Dec. 22, 2019
Virginia Union University Ensemble in Hungary, Italy for Holiday Season
By George Copeland Jr.
Members of the Virginia Union University Select Ensemble perform with J. David Bratton and his choir, “Every Praise,” in Budapest, Hungary as part of a 28-day European tour. PHOTO/Courtesy/Virginia Union University
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - People in Hungary and Italy are getting a helping of good gospel music this holiday as 22 members of Virginia Union University’s Select Ensemble join eight singers and musicians from around the United States — part of gospel music mega producer J. David Bratton’s “Every Praise” gospel group — to tour Europe.
The VUU students have been a “phenomenal” part of the tour, Bratton told the Free Press on Tuesday in a phone interview from Asti, a town in northwestern Italy, where the group was to perform that night.
The group left Richmond Dec. 7 for a 28-day tour to roughly 16 locales ranging from Budapest to Perugia and Rome, where they have scheduled performances through the New Year.
The students, Bratton said, “are a great representation of the heart of the school.” He said the response to the music has been so positive that concertgoers in Hungary and Italy have contacted VUU asking where they can get CDs and videos to hear more.
“The choir is extraordinary,” said Mauritzio Manfrini, tour promoter for the group in Italy. “People love them in any moment — from the beginning to the end.”
Friends and family members had the chance to see the choir in action during a live stream on social media of the choir’s sell-out concert Monday at the Teatro Nazionale CheBanca in Milan. It was their seventh sold-out performance during the tour.
The reaction from fans at home was just as enthusiastic as the audiences the choir has seen from the stage.
“My phone was blowing up with text messages and phone calls saying how amazing we sounded,” said tenor Kennard Jones, a senior from Capitol Heights, Md. “The love and support that we received from our peers was amazing.”
The VUU Select Ensemble became part of the tour in large part because of Bratton’s longtime association with VUU President Hakim J. Lucas. Bratton, a 2007 Dove Award nominee for the song “Every Praise” performed by Bishop Hezekiah Walker, is a student at VUU’s Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology. He also played a key role in Dr. Lucas’ official presidential inauguration in October, when Mr. Bratton, Bishop Walker and Every Praise performed.
Bratton expressed an interest in adding VUU singers to his group for the European tour. When a choir set to join Every Praise on the European tour dropped out, Bratton said he jumped on the opportunity to utilize the school’s musical talent.
Following an open audition in October and a month and a half of rehearsals, the 22 students and eight musicians were ready to be “ambassadors for the school here in Europe,” Bratton said. “They have represented the school and the state of Virginia and the city of Richmond at the highest possible level.”
The group hasn’t solely been singing and taking in the sights of Europe. They also have provided aid in their own way. Some of their concerts have been charity events, helping to raise $5,000 for a boy with leukemia and $3,000 for victims of a house fire, VUU officials said.
“As students, we’re just so grateful for this opportunity,” Mr. Jones said, noting that for many students, it is their first time traveling outside the United States.
While the tour is scheduled to end on Jan. 3, Mr. Bratton has many ideas in the works, including plans for a live recording at VUU in 2020 and a possible tour around Easter.
Bratton said he will be joining the VUU faculty in January.
The VUU students on tour are eager about what the next few days will bring, even if it means missing Christmas with their families in the states.
“It’s just been a true blessing thus far,” Jones said. “We really can’t wait to see where this will head in the near future.”