A family’s gospel tradition at Richwood Cultural Academy

The sounds of spirituals and gospel songs will fill Richwood Academy’s historic cultural center on Sunday at 3 p.m., as the Whittingtons from Port Norris perform the iconic musical style passed down through several generations of their family. 

Traditional gospel music is a fusion of African rhythms and Western European melodic elements that form a uniquely American musical genre. Beryl Whittington, the family’s late patriarch, learned such songs while working on oyster boats in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The family’s music tradition is carried on by Beryl’s children.

The Whittingtons have appeared at Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., and the Down Jersey Folklife Center at Wheaton Arts. They don’t often perform publicly, so the Richwood performance is a rare opportunity to meet and hear their music. 

Sunday’s event kicks off the Richwood Academy’s fourth season in the historic schoolhouse. Built in 1870, it is the oldest surviving school building in Harrison Township and provides an intimate, salon-style setting for concerts and lectures. Through its programs, the Harrison Township Historical Society returns the academy to its original educational purpose.  

The Whittingtons’ program is the first of six concerts and lectures planned for Sundays this spring. On March 15, author Stephan Goldhan will discuss his novel, “Greenwich: The Final Project,” and how history inspires fiction. March 29 will see a celebration of National Piano Day with a recital by three Rowan University pianists.

Revolutionary War sites in Gloucester County will be the focus of a lecture by Todd Boyer on April 12, followed by Rowan’s guitar ensemble on April 26. John Ryan, of historic Cold Spring Village, will discusss transportation and tourism and the creation of historic Cape May on May 17. Jazz in June with the Rowan Jazz Ensemble will close out the season. 

All programs are free and supported by the Gloucester County Cultural and  Heritage Commission at Rowan College of South Jersey, in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State and National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey Historical Commission/Department of State. 

The Cultural Center is located at 836 Lambs Road in the Richwood section of Mullica Hill. The concert will also be livestreamed and archived on the Harrison historical society’s Facebook page and posted on YouTube. Information is available at harrisonhistorical.com, hthsmhnj@gmail.com and (856) 478-4949.