Northampton Community to Honor Evelyn Harris with Sing-In

The Ujima Singers will perform and invite the public to join in celebrating the life of the beloved music educator.

Apr. 10, 2026 at 6:25pm

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An abstract illustration featuring bold, jagged black silhouettes against a bright red background, conceptually representing the energy and impact of collective song and community activism.A community sing-in celebrates the life and musical legacy of Evelyn Harris, a pillar of the Northampton arts scene.Northampton Today

The Northampton Community Music Center will host a special Evelyn Harris Community Sing-In on April 30th to honor the memory of the longtime faculty member and director of the Ku'Umba Women's Choir. The event will feature a performance by the Ujima Singers, a group Harris helped establish, and will reunite alums of the Ku'Umba choir she led for 15 years. The public is invited to join in singing some of Harris' standard and beloved repertoire, including music from the African American civil rights canon.

Why it matters

Evelyn Harris was a revered music educator and community leader in Northampton who dedicated decades to uplifting Black music and creating spaces for intergenerational artistic expression. Her passing last year was deeply felt, and this sing-in event aims to celebrate her legacy and the power of music as a tool for activism and healing.

The details

The Evelyn Harris Community Sing-In will take place on April 30th at 7 p.m. at the First Churches of Northampton. The Ujima Singers, an Afrocentric music collective that Harris helped found, will present a program of acapella music that she taught at the Northampton Community Music Center. The event will also reunite members of the Ku'Umba Women's Choir, which Harris directed for 15 years before it disbanded in 2021.

  • The Evelyn Harris Community Sing-In will be held on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 7 p.m.
  • Harris celebrated her 20th year as a faculty member of the Northampton Community Music Center last June.
  • Harris passed away suddenly last December, just a week after performing with the Ujima Singers.

The players

Evelyn Harris

A beloved music educator who served on the faculty of the Northampton Community Music Center for 20 years, directed the Ku'Umba Women's Choir for 15 years, and was a member of the acclaimed acapella group Sweet Honey In The Rock.

Ujima Singers

An Afrocentric music collective that Evelyn Harris helped establish, which will perform at the community sing-in event.

Ku'Umba Women's Choir

A vocal ensemble that Harris directed for 15 years at the Northampton Community Music Center before it disbanded in 2021.

Indë Francis

The marketing coordinator at the Northampton Community Music Center, who is organizing the Evelyn Harris Community Sing-In.

Jason Trotta

The executive director of the Northampton Community Music Center, who envisioned the Ujima Singers program with Harris.

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What they’re saying

“Because the Ku'umba Women's Choir disbanded in 2021, most of these women have not had the opportunity to gather in grief or in song. The Evelyn Harris Community Sing-In will be a powerful moment for both ensembles to unite in their shared repertoire and transmute our grief and civil unrest into harmony.”

— Indë Francis, Marketing coordinator, Northampton Community Music Center

“As Evelyn would have it, her passing is an occasion to lift our voices as resounding echoes of the great, great impact that hers has had on our community.”

— Indë Francis, Marketing coordinator, Northampton Community Music Center

“In this time of particularly devastating fascism on the part of the American government, this program will equip our community with protest music and the courage to speak and act in solidarity with one another.”

— Indë Francis, Marketing coordinator, Northampton Community Music Center

What’s next

The Evelyn Harris Community Sing-In is a one-time event taking place on April 30, 2026. After this celebration, the Ujima Singers will continue to carry on Harris' legacy of using music as a tool for activism and community building in Northampton.

The takeaway

Evelyn Harris left an indelible mark on the Northampton community through her decades of work as a beloved music educator and choir director. This sing-in event is a powerful way for the community to come together and honor her memory by lifting their voices in the musical traditions she championed.