Hundreds of voices will ring out in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, singing songs of unity and justice as part of Syracuse University’s 31st annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. The mass chorus is composed of diverse choirs, some coming from SU and some from churches around the city of Syracuse.

Among the mass group will be 20 to 30 members from the Syracuse Community Choir, surrounded by so many singers that one probably couldn’t pick them out of the crowd.

SCC member Shanah Williams said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a feeling of unity,” Williams said. “It’s not all one race that participates, it’s everyone.”

The various choirs participating meet up before the celebration to rehearse a new song they’ll be performing that evening.

Karen Mihalyi, SCC director, said there’s some pressure to learn a song so quickly, but some singers are already familiar with it and can help those who are unsure. This makes the experience much easier and more unifying, as performers are relying on each other to make it through. In fact, she said she hopes this year’s song is more challenging than usual.

Using song to connect a community isn’t just the goal of the mass choir at the MLK Celebration — it’s also what the SCC has aspired to do for more than 30 years.

“The celebration is about standing up for what Martin Luther King, Jr. is all about,” Williams said. “That’s a big representation of how we stand up for others.”

The SCC has a wide variety of people coming to every rehearsal and performance, some driving up from as far as Ithaca, Mihalyi said. Members are diverse in race, religion, ability, sexuality and other factors, all of which the SCC seeks to accommodate and support.

These differences will also be present — and embraced — at the MLK celebration.

“It’s very easy to create a world where everyone looks the same,” Mihalyi said. “I want to participate in a world where everyone is included.”

The celebration will include other inspiring components like speakers, Mihalyi said. This year’s keynote speaker is Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of African American studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

All of the pieces of the celebration reflect Martin Luther King Jr.’s goal of equality and a close-knit community, a goal that Mihalyi said is more important than the concert itself.

Though there are differing opinions and backgrounds within the group, music is a way for all SCC members to come together and forget about their differences, Williams said. In the end, every member of both the SCC and the MLK Celebrations’ mass choir share a passion for social justice and singing to make a difference.

“Even if we are not singing in harmony, it’s so beautiful,” Mihalyi said. “Every life matters, and no voice should be left out.”

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Published on January 27, 2016 at 9:49 pm

Contact Kathryn: [email protected] | @kathrynkrawczyk