Gospel Night brings spirit to Boston Pops

Long before Dennis L. Slaughter was the Boston Pops Orchestra Gospel Choir artistic director, he was a kid in Jackson, Mississippi transfixed by the magic of the piano.

“There was something so captivating about it,” Slaughter told the Herald. “I saw people putting their fingers on this instrument in random places and creating this beautiful sound. I wanted to know how they could do that because when I put my fingers on it it didn’t sound anything like that.”

Slaughter’s parents were smart enough to put their child in piano lessons. And smart enough to keep him in lessons when he became frustrated at the work it took for him to make those beautiful sounds — he credits his mother with not letting him give up. He eventually received an undergraduate degree in music from the University of Southern Mississippi (plus a master’s in education administration and policy studies from Boston University and a doctorate in law and policy from Northeastern).

The son, grandson, brother, nephew, and cousin of preachers, pastors, and church musicians, Slaughter succeeded in combining his faith and education in gospel music. He has been part of every Pops Gospel Night since its inception in 1993 and will lead the choir again June 8 at Symphony Hall, which will feature 10-time Grammy winning gospel powerhouse Take 6 (who also took part in 1993 debut concert).

For Slaughter, the annual event is a unique showcase to highlight the music and message of gospel.

“What has made this concert a success over the years is that it gives us something very different from what we would normally see at my church on a Sunday morning,” he said. “I’m not going to see a conductor, an orchestra, and a choir on Sunday morning. And the fact that we have to work so diligently to bring all the elements together and make them sound cohesive is another thing that makes the program so successful.”

The event hosts gospel in an unexpected setting. But as Slaughter points out, gospel doesn’t need to adhere to expectations.

“The music we will sing on that night covers a range from traditional all the way to very contemporary,” he said. “When I hear a contemporary artist perform r&b or soul music, it doesn’t sound radically different artistically, stylistically than the gospel music that you will hear at this concert. The message though, that’s a 2000-year-old message, but it’s constantly being  put in a new set of clothes.”

Just as when he was a kid, Slaughter remains transfixed by music. He just knows that the music he directs now, the music of the Boston Pops Orchestra Gospel Choir, can’t be separated from the message. Slaughter says there will be no proselytizing from the stage, and yet the message remains.

“It’s nice music, it’s beautiful music,” he said. “But it really can be instructive in your life. It can be meaningful in your life. It can be helpful in your life… My hope is that we get someone thinking about participating in a local church where they can experience all the beauty of God’s love, all the beauty of gospel music, whether it’s with a symphony orchestra or not.”

For tickets and details, visit bso.org