Baltimore Choir Takes Black Church Worship to Carnegie Hall

On Pentecost Sunday, June 8, the Community Concert Choir of Baltimore will bring more than 100 voices — and the spirit of Black church worship — to Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.

Known for turning every concert into a worship experience, the choir will take the stage at the storied Isaac Stern Auditorium under the direction of its founder, Dr. Marco Merrick. Their sold-out debut, presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York, will blend Negro spirituals, gospel, and the traditions of African American sacred music into a performance Merrick insists is not about applause — but about reverence.

“Everything we do, we do in the context of worship,” Merrick says.

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The choir’s concerts are always a worship experience. “I’m not walking in the room, just start singing, get some applause, and walk out of the room,” he explains. “We’re going to have an invocation. There will be a prelude. There will be a congregational hymn. I mean, this is the framework of worship, so that I don’t want people coming in the entertainment mode,”

Merrick has been to Carnegie Hall many times as an audience member, but never imagined performing there.

“Never in my wildest dreams have I ever thought I’d be standing on that stage, not on stage singing or conducting or doing anything,” he says.

The invitation was years in the making. In 2018, Justin Zang, vice president of programs at DCINY, approached Merrick about participating in a choral performance of Handel’s “Messiah.” But the pandemic brought everything to a halt.

After Loss and Uncertainty, a Revival

By the time the group reconvened in 2022, they had suffered deep losses — 19 members had passed away during the pandemic. Merrick wasn’t sure if the choir should return. But when he held an in-person meeting to gauge interest, the turnout was overwhelming.

“The auxiliary came, choir members came. It was like a huge reunion,” Merrick says.
I said, ‘I don’t know what you all want to do, and I’m having this meeting to find out, do we want to continue, or do we want to be a virtual group, or do we want to wait for another time, another year or so?’ And they unanimously said, let’s hit the ground in ’23.”

DCINY’s artistic director, Jonathan Griffith, noted in the choir’s formal invitation that few ensembles meet the level of excellence required for a solo performance at Carnegie.
“You are among those selected for this very special invitation. It is only fitting that you are given this unique opportunity to perform in one of the world’s greatest concert halls, which itself represents excellence and musical achievement,” Griffith wrote.

A Choir Born of Community and Purpose

Founded in 2010, the choir, which is independent of church affiliations, was never meant to be permanent. Merrick initially imagined a one-time concert, something seasonal, but patrons and singers would demand more. “I’m thinking I’m doing this kind of one-and-done choir,” he says. But a benefit performance to raise money for Alpha Phi Alpha scholarships brought in twice the number of singers he expected — and the community never let it go.

“I thought I was gonna get about 40 people to show up for the first rehearsal. Actually, 80 people showed up. People I didn’t know,” he says. “The concert ended up with more than 100 people in the choir and a packed church at three o’clock for a four o’clock concert.”

Today, the choir not only performs but also fundraises for youth programs, such as the Alpha Beautillion, Singing Sensations, and ArtCentric. And for some members, Merrick says, the choir has become more than a group — it’s become their spiritual home.

“We are representing Baltimore, Maryland, and the Black church. The mission of the choir is to preserve and promote the sacred music tradition of the African-American church,” Merrick says. “So let it not be lost on this experience that this is a representation of what has embodied the Black church. Our presentation will start with the Negro spiritual, and we will literally culminate with this medley of gospel and Richard Smallwood.”