Vy Higginsen’s Gospel for Teens Choir will provide the musical entertainment for “A Gospel Gathering at Ginny’s” at Ginny’s Supper Club, the sister venue to Samuelsson’s Red Rooster Harlem, located at 310 Lenox Avenue (between 125th and 126th Streets). The acclaimed Gospel for Teens Choir presented by award-winning chef and author Marcus Samuelsson will perform three half-hour sets of rousing gospel tunes (at 12 noon, 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.) during the venue’s new Sunday buffet brunch, served weekly between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Vy Higginsen’s Gospel for Teens Choir is a nationally recognized and award-winning ensemble that is currently featured in the Off-Broadway production of Mama, I Want to Sing: The Next Generation (performed on Saturdays at The Dempsey Theater, located at 127 West 127th Street). The subject of an award-winning “60 Minutes” documentary in 2011 (currently Emmy nominated), the choir comprises talented young performers who emerged from Gospel for Teens, a program of Ms. Higginsen’s Mama Foundation and her School of Gospel, Jazz and R&B Arts, located in Harlem, which offers musical education and training to young people at no cost. Gospel for Teen Choir’s other national TV appearances include performances on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “The CBS Early Show,” and “The Nate Berkus Show.”
The choir took the grand prize in their division at the 2011 Pathmark Gospel Choir Competition of Harlem (their very first competition) and then went on to another win at Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound Gospel Competition. They have recently performed at the prestigious TED Conference in Long Beach, CA; the Stellar Gospel Music Awards in Nashville, TN; and Moncler Grenoble’s winter show at New York Fashion Week. The Gospel for Teens Choir has had the privilege to perform with such artists as Cissy Houston, Arsenio Hall, Clay Aiken, and Madonna. Their debut album will be released later this year on Harlem Records.
Downstairs at the Red Rooster Harlem is the spirited sister venue, Ginny’s Supper Club. With a hat tipped to Harlem’s Renaissance, Ginny’s is a modern reincarnation of the glamorous speakeasies and Harlem nights of the Twenties – an intimate lounge with a warm bourbon glow and an even warmer welcome. Kindled by the hottest live music, creative cocktails, soulful food, inclusive spirit and Harlem’s vibrant culture, Ginny’s is devoted to hosting afternoons and evenings out with a little bit of magic. And, as its creators chef Marcus Samuelsson and Andrew Chapman will tell you, that means style, culture and genuine down home fun for everyone.
Samuelsson was the youngest chef to receive two three-star ratings from The New York Times while at Aquavit as executive chef. In 2003, he was named “Best Chef: New York City” by the James Beard Foundation. A proud Harlem resident, he opened Red Rooster Harlem in 2010. Samuelsson is an award-winning author with cookbook titles in both English and Swedish, and his memoir, “Yes, Chef,” was recently released. On television, he starred on “Inner Chef” and “Urban Cuisine,” and was the winner of “Top Chef Masters -Season 2” in 2010. Marcus has also had the privilege to serve as the guest chef for the first State Dinner of the Obama administration.
