Welcome to the Nia Network: A Program Bureau, a division of Celeste Bateman & Associates. The program bureau features visual and performing artists, historians, writers and motivational speakers of African descent who present in various venues nationally and internationally. CB&A has compiled a roster of extraordinarily talented individuals who are available to perform and present at colleges and universities, performing arts centers, schools, churches, corporations, festivals, trade shows, etc. What makes this program bureau unique is that all of the participants present topics and art forms pertaining to the African Diaspora.
Nia is the Swahili word for ‘purpose.’ Our purpose is to promulgate what is rich and positive about African, Caribbean, and African-American culture, history, heritage and art. For booking information, email us at info@celestebateman.com or call 973.705.8253.
PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to take on additional artists/speakers at this time, but please feel free to forward your information for future consideration.
Nia is the Swahili word for ‘purpose.’ Our purpose is to promulgate what is rich and positive about African, Caribbean, and African-American culture, history, heritage and art. For booking information, email us at info@celestebateman.com or call 973.705.8253.
PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to take on additional artists/speakers at this time, but please feel free to forward your information for future consideration.
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Newark Boys Chorus
The Newark Boys Chorus was founded in 1966 as the New Jersey Symphony Boys Choir. Three years later, the Newark Boys Chorus School was established to create an integrated academic and music program unique to the city of Newark, New Jersey. The school is fully accredited by the Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools and is responsible for the academic and musical education of 80 young urban men from the greater Newark area. The school’s mission is to inspire in the students a love for learning, a quest for excellence, and a compassion for humanity.
Known as Newark’s “Musical Ambassadors,” the Chorus has been heard throughout the world with a diversified repertoire that includes traditional classical music, spirituals, folk music, and jazz. In recent years the boys have toured Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean, Finland, Latvia, and Russia. Last July the chorus traveled to the Czech Republic to participate in the ‘Alliance World Festival of Singing for Men and Boys’. Recognized for their excellence in performance, they were invited to sing at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Division Convention in Boston, February 2004; and at the Association’s 2005 National Convention in Los Angeles this past February. The Newark Boys Chorus has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This coming June, the chorus will again perform at Carnegie Hall in a program that will include music by Randall Thompson and Rene Clausen.
The Chorus has appeared on Good Morning America (ABC), and recorded a Christmas ppecial with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), featuring soloists Renee Fleming and Leslie Garrett. The young men have performed the Penderecki "St. Luke Passion" with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and participated in the Bard Music Festival’s production of Gustav Mahler’s "Eighth Symphony," -the Symphony of a Thousand, under the baton of Leon Botstein.
Academic potential is a principal criterion for admission to the Chorus School. Each student’s potential is nurtured through an intensive educational program. These students are sought after by selective secondary schools nationwide, and most Chorus School graduates continue on to prestigious colleges and universities.
Few Chorus School graduates become professional musicians, but the training and experience they receive demand discipline and poise while providing the self-esteem that these young men will carry with them through life. They leave the Newark Boys Chorus School as young men prepared for and looking forward to a productive and happy future.
Donald C. Morris, Music Director
Donald C. Morris, appointed Music Director in September 1996, began his involvement with the Newark Boys Chorus School in 1987 as a Science teacher and Associate Conductor of the Concert Chorus. He supervises the musical education and training of all the students at the school, and has prepared the Chorus for its tours of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Barbados, Jamaica and two tours throughout Europe.
A resident of Newark, Mr. Morris is organist and choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Orange, NJ. He serves on the Boards of NJ-ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), and the E.O.P. of Westminster Choir College (Rider University). In 2004, Mr. Morris had the distinction of being featured in the summer edition of Choral Director magazine. He has recently been invited to conduct the NJMEA/NJACDA JHS Honor Choir in 2006.
Mr. Morris has a M.A. in Music Education from Hunter College, a B.Sc. in Zoology and Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, and a L.R.S.M. (Licentiate of the Royal School of Music) in piano performance.
Known as Newark’s “Musical Ambassadors,” the Chorus has been heard throughout the world with a diversified repertoire that includes traditional classical music, spirituals, folk music, and jazz. In recent years the boys have toured Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean, Finland, Latvia, and Russia. Last July the chorus traveled to the Czech Republic to participate in the ‘Alliance World Festival of Singing for Men and Boys’. Recognized for their excellence in performance, they were invited to sing at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Division Convention in Boston, February 2004; and at the Association’s 2005 National Convention in Los Angeles this past February. The Newark Boys Chorus has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This coming June, the chorus will again perform at Carnegie Hall in a program that will include music by Randall Thompson and Rene Clausen.
The Chorus has appeared on Good Morning America (ABC), and recorded a Christmas ppecial with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), featuring soloists Renee Fleming and Leslie Garrett. The young men have performed the Penderecki "St. Luke Passion" with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and participated in the Bard Music Festival’s production of Gustav Mahler’s "Eighth Symphony," -the Symphony of a Thousand, under the baton of Leon Botstein.
Academic potential is a principal criterion for admission to the Chorus School. Each student’s potential is nurtured through an intensive educational program. These students are sought after by selective secondary schools nationwide, and most Chorus School graduates continue on to prestigious colleges and universities.
Few Chorus School graduates become professional musicians, but the training and experience they receive demand discipline and poise while providing the self-esteem that these young men will carry with them through life. They leave the Newark Boys Chorus School as young men prepared for and looking forward to a productive and happy future.
Donald C. Morris, Music Director
Donald C. Morris, appointed Music Director in September 1996, began his involvement with the Newark Boys Chorus School in 1987 as a Science teacher and Associate Conductor of the Concert Chorus. He supervises the musical education and training of all the students at the school, and has prepared the Chorus for its tours of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Barbados, Jamaica and two tours throughout Europe.
A resident of Newark, Mr. Morris is organist and choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Orange, NJ. He serves on the Boards of NJ-ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), and the E.O.P. of Westminster Choir College (Rider University). In 2004, Mr. Morris had the distinction of being featured in the summer edition of Choral Director magazine. He has recently been invited to conduct the NJMEA/NJACDA JHS Honor Choir in 2006.
Mr. Morris has a M.A. in Music Education from Hunter College, a B.Sc. in Zoology and Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, and a L.R.S.M. (Licentiate of the Royal School of Music) in piano performance.