Shavonne Rogers
Staff Writer
As part of the Black History Month celebration, the La Verne community gathered Sunday in the Morgan Auditorium to hear Grammy Award winning drummer Lyndon Rochelle play.
Rochelle has performed at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, for President Barack Obama, Prince’s Welcome to America tour and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Rochelle opened with a call and response, “God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good.”
Rochelle testified to his story about God’s grace in his life.
He mentioned that the Holy Spirit guides him so that he knows what to play, and then he began to beat his drums.
As soon as the band started, gospel music filled the auditorium. People began to bob their heads to the beat and absorb the music.
Rochelle and his band started the evening off with the well-known song “Amazing Grace,” adding a soulful twist.
Lawrence Potter, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said he believes that it is important to celebrate culture in the La Verne community.
“I think different genres of music are important to expanding the canon and the historical understanding of what it means to be an American citizen,” Potter said.
“When you are able to represent that type of diversity through programs, it gives students and community members a better understanding of the experience.”
Toward the middle of the performance Rochelle introduced the singers of the band, his mother and his two aunts.
He then gave background to where gospel music came from. Rochelle said that the music is a way of spreading the good news—that we are saved from our sins.
“College campuses are the cultural centers of a city, so it’s almost an obligation to have different cultural things at a university so the community can all come together and experience different parts of different people,” Rachael McCrary, junior biological anthropology major, said.
As the band played “Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood, the audience lifted their hands and sang praises.
After each performance, Rochelle mouthed “Amen,” thanking God for allowing him to play a great song.
Alumnus Dylan Peruti, who is now an audio engineer for the University of La Verne’s music series, was working the show.
“Going to concerts or just listening to music in general reminds us what it is to be human,” Peruti said.
Rochelle closed the show with his rendition of “By The Blood of Jesus” by Hillsong United.
Rochelle said his goal is to reach as many lost souls as he can through music.
“God likes diversity. Everyone has different cultures, customs, and backgrounds so we need different representations of everyone’s culture,” Rochelle said. “As long as the message is the same, that is all that matters.”
Shavonne Rogers can be reached at shavonne.rogers@laverne.edu.
Shavonne Rogers
