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The Stanly County Arts Council and the Stanly County Concert Association will offer a free concert with Charleston’s Lowcountry Voices at 3 p.m. April 29 in the auditorium of Albemarle High School.

Lowcountry Voices, under the direction of Nathan L. Nelson, will present a culturally influenced program titled “A Musical Collage: Lowcountry Style.”

“We are beyond thrilled to bring a choir of this caliber to our community. It will be an opportunity for all to be uplifted with the arts,” said Renee VanHorn, executive director of the Stanly County Arts Council.

The Arts Council and Concert Association have had a long relationship, ensuring that a variety of professional, musical performances are brought to the community.

The NC Arts Council had a special granting cycle this year with funds from the American Recovery Plan Act. The Arts Council has subgranted these funds to numerous municipalities and organizations this last year in an effort to bring back the arts to all communities in Stanly County.

“The Stanly County Concert Association and the Stanly County Arts Council decided that an ideal way to use some of the funding was for a free concert for all to enjoy. By partnering with Albemarle High School, we can also showcase the recently renovated auditorium in the Albemarle High School,” VanHorn added.

SCCA President Charlotte Maness spoke highly of the collaboration.

“We are delighted to partner with the Stanly County Arts Council to bring this free concert to our community for everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy,” she said. “It is always a pleasure to work together and we continue to find ways to do this, such as this concert by Charleston’s Lowcountry Voices. This will be free to everyone, in Albemarle High School’s recently renovated auditorium, and I hope lots of folks will take advantage of this special gift. The music will be outstanding and a joy to hear, I can assure you. Hope to see you there.”

Lowcountry Voices is a community performing arts organization based in North Charleston but drawing members from across the region. LCV performs all genres in the choral repertoire with a special emphasis on African-American music, including Black gospel, spirituals and jazz, as they were nurtured and performed in the Lowcountry.

While the choir is based in North Charleston since its inception 10 years ago, its members are drawn from across the entire Lowcountry region and as far away as Rock Hill and Columbia.

The Stanly County Arts Council is supported by private donations and by the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.