EUGENE–A performance by one of the nation’s top gospel choirs and a children’s concert introducing the brass family of instruments are scheduled this week at the University of Oregon School of Music, 961 E. 18th Ave.

For more information, call the UO School of Music weekdays at (541) 346-5678. To confirm concert times and ticket information, call GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2533, for a 24-hours-a-day taped message of the week’s events.

The Young Inspiration Gospel Choir, a nationally acclaimed ensemble from the University of California at Berkeley, will give a free concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall,
961 E. 18th Ave.

Under the leadership of its founding director, Silvester Carl Henderson, the Young Inspiration Gospel Choir will perform such selections as "Center of My Joy" and "Total Praise" by Richard Smallwood, "Heaven Belongs To You" by James Bignon, "Rock of Ages" by Tim Harris and "We Sing Praises to The King" by Marshall Carpenter.

The Young Inspiration Gospel Choir was formed in 1985 in an effort to earn "the gospel song" academic recognition as an African American art form. Although the choir’s original membership was all African American, the choir immediately attracted the interest and support of Asians, Europeans, Latino Americans and the University of California’s international students.

The choir has performed with such gospel and jazz greats as Richard Smallwood,
Rev. Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir, Rev. Quincey Fielding Jr., Lynette Hawkins Stephens, V. Michael McKay, Lawrence Matthews and Friends, Calvin Bernard Rhone, Michael Fletcher, Rickey Grundy and Melanie Daniels, Mariah Carey’s vocal coach.

The choir recorded its first live album in 1992, titled "The Gospel Experience." The African American Gospel Music Division of the Smithsonian Institution honored the album, placing it in the institution’s permanent collection and naming the Young Inspiration Gospel Choir the "finest university gospel choir in the nation." The choir was nominated by the Gospel Academy Awards in both 1994 and 1998 as "Choir of the Year."

Director Silvester Henderson is a professor of African American studies and music at the University of California, Berkeley, and is also director of choral activities at Los Medanos Community College, where he directs three choirs and teaches voice classes and music theory.

Henderson also serves as minister of music at the Bay Area’s 4,000-member Palma Ceia Baptist Church.

The Oregon Brass Quintet will present a special children’s program titled "The Brilliance of Brass." The one-hour program begins at 10:30 a.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $3 for adults, $2 for children and students, or $5 for a family ticket.

The Oregon Brass Quintet, a UO faculty ensemble, is composed of trumpeters George Recker and Steve Dunn, hornist Ellen Campbell, trombonist Jeffrey Williams and tubist Drew Gamet.

Youngsters and their parents will learn about all the instruments of the brass family and hear a program containing fun demonstrations, rousing fanfares and familiar tunes.

The Children’s Concert Series, subtitled "Lively Music for Young Listeners," is designed to present children ages 3—12 with a variety of interesting listening experiences, and to expose them to a broad musical spectrum that they might not otherwise encounter.

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