Berklee Gospel and Roots Choir to Perform at Newport Folk Festival

For the third year in a row, the Berklee Gospel and Roots Choir will perform at the Newport Folk Festival. Led by assistant professor Nedelka Prescod, the choir will open the third and final day of the festival on Sunday, July 26.

In 2014, Hozier, one of the festival headliners, invited the group to perform “Work Song” with him on stage. The performance was lauded by Grass Clippings as a favorite moment from the 2014 festival as well as one of Hozier’s performances that “takes the taco.” Amazon Front Row placed the impromptu on-stage collaboration on its 10 Most Memorable Moments list as “one of the most celebrated sets of the weekend” and a “stunning performance.”

Watch the Berklee Gospel and Roots Choir perform with Hozier. 

During the 2013 festival, Paste invited the choir to perform in the “Paste Ruins,” the media outlet’s on-site headquarters within Fort Adams for the festival. Paste’s Dacey Orr writes, “The Berklee Gospel and Roots Choir was a special treat, filling the Ruins with soulful harmonies and drawing in just about anyone who passed with their big sound.”  Read the write-up and watch the group's performance of “Chain Gang.”

Led by Prescod since 2013, the Berklee Gospel and Roots Choir melds gospel and roots with blues and jazz improvisation. The group members are altos Jennifer Criss, Virginia McMahon, and Wambura Mitaru; basses Elin Sandberg and Jscott Martin, who also sings as a tenor; sopranos Agata Kulis, Chelsea Pedano, Ildrys Diaz, and Lisa Oduor Noah; tenors Alexandra Ivan, Christopher (CJ) Alexander, and Shannon Wilson; Desmond (DJ) Scaife as a tenor and organist; drummer Bradley E. Hamilton; guitarist Juan Andrew Carreno; and pianist Tomas Kaco. 
 

Liz Lupton is a publicist in the Office of Media Relations. Media inquiries: llupton@berklee.edu.