwide. The concert will feature The Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir, MANIFEST, the Elim Cathedral Choir, and other special guests.

The Brooklyn Community Choir (BIC) is a new community choir under the direction of accomplished musician, choral director, composer and producer Frank A. Haye, a co-founder of the group. The group will make its first official appearance when it performs in the Black History Month Celebration Concert. With a motto of “One Great City, One Great Choir to the Glory of God,” BIC both reflects and celebrates the diverse cultures and neighborhoods of the Borough of Brooklyn and The City of New York. The auditioned choir of talented and dedicated vocalists and musicians are ambassadors who are committed to bringing people together through artistic expression. To that end, BIC performs at music festivals, concert halls, houses of worship, community activities and private functions throughout the city and around the country. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Council Member Letitia James co-hosted the event at Brooklyn Borough Hall announcing the formation of BIC in June 2010.The group will hold its first full concert in the late spring.

MANIFEST is an all-male choral group, which made its performing debut at the Triad Theater in New York City on Friday, February 4, 2011. Many of the members of the group sang together as part of Men Voicing Praise, the men’s ensemble at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brooklyn. Under the direction of Jonathan P. Hicks, the group‘s repertoire includes a range of original songs that span a number of musical genres from traditional gospel, to contemporary gospel, to jazz-infused inspirational songs, to Christian hip hop. The mission of MANIFEST is to deliver the message of Christ to the people of God in non-traditional venues and to reach people in places and in methods that allow them to connect with Him outside of traditional church settings. They also aim to assist churches who are seeking to reach audiences far beyond their current congregations as well as to assist fledgling churches that are struggling with establishing music ministries. The group currently is working on its first CD project.

The Elim Cathedral Choir was started by Frank Haye in the spring of 2010. The 50-member, multigenerational choir is composed of both members of Elim and community members. They minister at Sunday Services and at community events throughout the city.

The concert is free and open to the public. A special offering will be collected during the concert to raise funds for the church’s much-need restoration project.  Elim supports a number of community based activities in its facilities and lends support to BIC and MANIFEST by providing them with rehearsal space.

Black History Month Celebration Concert
Sunday, February 27, 2011
4 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Elim International Fellowship, Temple (Main Sanctuary)
20 Madison Str. (Between Classon and Franklin Avenues)
Admission: Free

ABOUT FRANK A. HAYE
Frank A. Haye discovered his passion and talent for music at a young age and has been performing since he was 12 years old. A vocalist and conductor, Haye also plays multiple instruments, including violin, flute, piano, organ, oboe, clarinet and trumpet. He served as the assistant director for the Boys Choir of Harlem from 1995 to 1998 and as the Pastor of the Sacred Arts Ministry for Emmanuel Baptist Church from 1998 to 2010. Under his direction Emmanuel’s Total Praise Choir ministered around the country and as far away as South Africa. They performed at Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Summer Stage in Central Park, and Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park, among other venues. They have performed with artists such as Aretha Franklin at the NBC Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting (2009), Shirley Murdock, Carla Cook, Ken Hicks and several others.

Haye has also served as choir director for Butler Memorial United Methodist Church in the Bronx, New York, where he instituted a music conservatory to train singers and musicians. He started Revelation, a community gospel choir in the Bronx, and he continues to serve as conductor for the Symphony St. Paulia – a gathering of classical musicians of African decent. Haye has worked as producer, composer and arranger for CDs for Total Praise, the Boys Choir of Harlem and the Butler Church’s Spirit -N Black Youth Choir. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Brooklyn College and a visiting professor of music at New York University and The University of the West Indies. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, and received a fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in musicology and conducting. Haye served for more than two years as the director of the Brooklyn College Choir, and he also instituted, for the first time, a gospel choir at the school. Currently, Haye serves as the Director of the Choir Academy at the Elim Conservatory of Music at Elim International Fellowship. He also is an adjunct professor at Bloomberg College in Bloomberg, New Jersey.