The World House Choir will travel to the Chillicothe, Ohio, on Thursday evening, February 13, to sing a Black History program with the NIA Men’s Chorus inside the Chillicothe Correctional Institution (CCI). NIA Men’s Chorus was founded over a year ago at CCI and is also under the direction of WHC artistic director, Dr. Catherine Roma.
Each choir will perform four or five pieces. NIA will sing several selections composed by men in the chorus. Among the WHC selections are “Lift Ev’ry Voice & Sing” and soloist Phillip O’Rourke will lead the rousing “Sing Out, March On.” Together, the choirs will sing “Feel Like Going On.”
Dion Green, a notable figure from Dayton who has gained recognition for his advocacy and community work following the tragic mass shooting in Dayton on August 4, 2019, will give a keynote address, “My Story: From Prison to Redemption.”
Over the last ten years, the World House Choir has performed in several Ohio prisons including Warren Correctional, Madison Correctional, London Correctional, Dayton Correctional, Marion Correctional, as well as Chillicothe.
The level of excitement and energy is palpable when the groups perform for each other. The concert is open to the general prison population at CCI. To top off the whole program Bishop Todd O’Neal will lead congregational singing from the piano, singing such selections as “This Little Light of Mine” and “We Shall Overcome.”