Members of ARISE, Wichita’s spiritual ensemble, are heading to Paris for a special performance. They’ve received invitations to perform at the Concord Theatre, one of Paris’ most renowned venues, as well as during the Villes des Musqiues du Monde, or World Music Festival.
Now in its 28th year, the month-long festival held in and around Paris aims to foster cultural diversity and to connect audiences with a wide array of traditional and modern music genres from around the world.
Last year, ARISE members Prisca Barnes, Sheila Kinnard, Sharon Cranford, and LaTonia Kennedy had the opportunity to travel to Paris with students from Gordon Parks Academy as part of an arts program. While there, they had the honor of performing for a group that included staff from the American Embassy, which helped lead to the group’s invitation to participate at the World Music Festival. .
The group will depart January 3 and return February 5.
ARISE was founded in 1989 by Josephine “Jo” Brown, now 95, who will not be joining the group on this trip. Brown established the ensemble with the mission of preserving and promoting spirituals, a genre that blends Christianity with the African American experience of slavery. Although mostly comprised of retirees, the group is open to all ages and includes white as well as black members.
Over the years, ARISE has performed for schools, churches, civic groups, and various organizations. In November, the group participated in an event in Topeka featuring a descendant of abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. In 2023, they performed in Washington, D.C., singing “One Nation, One Dream,” written by member Cherrie Dennis Baldon.
The Paris trip will mark the ensemble’s first international performance, adding to a busy schedule. While there will be some time for sightseeing, ARISE President Gerald Norwood emphasized that the primary goal is to “bring harmony to the world” through their music.