On the Road with Mississippi Mass Choir – Concert Night

Gregory Gay

We are on tour with America’s Choir, the Mississippi Mass Choir and have completed a concert performance. Our roving reporter MMC’s very own Daniel James picks up with today’s update.

There was beautiful music in the air today as the Mississippi Mass Choir kicked off the Christmas Season at the famed Baluarte Congress Center and Auditorium of Navarre. Let’s start there. The Baluarte Center was built in 2003 and resembles a fortress. The outside of this L shaped building is accented with gray granite slabs. Baluarte is located in shopping district located in the heart of Pamplona. The main auditorium has a seating capacity of well over 1,500 and it was filled to capacity with gospel music lovers eager to hear and experience the joy of the music.

We were paired with the famed Pamplona Musical Society Choir, one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious choirs. The theme of the evening was a Concert in Black and White. The PMS ladies were adorned in beautiful white concert gowns and the men were in black tuxedos. Of course, MMC added a splash of color with our red, white and blue robes. We arrived extra early for some down time before the performance. Each of the choir members were milling about doing their preparation ritual. Time gave way to curtain call and we put on our robes and prayed and waited for our announcement to the stage.

We entered the stage to a thunderous applause and the night of music began. The auditorium was filled with the rapturous sounds of God Will Take Care of You and Put Your Trust in Jesus. The gospel songs were interspersed with the songs of Christmas. After the initial set, we were joined onstage with the Pamplona Musical Society Choir. Once again, the theater filled with the glorious sounds of There’s None Like Him with Lillian Lilly on lead and Alisa McDonald leading Oh Lord We Praise You. We closed the concert with Edwin Hawkins’ Oh Happy Day leaving the audience on their feet.

Backstage, we greeted the members of PMS, they sang to us and made a special presentation to our own Jerry Smith of miniature dolls dressed in each of our uniforms. It was an unforgettable evening and we were grateful again for the opportunity and sharing the joy of having made new acquaintances. We capped off the evening with a snack back at the hotel and prepared for our next stop in the town of Guernica.