FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS
CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Featuring the first-ever Gospel Train to the Arsht Center in partnership with Miami-Dade County
Concert stars Pastor Marc Cooper and Miami Mass Choir
WPLG Local 10 Anchor Calvin Hughes to host
February 26, 2023 at 5 p.m.
FREE
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) is proud to celebrate Black History Month with a very special edition of the beloved signature series FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS starring Grammy Award nominees and Stellar Award winners Pastor Marc Cooper & Miami Mass Choir (@miamimasschoir). The Grammy nominated and Stellar Award-winning choir returns to the Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall on February 26 at 5 p.m. For this performance, all of Miami is invited to take the GOSPEL TRAIN to the Arsht Center as part of a partnership with Miami-Dade County (@miamidadecounty) to make the Center’s free programming more accessible to the community. WPLG Local 10 Anchor CALVIN HUGHES (@calvinwplg) returns as host.
Admission to FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS: PASTOR MARC COOPER & MIAMI MASS CHOIR is free, however, first-access passes* will be available starting January 27. Details here. Sign up for Arsht Center emails here and be sure to select “Community & Free Events” to be the first to know when passes for remaining performances become available.
Riders who wish to ride GOSPEL TRAIN can take Metrorail and Metromover to the Arsht Center by signing up for a free1-Day mobile pass while supplies last. A promo code to redeem the pass on the GO Miami-Dade Transit mobile app will be included with a FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS first-access pass confirmation. A special pop-up gospel performance will guide riders to the Metromover platform at Government Center station, where riders can take the Omni Loop to the Adrienne Arsht Center station.
“The Arsht Center is committed to providing world-class arts experiences to our community through free programming like Free Gospel Sundays,” said Jairo Ontiveros, vice president of arts education and community engagement at the Arsht Center. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Miami-Dade County to welcome even more of South Florida’s biggest gospel music fans.”
“We are pleased to partner with the Arsht Center on this high-quality program that builds community by exposing residents to the arts and to our transit services. It’s a win-win and we look forward to collaborating on other projects,” added Eulois Cleckley, the director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works.
Founded in 1995 in the Florida Memorial College Chapel, Miami Mass Choir is made up of more than 100 of South Florida’s top gospel singers and songwriters. The choir’s debut album, 1997’s It’s Praying Time, reached No. 25 on Billboard’s gospel albums chart and earned Miami Mass Choir the Stellar Award for Choir of the Year. Since then, the group has recorded several more albums, including Miami Mass Choir LIVE at the Adrienne Arsht Center; been nominated for a Grammy Award; and served as resident choir of the Arsht Center’s Free Gospel Sundays series.
FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS is made possible with the leadership support of Rodney and Michelle Adkins, as well as the generous support of the Green Family Foundation Trust, Baptist Health South Florida, The Israel, Rose, Henry and Robert Wiener Charitable Foundation, the Friends of Free Gospel Sundays, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
ABOUT THE ARSHT CENTER’S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS
FREE GOSPEL SUNDAYS is one of the 10 ongoing Arsht Center programs committed to community engagement and deepening the experience of the performing arts for all Miami-Dade County residents. Having served more than 105,000 people throughout its 16-year history, the programs broaden community participation and open the sights, sounds and possibilities of the world through the performing arts. New programs include: Broadway on Biscayne, a series of pre-and post- performance experiences giving audiences a closer look at the shows; and Club Broadway which brings together a cohort of teen Broadway enthusiasts for shows and workshops. Existing programs include: Family Fest (Presenting Sponsor: Baptist Health), a season of free performances featuring the world’s leading family-friendly artists; The Heritage Project (Presenting Sponsor: Bank of America), a free salon series and annual festival featuring panel discussions surrounding performing arts and social justice in the Black community; AileyCamp Miami, a full-scholarship, six-week summer dance camp which uses dance as a vehicle for the personal development of young people; CommuniTea Dance, an annual celebration honoring Miami’s LGBTQ+ community; Knight Masterworks Classical Conversations, a series of free lectures which give the audience insight into the musicians, composers and history of music presented in our Knight Masterworks Classical Music series; Accessing the Arts Residencies, art workshops for children and adults with disabilities; and Arsht on the Road (Presenting Sponsor: TD Bank), a series of free pop-up performances that bring the arts into Miami-Dade County’s diverse neighborhoods.