Men & Women of the Gospel Choir:
Things Are Gonna Get Better

Premieres Friday, June 25 at 5:30pm ET

In an optimistic, forward-looking production, the Washington Performing Arts Men & Women of the Gospel Choir (MWOTG) reflects on the past year, recognizing that our hope is greater than our fears. Marking its 30th year in 2021/22, the Washington Performing Arts Men & Women of the Gospel Choir and Artistic Director Theodore Thorpe III are ready to get your summer started on a high note with a joyful rendition of Norman Hutchins’s “I Know You’re Gonna Make It.”

Washington Performing Arts
Men & Women of the Gospel Choir
Theodore Thorpe III, Artistic Director

“I Know You’re Gonna Make It” by Norman Earil Hutchins
Copyright © 2011, Lily Mack Music (ASCAP) / MWP Publishing (ASCAP) / Capitol CMG Paragon (ASCAP)

About Men & Women of the Gospel Choir

Washington Performing Arts Men & Women of the Gospel Choir (MWOTG) has celebrated the heritage of gospel music and its related genres with vibrant, dynamic performances in venues across the nation’s capital for 30 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Theodore Thorpe III, the choir is dedicated to presenting this American art form at its highest artistic level, performing contemporary and classic works of African American heritage including gospel standards, hymns, anthems, and other choral repertoire. As a resident ensemble of Washington Performing Arts, the choir has shared the stage with a wide array of artists, including Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the late Edwin Hawkins, the late Walter Hawkins, Ramsey Lewis, and Sweet Honey In The Rock. In 2018, the choir presented a special holiday concert—“With a Grateful Heart: A Gospel Thanksgiving” at Duke Ellington School of the Arts Theater, featuring Thomas Allen and local artists Patrick Lundy and Roderick Giles.

In addition to annual performances on Washington Performing Arts’s season, the choir performs regularly throughout the community. Past events have included annual Gospel Christmas concerts at the Washington National Cathedral; as well as featured performances at the historic Howard Theatre; Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Mayor’s Arts Awards; The Hamilton; and on Sirius XM Radio.

Special Thank You to Our Recording Site:
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director; George Williams, Media Relations Manager; Ryan Williams

Gospel music programs and performances at Washington Performing Arts are made possible in part by the Beech Street Foundation and Mr. Jeffrey Bauman and Ms. Linda Fienberg; Hubert “Hank” Schlosberg and the Schlosberg Family; Tom Gallagher, in honor of Turnaround, Inc.; Trista L.P. Colbert and Theodore Colbert; Rudy Burwell and Mona Mohib, in loving memory of Rudolph Burwell, Sr.; Bruce Rosenblum and Lori Laitman; Pepco, An Exelon Company; the Dan Cameron Family Foundation; Mrs. Alison Francis; Mrs. Paula Seigle Goldman; and Mr. and Mrs. Glen Howard. List reflects donations of $1,000 or more as of June 11, 2021.