Essence of Joy to Perform at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Pennsylvania
State University’s Essence of Joy performing at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
Church

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church will be hosting Penn
State’s Essence of Joy Choir on Saturday, March 1st, 7:30 p.m., Holy
Trinity’s Grand Room, 985 Providence Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

Essence of Joy (EOJ), under the direction of Dr. Anthony
Leach, performs sacred and secular music from the African/African American traditions.  The theme for this concert is, “We Are
the Dream” and will feature works by Moses Hogan, Stan Spottswood, Christopher
Harris, Mark O’Reilly, Daniel Hughes, Greg Booth, Percy Gray Jr., and more. 

The choir was created in 1992 after Leach accepted an
invitation in the fall of 1991 to provide music for the annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Memorial Banquet sponsored by Penn State’s Forum on Black
Affairs.  After inviting singers
from various Penn State choirs to perform at the event, the 24 singers who
accepted the invitation became the first edition of EOJ.

A native of Washington, D.C., Leach, has taught choral and
general music for 14 years in Maryland, New York City and Pennsylvania prior to
joining PSU in 1994.  A Laureate
Professor during the 2009 -2010 academic year, Leach serves as conductor for
Penn State’s University Choir, EOJ, the Essence of Joy Alumni Singers, Essence
2 – involving singers from the local State College community -- and is artist-in-residence
at the New Bethel Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.  He has served as co-conductor of the World Youth Choir, an
accompanist for the United Negro College Fund Choir and the Howard University
Choirs in Washington, D.C.

EOJ, one of eight faculty-conducted choirs in the PSU School
of Music, has performed for national conventions of the American Choral
Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference and the
NAACP.  Over the years, this choir
has provided numerous opportunities for Penn State students to explore a rich,
cultural heritage that has endeared this ensemble to audiences at Penn State,
across Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.  It has also completed international
tours of Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, France, South Africa, Taiwan, South
Korea and Japan.

Donations of non-perishable food items are being accepted at
the concert to benefit FOCUS Pittsburgh, a local chapter of FOCUS North America.  FOCUS is a national movement of
Orthodox Christians united in finding a solution to poverty.  Items needed include:  cereal, macaroni and cheese, canned
fruits, vegetables and tuna, chicken and salmon, pasta, peanut butter and
complete meal boxes.

Tickets are $25 per person and the concert is recommended
for ages 10 and above.   A
portion of the proceeds benefit Holy Trinity’s Capital Campaign.  For more information, contact Kathy
Balouris at 412.610.1952.