After more than 20 years in existence, the Umoja Community Gospel Choir will perform its finale concert at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, on the Knox College campus. The concert will be in Kresge Recital Hall in the Ford Center for Fine Arts.

The choir was founded in 1994 by Knox faculty member Jessie Dixon, Burkhardt Distinguished Chair of Modern Languages. She also serves as choir director.

"Umoja" is the Swahili word for "unity," Dixon said, adding that her goal in forming the group was to bring together people of all ages and all backgrounds "to just praise God and sing these songs of praise."

The Umoja Community Gospel Choir consists of Knox College students, staff, faculty, and members of the Galesburg community at large. The choir is being disbanded to enable members to concentrate on other endeavors.

Knox student Kathryn Todd '15 says she's happy for the time she had with the choir.

"It was a great way for me to feel like I had a place where I belonged," she said. "The people were so supportive. It brought me such great joy to sing with a group of really phenomenal people."

Choir member Semenya McCord, an adjunct faculty member in Knox's jazz program, said, "Having a gospel choir such as Umoja on the Knox campus is one of the significant experiences that ensures the development and maintenance of a diverse student population."

"Dr. Jessie Dixon directs with a magnetic personality, well grounded in the traditions and challenges of gospel music for contemporary youth. I feel it a privilege to be able to work with Umoja in any way that I can," McCord added.

Students in the Umoja Community Gospel Choir "are typically not involved with Knox music classes or private lessons, yet they commit to the rehearsals and the performances with an enduring faith," she said. "The result is a source of inspiration not only for the singers, but also for the audience."

Over the years, the Umoja choir has performed all over Illinois. The choir has helped strengthen the relationship between Knox and the larger Galesburg community because students get to know people beyond campus, Dixon said. She said that through the less formal setting of the choir, she also has developed closer bonds with students.

Dixon added, "It's been really cool that so many people from so many different backgrounds have come together to do this for so long."