St. Bernardine Choir celebrates 50 years of song, spirit and community

The joyful sound of 75 voices singing in praise filled St. Bernardine Catholic Church all the way up to its trademark gold dome July 27 as the church’s beloved choir celebrated its 50th anniversary with a reunion concert.

Featuring both prior and current members and directors, the choir performed for almost three hours to a sold-out house – 500 tickets total.

“It’s great to see a full church,” said Monsignor Richard J. Bozzelli, pastor of St. Bernardine, just before the concert began. “If you’re going to have a successful church, especially an African American church, you need to have good preaching and good music. That’s very important.”

The choir’s legacy was front and center – not just in the music, but in the lives it has shaped.

Though billed as a special guest, Darryl Jordan made it clear his connection ran deeper.
“I’m a son of the church,” he said from the piano, recalling his upbringing at St. Bernardine with his mother. “Because of the joy of this choir, I learned about the Lord.” Now a professional performer and music professor in New York City, Jordan added after the concert, “This choir meant a lot. They taught me and trained me, and I kept going.”

The celebration also paid tribute to those who paved the way. A moving video memorial honored deceased choir members, greeted with applause and cheers as familiar names and faces filled the screen. When Roger L. Holliman’s name appeared, the audience rose in a spontaneous standing ovation.

Many credit Holliman, hired in 1975 when the parish registry was dwindling, with building the choir into a powerful force for growth and unity.

“We started rehearsing Thursdays,” recalled longtime member Cheryl Tami Godsey, known for her vivid memory of those early years. “We started playing, people started coming to hear us specifically.”
Just 15 when Holliman arrived, Godsey remembered how he made the choir a cornerstone of the parish.

“Roger made sure we processed in every Sunday and that we processed out,” she said. “Not only did we process out, but we would line the steps to the bottom of Edmonson Avenue, and we would continue to sing and sing, and cars would stop, and cars would beep. And the church started becoming more and more filled.”

In the decades since, the choir has achieved milestones that rival professional ensembles: two albums, two singles, an NBC-televised performance and even trips to Rome to perform for St. Pope John Paul II.

Rita Alleyne, a choir member since 1979, traveled to Rome and performed for the pope and in two concerts alongside the Hawkins family, Wintley Phipps and Jesse Jackson.

“We weren’t as well known as the other groups were, but I believe that because we were Catholic, we felt like we were the stars,” Alleyne said. “That was like one of the best things to happen to me.”

The spirit of that era still lives. Under current director Tony Smalls, the choir continues the tradition of processing in and out during liturgies – tambourines in hand, filling the space with movement and music. The reunion concert honored that tradition as returning members joined current ones, proceeding down the aisles and greeting the audience.

“This is beautiful to see all the old members come back for this anniversary,” said Denise Stanley, a parishioner for 25 years. “This is a true blessing.”

James Butler, who joined the choir in 1982, summed up what makes it more than just a music ministry.
“No matter who comes and goes, we all remain family,” he said. “That is one thing special about this choir. That is very special. I think that is why folks enjoy coming here. They have a sense of family when they come.”

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

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