Published: Jan. 16, 1997

Boulder-area singers are invited to participate Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 in the Gospel Music Festival, a long-standing and popular event during CU-Boulder1s annual observance of Black Awareness Month.

The two-day festival will be directed and conducted by Horace Clarence Boyer, professor of music theory and Afro-American music at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Boyer has conducted the festival since it began 10 years ago.

The Gospel Music Festival will be preceded by a rehearsal on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 3485 Stanford Court.

The combined choirs of Mount Calvary, the Second Baptist Church of Boulder Community Choir and the Second Baptist Church Men1s Choir will give a performance conducted by Boyer on Sunday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m. in Mount Calvary Lutheran Church. The performance is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception.

Any interested singer who attends the daylong Saturday workshop may join the three church choirs to sing in the Sunday performance. Last year more than 135 singers participated in the performance for an audience of 400.

Boyer is a vocal soloist, arranger and music director who has performed in hundreds of gospel concerts throughout the country. He was recognized by the CU Board of Regents at Boulder's summer commencement last August with a Distinguished Service Award for his work with the campus and community celebration of Black Awareness Month.

Boyer's book, "How Sweet the Sound -- The Golden Age of Gospel," was published in 1995 by Elliott and Clark Publishing, Washington, D.C. He also is the editor of a hymnal for the Episcopal Church.

Boyer is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and has taught at UMass Amherst since 1973.

Black Awareness Month is a series of discussions, live performances, music, films and social, educational and entertainment events scheduled throughout February at CU-Boulder.

For information on the Gospel Festival call Mount Calvary Lutheran Church at (303) 499-1444. For information about Black Awareness Month call (303) 492-6431.