Longwood University is home to several religious campus groups, including Intervarsity, Chi Alpha and others. The only musical group, however, is the Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC) Gospel Choir, a black gospel group. This past weekend, BASIC Gospel Choir hosted a show entitled “Back to the BASICS: I Believe” with the Contemporary Gospel Singers of JMU, the Enlightened Gospel Choir of Virginia Tech and the Deliverance Gospel of Radford University. The event was held in Longwood’s Jarman Auditorium.
The four groups performed various gospel songs, including “Lord, I Believe” by the Reverend Milton Brunson and “Safe in Your Arms” by Martin Smith.
The president of BASIC is Tia Dillahunt, a senior and communication studies major who has been a member of BASIC for the past two years. This is her first year as president of the organization. Previously, she was the student director in both semesters.
“I think two [songs] that really stand out to the choir as a whole are ‘Lord, I Believe’ and then another one called ‘Safe in Your Arms,’” Dillahunt said.
Speaking in regards to “Lord, I Believe,” Dillahunt said that “We go through a lot as college students, as well as what we do in our ministry, and we get attacked left and right. So it’s a song of reassurance, we’re claiming out that we still believe in Him and that we are saved. And I think those two songs really hit home for a lot of us in the choir.”
This concert was the fall concert for BASIC, and there is one per semester.
“We just prepare all semester long,” said Dillahunt. “We pick the songs, we discuss the meanings of them…and then we work on not only the technical things of getting the songs, but also letting the songs speak not only to us, but also to other people as well.”
Dillahunt said that she was pleased with the crowd that the acts brought in, though she added that it could have been even better. She said she will “have to get the word out more next semester.”
Dillahunt thanked everyone who had given her “unconditional love and support” in her term thus far as president.
