Multi-Grammy Award Winner Cedric Dent Highlights 2020 Pruit Symposium
Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-6275
Libraries Contact: Carl Flynn, Baylor Libraries and ITS
Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia
WACO, Texas (Jan. 29, 2020) – Baylor University’s 2020 Pruit Memorial Symposium, which focuses on the tradition of American black sacred music in conjunction with the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project of the Baylor Libraries, will feature a public presentation and gospel sing on Tuesday, Feb. 4, headlined by Grammy Award winner Cedric Dent, Ph.D., professor of music at Middle Tennessee State University and a member of the well-known gospel and jazz vocal sextet Take 6.
Dent will present “David and Goliath: Gospel Music in Word and Song,” which examines the music of the a cappella sextet Take 6 and its place in the tradition of black gospel music, at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the McLean Foyer of Meditation in Armstrong Browning Library, 710 Speight Ave.
Later that evening at 6:30 p.m., Dent will be joined by Truett Seminary student Joslyn Henderson and other musicians for a gospel sing, “Fly Away: Gospel Music in Word,” that will sonically explore the history of black gospel music. The gospel sing will be held at Toliver Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 1402 Elm Ave. Both events are free and open to the public.
“‘David and Goliath’ is my favorite Take 6 performance. It was the song that caught the ear of a record label exec at the Nashville division of Warner Bros. Records and led to our first recording contract in 1987,” Dent said. “The song was first recorded by The Jubilee Four 25 years earlier, which is how we became familiar with it. Comparing our performance to the original gives people a better understanding of gospel music generally and black gospel in particular.”
From 1985 to 2011, Dent sang baritone with Take 6, recording 11 albums that sold millions of copies while garnering eight Grammy Awards and 10 Dove awards. In 2013, Dent received the Heritage Music Award from the National Association of Negro Musicians and, in 2014, rejoined Take 6 for the group’s induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
“We have been trying to get Dr. Cedric Dent to Baylor for the past three years,” said Robert Darden, professor of journalism and co-chair of the Pruit Symposium. “He is a nationally acclaimed composer, choral director, arranger, performer and one of the very best scholars in the business. And he’s one of the few people I know who has fans in both the popular and academic worlds.”
Since 2013, Baylor’s Pruit Symposium has highlighted black sacred music as a way of bringing the perspective of the Christian intellectual tradition to contemporary issues of common concern. The Baylor Libraries’ Black Gospel Music Restoration Project is an ongoing effort to preserve and curate the cultural heritage of black sacred music. The venture, initiated by Darden and managed by the Digital Preservation Services team of the Baylor Libraries, continues to expand its collection and will soon extend its efforts to the preservation of black preaching alongside the “golden era” of black gospel music.
“We are excited that Baylor continues to be at the forefront of highlighting and preserving black sacred music and eagerly anticipate new efforts to preserve the black preaching that both inspired and was inspired by gospel music,” said Kathy Hillman, associate professor and Pruit Symposium co-chair.
The 2020 Pruit Symposium is made possible by the Pruit Symposium Endowment, which was established in 1996 by Ella Wall Prichard and the late Lev H. Prichard III of Corpus Christi in memory of Helen Pruit Matthews and her brothers, Dr. Lee Tinkle Pruit and William Wall Pruit. The symposium is sponsored by the Baylor University Libraries; the School of Music; the Center for Christian Music Studies; department of journalism, public relations and new media; department of history; department of religion; Greater Bosqueville Baptist Church; George W. Truett Theological Seminary; and Toliver Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.