About the choir
The Community Concert Choir of Baltimore
Founded by Marco K. Merrick in July 2010, The Community Concert Choir was established to help preserve Black sacred music. On November 7, 2010 the inaugural concert at the Historic Union Baptist Church met with a capacity crowd, acclaimed reception and enthusiastic support. To promote sacred music and educate audiences and our communities of the rich music legacy unique to the Black Church, this aggregation quickly grew beyond 150 members, spanning age, race, culture, denomination, faith and geographic lines. It celebrates music that shaped history and reinforced our faith with hope over generations. The mission, “To preserve and promote the sacred music tradition of the African American Church” is the driving force and magnetic attraction for participants and supporters.
The African America Church tradition cultivated a broad spectrum of music, shaping the nation and the world because of our ancestors’ songs which span slavery, the American Revolution, subsequent wars, the Civil Rights movements and beyond. The choir’s repertoire is comprised of Negro Spirituals, hymns and anthems, and gospel music of venerable composers and arrangers. As this foundational music and unique forms has vanished from many Black Churches, the choir meets a growing need of those hungering for good music in the Baltimore Metropolitan area and others through annual signature concerts (Palm Sunday, Spring, Fall and Christmas.)
The choir has sung at the MLK, Jr. Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., at Morgan State University, performing with the Hall Men of Calvert Hall College High School and The Singing Sensations of Baltimore; it was for The National Urban League Convention in Baltimore in 2017 and held the annual fall concert in 2017 and 2018 in Baltimore’s Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, where nearly 3,000 people attended. In 2019, the choir was featured in the Baltimore Convention Center during National Baptist Convention and during the National Convention of USA Presbyterian Churches. Christmas 2023 marked another tremendous milestone as the choir toured Rome, Italy, participating in live recordings with our chorister Eric Waddell and The Abundant Life Singers, and performed a solo concert for a delegation from the Vatican. The choir will make its Carnegie Hall debut in June 2025.
The Auxiliary is comprised of community leaders and representatives from churches, social, public service, educational and community organizations supporting choir programs and performances, as well as sponsoring several activities, including an annual NYC bus trip to a Broadway production, a sell-out crab feast each summer, the annual Christmas party and other cultural, social and travel opportunities. Together, the choir and auxiliary financially support arts and cultural programs and organizations for youth aspiring to higher education and careers in the arts, including an annual scholarship to a worthy student attending the Carter School of Music at New Shiloh Baptist Church, The Singing Sensations, The Empowerment Academy, The MD State Boychoir, and ArtsCentric. All interested in the mission are welcome to the Auxiliary.
Contributions are tax deductible, payable to The Community Concert Choir of Baltimore, Inc. P.O. 26666 - Baltimore, MD 21207 Please visit our website, view the photo gallery and concert you tube posts, or to make contributions at www.cccbmore.org
“Lift every voice and sing!”
Ms. Elizabeth Craig, President
Jesse J. Bennett, Vice President
Ms. Brittany Howard, Secretary
Ms. Jerrisa D. Carter, Treasurer
Rev. Anthony Horsey, Chaplain
Mr. Gregory Allen, Auxiliary Chair
Dr. Marco K. Merrick, Founding Director
