The American Spiritual Ensemble will perform at the MSU Riley Center Saturday at 7:30 p.m. With some of today’s finest vocalists, the ensemble will be performing a broad repertoire of spirituals, classical pieces and Broadway music. The group, founded in 1995 by Everett McCorvey, a native of Montgomery, Ala., performs in theaters and opera houses across Europe, South Africa and the United States.

    Before the blues, jazz, gospel and rock ’n’ roll, it was spirituals that were born in the South.

      With their strong voices, slaves sang this form of music in pre-Civil War fields of the American South as a form of expression. Last year, the bitter history that formed this well-recognized art form was recounted and honored by the PBS documentary The Spirituals, which followed The American Spiritual Ensemble along with its Alabama-native director, Everett McCorvey. The film shows the group traveling through the Deep South captivating audiences with performances dedicated to preserving the spiritual and keeping timeless songs alive. Grand reviews of the ensemble’s performances stretch across the globe.

     On Saturday The American Spiritual Ensemble will make the journey to Meridian, to perform on the historic stage of the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts. The critically acclaimed choir will present an all-acoustic performance, including songs such as “Walk Together Children,” “Fix Me Jesus,” “I’ve Been ‘Buked,” “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” “My Lord, What a Morning,” “Ain’t That Good News,” “Amen,” “Ol’ Time Religion,” classics such as “When the Saints Go Marching In” and various Broadway numbers.

     “Many may recall a few years ago, Rust College Choir performed an all acoustic set in our theater. Similar to their performance, the audience will literally be enveloped by the choir’s rich voices,” said Dennis Sankovich, executive director of the MSU Riley Center. “People will be blown away by the incredible vocal talent of the American Spiritual Ensemble, as the choir is made up of professionally touring and internationally acclaimed vocalists.”

     During the ensemble’s 22-city tour last year, they played the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Our Lincoln performance, sang in Gettysburg on the 200th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, performed at one of the stops of the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, and recorded an interview and performance for the Bob Edwards show on Sirius XM satellite radio.

     The choir’s uniqueness comes with more than 90 percent of its members being accomplished soloists who have sung in theaters and opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and abroad in Italy, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Spain and Japan. Concerts involve 20-26 ensemble members from around the world, accompanist, African drummer and a featured dancer. This includes five lead Broadway performers — including one Tony award winner and two Tony award nominees. The ensemble boasts ten performers with doctoral degrees in music and three who are on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera.