News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 2/4/03   Click on image for publication quality photo GOSPEL LEGEND TO PERFORM WITH SOUTHEASTERN CHOIR       HAMMOND -- Karen Clark Sheard, one of the founding members of gospel music’s renowned Clark Sisters, will be the guest soloist with Southeastern Louisiana University’s Gospel Choir in a February 15 concert at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.       Tickets for the concert, which is part of Southeastern’s celebration of February as African American Heritage Month, are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are available in the Southeastern Multicultural and International Affairs office, War Memorial Student Union  room 112, 985-549-3850.        Clark Sheard has been honing her talents as a gospel singer since the age of six. She is the daughter of the late Mattie Moss-Clark, a gospel pioneer of the 1960s and 1970s and one of the first gospel artists to achieve “gold record” status. Clark Sheard emerged as a spiritual and vocal force with the gospel group, the Clark Sisters. For more than two decades, she and her four siblings have remained one of gospel music’s most popular vocal ensembles. The quintet brought contemporary gospel into mainstream music success with their 1983 crossover hit “You Brought the Sunshine (Into My Life).”       Clark Sheard set the stage for her solo career in 1996, when she contributed “Don’t Give It Up” to the gold-selling “Don’t Be A Menace to South Central” soundtrack. She released her first solo album, “Finally Karen,” in 1997. In 1999 she received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album and received four Stellar Awards. Reviewers have touted her latest album, “2nd Chance,” as “one of the best records of 2002.”       In addition to the Gospel Choir concert, the African American Heritage Month celebration will continue throughout February with lectures, films and fun contests for students.       Guest speakers include former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial on February 18 and pioneering Navy Master Diver Carl Brashear, whose life story inspired the motion picture, “Men of Honor,” on February 20.       For additional information about the concert and African American Heritage Month, contact Eric Summers, director of Multicultural and International Affairs, 985-549-3850. Return to News Releases