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Bright Hope Baptist Church Celestial Choir
J. Donald Dumpson, Conductor
The
Bright Hope Baptist Church Celestial Choir was founded by the late Rev.
William H. Gray, Jr. in 1950. J. Donald Dumpson's tenure as Director of
the Celestial Choir began in 1983 when Rev. William H. Gray, III asked
him to serve as the choir's director and as Director of Music for the
church (see church website
here).
The Celestial Choir keeps its primary purpose of music ministry at
Bright Hope central in its activities. You can hear the choir praising
God through song in Sunday morning worship services throughout the year.
It is also involved with outreach ministries that has taken it from the
sanctuary to some of the most prestigious concert halls in America.
Under Mr. Dumpson's baton, the choir has performed in numerous and
varied events. In July of 2002, the Celestial Choir sang at the
groundbreaking ceremony for the National Constitution Center, in
Philadelphia, PA. In December 2001 it performed Mr. Dumpson's original
arrangement of "God Bless America" as the inaugural choral appearance at
the grand opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in
Philadelphia. In addition, it was also the featured choir at the opening
of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in July, 1993. The Choir has
appeared in television commercials, television specials, educational
forums and many premier presentations throughout the East Coast.
The Choir has been featured on stellar programs honoring acclaimed
dignitaries such as President Jimmy Carter, the late Governor Robert
Casey, former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, the late
Honorable U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Honorable
Secretary of State Colin Powell, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the late
Honorable Gerri Walker. To quote City Representative Gerri Walker on the
morning of their performance for President Jimmy Carter, "The Celestial
Choir of Bright Hope Baptist Church truly gave truly a magnificent
performance. There is no doubt about it, Celestial Choir has a sound and
presence that is simply heavenly!"
In November, 2008, the Choir participated in the inaugural performance
of Grammy-nominated composer Hannibal Lokumbe's original piece for mass
choir and jazz band entitled "A Shepherd Among Us." The piece was
commissioned by the Art Sanctuary to commemorate the life and work of
the Church of the Advocate's legendary activist and priest, Father Paul
M. Washington.
The Celestial Choir's goal is to be a blessing to others through the
power of God's music, striving to change lives through its ministry.
J. Donald Dumpson, Conductor
J.
Donald Dumpson is active as an educator, master keyboardist, conductor,
vocal coach, composer and arranger as well as a sought-after clinician
and production administrator. He has served as artistic director and
conductor for numerous choirs in the Philadelphia area, and is on the
music faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where he
conducts the Westminster Jubilee Singers. Currently he is also Minister
of Music and Arts at Bright Hope Baptist Church, whose Bright Hope
Celestial Choir he has taken from the church sanctuary to television and
Broadway.
President of his own entertainment production company, J. Donald Dumpson
Productions, Mr. Dumpson has served as a member of the production team
for the syndicated television special "An Evening of Stars," and
assisted with the choral preparation of the Opera Company of
Philadelphia's June production of Porgy and Bess. Mr. Dumpson was
co-producer for the national telecast of Black Entertainment
Television's First Annual African-American Sacred Music Festival. He
also prepared the chorus for the Marian Anderson Award concert with
conductor Julius Rudel. Mr. Dumpson earned a Master of Music from Temple
University and is currently enrolled in the Ph. D. program in Music
Education at Temple University. He has done pre-doctoral studies at
Peabody Conservatory of Music, Morgan State University, New York
University, Philadelphia University of the Arts and University of
California-Los Angeles.
Last revised
June 26, 2010