Morgan State University Choir at St. Andrew's Presbyterian

Thursday, 28 May, 19h30 | St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Cape Town)

Celebrated Conductor, Dr. Eric Conway, brings his award-winning Morgan State University Choir

With the Amici de Lumine & UCT Choir | Michaelangelo Cloete, conductor

Gospel, Choral Standards, Hymns, African-American Spirituals, Folk Songs, South African, Living Composers, and more. 

Venue Address:

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Somerset Rd, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

Doors open 30 minutes prior to the performance start time

Morgan State University Choir

The Morgan State University (MSU) Choir is one of the nation’s most prestigious university choral ensembles. While classical, gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the choir’s critically acclaimed repertoire, they are renowned for their emphasis on preserving spiritual heritage in their performances.

The choir has performed with major symphony orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Eric Conway is the current Director of the Morgan State University Choir. Since 2004, he has led the choir through many notable performances, including a special performance at the service honoring Rosa Parks, the first woman to lie in honor at our nation’s Capital Rotunda. In 2015, at the request of First Lady Michelle Obama, the choir sang at the White House for a nationally televised concert in the East Room alongside Aretha Franklin, Shirley Caesar, and Tamela Mann. During the summer of 2018, the choir traveled to Slovakia, Germany, and Austria, where they sang in Vienna’s famed St. Mark's Cathedral. In the fall of the same year, the choir performed Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestra Marin Alsop.

The MSU choir was recently featured on BET Network Television for a live performance at the HBCU Honors Awards and televised internationally for singing the National Anthem at NFL sporting events. In November 2025, the Choir performed to much acclaim in a collaboration with Peabody Opera Theater to produce Kurt Weill’s opera Street Scene, based on a Pulitzer prize-winning book with libretto by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes.

The choir has performed all over the world including in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Greece, West Africa, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Colombia, China, Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Italy, Australia, Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales, Peru, Ecuador, the Middle East, and the Galapagos Islands. 2026 marks MSU’s return to South Africa. Having shared their musical gifts on grand stages across the globe–with numerous dignitaries and celebrated performers– the Morgan State University Choir acts as a cultural ambassador for the City of Baltimore, the state of Maryland and the United States. For further information, see www.msuchoir.org

About Dr. Eric Conway, Director

For nearly 20 years, Dr. Eric Conway has served as the Director of the Morgan State University Choir as well as chair of the university’s Fine and Performing Arts Department. Prior to serving as Choir Director, Dr. Conway was their principal accompanist for over 20 years. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts from Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory where he majored in Piano Performance and minored in Conducting. While at Peabody, Conway was a recipient of the prestigious Liberace Scholarship, as well as a winner in the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition. Some of his significant accomplishments as pianist include a tour of Eastern Africa, sponsored by the United States Information Agency. One of the highlights of the tour was a solo performance for Madagascan television and radio. Dr. Conway is sought after as a collaborative artist and has worked closely with some of the greatest conductors of the 20th century. In September 2015, he was asked personally, by Aretha Franklin, to conduct a choir to accompany her in her performance for Pope Francis during his visit to the United States. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he holds degrees in both Accounting and Business Management and was a Certified Public Accountant with KPMG for many years. Dr. Conway is married to Bessie Elizabeth Conway, and they are blessed to have three sons: Eric, Jr., Christopher, and Ryan.

Amici de Lumine Choir Established in October 2010 by Maestro Michaelangelo Cloete in his final post-graduate year at the South African College of Music (SACM at UCT), the long-standing choir embraces members from all walks of life. From inception, the focus has been on rehearsing and performing sacred choral music with an emphasis on debuting the works of young composers, often from SACM’s composition department. Maestro Michaelangelo embraces diverse voices and skill sets as he uplifts and trains the individual members evoking a haunting, ethereal choral sound created through expertly blending vocal timbres.

The University of Cape Town Choir The UCT Choir exists as a part of the University of Cape Town.