Media
The Singing and Praying Bands had not been widely recognized until Jonathan began to attend their services and record their music. By 2012, Jonathan was instrumental in the bands performing at a wide variety of prestigious venues. Watch some of their performances here.
Singing and Praying Band – Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. (August 23, 2012)
This video contains an introduction by Jonathan C. David and includes a wonderful prayer by Mrs. Mary Allen.”
This program features African American a cappella sacred music belonging to a devotional/musical tradition that is unique to the Delmarva region that is unique to the Delaware and Maryland area.” It was part of the “Homegrown: The Music of America” concert series.
2014 National Endowment for the Arts – National Heritage Fellowship Concert
The NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert was held at the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium on Friday, September 19, 2014. It was emceed by American Routes host Nick Spitzer. The concert celebrated the 2014 recipients of the NEA National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in the folk & traditional arts.
The Singing and Praying Bands of Maryland
Two centuries ago, in the tidewater regions of Maryland, traditional African worship practices merged with the newly introduced beckoning Christianity of the Methodist Church. Born of that cultural intersection was a new hybrid of spiritual and musical devotion, a movement that came to be known as The Singing and Praying Bands.
The full audio story of the Singing and Praying Bands – how they began, what they mean to their surviving members, and whether or not they’ll still be around a decade or two into the future – can be found here. It was produced by Shane Carpenter in collaboration with Aaron Henkin of WYPR and Cliff Murphy from the Maryland State Arts Council and co-director of Maryland Traditions.
The Singing & Praying Band: African American a Capella Sacred Music from Delaware and Maryland
The Singing and Praying Bands of Delaware and Maryland (Eastern and Western Shore) belong to an African American devotional musical tradition that is unique to the region, and it may be the oldest surviving tradition in the US. In the past, almost half of the Methodist churches around the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays had their own band. With origins in West African religion, Christianity, and African American ring shout traditions, Singing & Praying Bands developed during slavery.
The ministry of the Singing & Praying Bands takes place in host churches, often at a camp meeting after an evening preaching service is over. Members line out a hymn, pray a prayer, and end with a spiritual in which the group forms a circle, marching counterclockwise out onto the church grounds. Since the 1950s, the bands have diminished in number, and the singers have consolidated into one large band comprised of fifty to a hundred active members from twenty to thirty different churches. They come together most Sundays in the spring, summer, and fall, at a different church each week, and hold service there, keeping this tradition alive.