Founded 1966 · Atlanta, Georgia
Carrying forward a tradition.
A community chorus of experienced singers, born in 1966 at the Atlanta University Center and singing across Greater Atlanta ever since.
Our story
The Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus is a wonderful group of experienced singers under the direction of Dr. David Morrow. The chorus performs free concerts throughout the year in the Greater Atlanta community, and its musicians are committed to carrying forth the spirit and tradition of Dr. Wendell P. Whalum.
The chorus was founded in 1966 as the Atlanta University Center Community Chorus (AUCCC), to provide concert and commencement music for the Atlanta University Summer School. A notice from the late Dr. Wendell P. Whalum, the founding director, to a few experienced singers in the community brought an overwhelming response, and they assembled each week for rehearsals.
During the summers that followed, the group grew to include not only graduates of Atlanta University, but singers from all the undergraduate colleges in the Atlanta University Center, as well as people who had graduated from institutions outside the Atlanta area. The initial twenty singers have grown to as many as sixty, with an ongoing enrollment of around fifty.
President Hugh Gloster of Morehouse College granted space for rehearsals and encouraged the chorus to continue. Robert Shaw, Atlanta’s famous conductor, praised their efforts and invited the chorus to Symphony Hall to take part in a concert presentation of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, then to return to sing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony alongside his own Symphony Chorus for the inauguration of Mayor Maynard Jackson.
In 1989, Morehouse College and the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association presented Brahms’ A German Requiem featuring the chorus, in memory of founder Dr. Wendell P. Whalum. Many members of past association took part alongside guest artists and orchestras.
What we do
Free concerts, sung throughout the year across Greater Atlanta — and a six-decade tradition of African American choral music carried forward by every voice on the risers.
A legacy in voices
Six decades of song
- 1966
A chorus begins
Founded by Dr. Wendell P. Whalum as the Atlanta University Center Community Chorus, providing concert and commencement music for the Atlanta University Summer School. Twenty experienced singers answered his call.
- 1971
Treemonisha
At the invitation of Dr. T. J. Anderson — who edited and orchestrated the work — the chorus took part in the world premiere of Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha.
- 1977
A presidential inauguration
Under Dr. Whalum, the chorus was selected to sing at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C.
- 1989
A German Requiem
Morehouse College and the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association presented Brahms’ A German Requiem featuring the chorus, a memorial for founder Dr. Wendell P. Whalum.
- 1990
Singing for Mandela
The chorus sang at the U.S. Freedom Tour Academic Convocation for Nelson Mandela, including Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika in the Xhosa dialect.
- 1996
The Cultural Olympiad
The chorus appeared in the Cultural Olympiad of the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, and provided the music for the dedication of Atlanta’s new City Hall.
- 2002
Elijah, in Detroit
The chorus joined the Brazeal Dennard Choral Ensembles’ 30th Anniversary Concert, featuring Mendelssohn’s Elijah, in Detroit, Michigan.
- 2007
Honoring R. Nathaniel Dett
The chorus appeared in the R. Nathaniel Dett 125th Birthday Celebration Choral Festival at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
- 2008
A national stage
The chorus performed on the opening day of the National Association of Negro Musicians’ 89th Annual Convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Our director
Dr. David Morrow, D.M.A.
Dr. David Morrow joined the Morehouse faculty in 1981 and teaches Conducting and Choral Literature, as well as Survey of African American Music for the General Education curriculum. He is the Director of the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Singers, and co-directs the Morehouse-Spelman Chorus.
A sought-after choral clinician, Dr. Morrow has lectured and conducted workshops in public schools, colleges, and universities. He is a member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association, past president of the National Association of Negro Musicians, serves on the Board of Directors of the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses, Inc., and is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, and the Georgia Music Educators Association. His compositions and arrangements are published by Alfred Music and GIA Publications.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College (1980, Phi Beta Kappa), a Master of Music from the University of Michigan, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Our founder
Dr. Wendell P. Whalum
Founding Director (1966)
Dr. Wendell P. Whalum founded the chorus in 1966 and led it for more than two decades, building it from twenty singers into one of Atlanta’s enduring choral institutions. The chorus that carries his name continues his spirit and tradition.