Morgan State soloist has Danville roots

By Brenda Neugent

Published: April 17, 2008

Thomas Allen didn’t leave Danville with the realization that his voice would be as sought-after as a Faberge egg.
He thought his was a falsetto, but soon discovered he was instead a countertenor, and his four-octave range made him a valuable asset in the music community, especially so at Morgan State University Choir, one of the most prestigious university choral ensembles in the nation.
Allen was recruited by the group’s then director, the late Nathan Carter, by an offer of a full scholarship to the university.
“I wasn’t even considering Morgan State,” said Allen. But his music teacher at George Washington High School insisted, “so we took a weekend and drove up there.”
The choir was likely a huge selling point for Allen, who has been singing since he was 3 years old, his earliest years spent in church choirs, later at expansive summer sessions at Duke University’s Music Workshop of America, a summer program where he immersed himself in all aspects of musical styles and theory.
“It was a huge shock for me,” Allen said, referring to the operatic arrangements and barbershop harmonies that became part of his repertoire. “I was used to a certain type of music.”
Allen studied communications and music after enrolling at Morgan State in 2002, and had planned a double major, but when he had enough credits for his communications major, he chose to graduate without fulfilling his music requirements.
He came back to Danville, where he taught French at Park Avenue Elementary School, a language in which he became quite fluent while studying opera, but an invitation to complete his music degree – and return to the Morgan State fold – was impossible to resist.
Throw in a tour that included a trip to Nassau, the Bahamas, and he was sold.
During his tenure with the Morgan State University Choir, Allen has visited numerous countries including Russia, the Virgin Islands and France, and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, James Earl Jones and Bill Cosby, as part of the comic’s “An Evening with Bill Cosby” show.
Although the group — named “the best college choir in the U.S.” in a recent edition of Reader’s Digest — specializes in traditional spirituals, it also performs jazz, classical, contemporary gospel, show tunes and more.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” said Allen.
The group just wrapped a concert with Bobby McFerrin at Carnegie Hall — “that was really fabulous,” said Allen — and they’ve played the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and other revered music venues.
For Allen, those pinnacle moments will likely continue, since his voice is especially treasured in the world of opera, and he is considering attending Boston’s esteemed Longy School of Music after graduation to pursue a degree in opera.
He expects his family to attend Friday’s concert, and especially hopes to see his church family there, hearing him perform solos that were born in the church and grew thanks to encouragement throughout his years in Danville.
“Hopefully it will inspire others to branch out and see what they can do,” said Allen.
The Morgan State University Choir will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at George Washington High School, 701 Broad St., Danville.
For tickets — $10 for students, $25 for adults — call (434) 792-9242.