Fisk Jubilee Singers

Through concerts in cities large and small, these nine original members of the Fisk Jubilee Singers were among the first performers to introduce white audiences to a repertoire of authentic African American spirituals. The Fisk Free Colored School (now Fisk University) in Nashville, Tennessee, opened in 1866 to offer a liberal arts education to formerly enslaved men, women, and children. Five years later, a lack of resources threatened Fisk’s survival. In response, the school’s treasurer and choir director organized a choral ensemble and launched a national tour to raise funds.