(January 2007)

Media Contact: Lynn Stewart, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120

Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce to Induct its First Group, the Centenary College Choir, into Walk of Stars

See also Article in The (Shreveport) Times: Centenary Choir to Get a Star

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SHREVEPORT, LA — The internationally renowned Centenary College Choir will become the first group to have its own star in the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce Walk of Stars, Chamber officials have announced.

The Choir will join 21 area individuals — including Kix Brooks, Hal Sutton, Terry Bradshaw and Tom Jarriel — whose stars honor their achievements and whose work has brought national and international acclaim to the community.

The 68-voice Choir and its director, Dr. Will K. Andress, will be honored at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, during the Chamber's 97th annual meeting, which will be held this year in the Centenary Gold Dome. At the event, Centenary President Kenneth L. Schwab will receive proclamations from the offices of Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco in recognition of the honor. The Choir will also perform prior to the dinner and annual meeting and following a video presentation featuring Choir history and milestones.

In a late-February special ceremony, the Choir's star will be placed in the Walk of Stars, which is located in the Red River District under the Texas Street Bridge in downtown Shreveport. The ceremony will honor recent inductees and unveil a new kiosk showcasing all of the members of the Walk of Stars.

The Centenary College Choir is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. Known as "America's Singing Ambassadors," the Choir has performed concerts throughout the world: singing for front-line troops in Korea, many American and European heads of state, NATO and American armed forces worldwide, ten international conventions of Lions International, three times for the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Council of Bishops, two lengthy engagements at New York's Radio City Music Hall and seven times at The White House.

Recently, the Choir has performed at the Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients' Banquet, at Notre Dame in Paris and in a concert tour to Brazil, South Africa and Europe. The Choir is a unique collegiate choral group, singing a varied repertory including both sacred and secular music, from Bach to Broadway, folk to contemporary and opera to oratorio.

The Walk of Stars induction is the latest of several honors for Andress, who will retire at the end of the current academic year after 33 years as director. An additional honor will be awarded to him on Jan. 23, when the Shreveport-Bossier Advertising Federation presents him with its annual Image Award.