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Landmark Performance to Support Planned Performing Arts Center
MONROVIA, Liberia (Feb. 22, 2026) – For the first time since 2012, the renowned University of Liberia Alumni Chorus (ULAC) is returning home to perform on Liberian soil — uniting with the current UL Chorus for a landmark, intergenerational concert celebrating UL’s 75th anniversary and rallying support for the future of the arts at the nation’s flagship university.
On Monday, February 23, at 6 pm in the EJS Ministerial Complex Theater, the U.S.-based ensemble will take the stage for a performance that is both a homecoming and a call to action — inviting the nation to celebrate UL’s Diamond Jubilee and support the planned UL Performing Arts Center.
“Coming back during this milestone celebration is our way of giving back,” said Charles W. Russell, president of ULAC. “The University shaped our minds and our character. It gave many of us our first platform to discover our voices and build confidence that carried into our professional lives.”
Russell added, “Standing together again during the 75th Founder’s Day is our expression of gratitude — an offering of time, talent and heart.”
A Night of Music and Legacy
The benefit concert will feature ULAC and the current UL Chorus in a combined ensemble. They will perform mostly a cappella, with accompaniment on select pieces spanning gospel, traditional and classical genres. The evening promises music that reflects excellence, heritage and unity.
Jonathan NB Davies, deputy director of the UL Chorus, said performing with ULAC members “who paved the way is an incredible honor. It symbolizes continuity, legacy and the passing of the torch.”
“This joint performance is more than fundraising — it’s a statement,” Davies said. “We want to show that the arts are the heartbeat of UL, fostering creativity, unity and expression. The Performing Arts Center will be a hub for innovation, collaboration and cultural enrichment.”
Building for the Next 75 Years
The fundraising goal for the concert is US $500,000. Proceeds will support construction of the University of Liberia Performing Arts Center, envisioned as a hub for artistic expression, cultural preservation and student development.
UL President Dr. Layli Maparyan described the event as a “visionary benefit concert.”
“It is an investment in the next 75 years of UL,” Dr. Maparyan said. “When we ultimately build the Performing Arts Center that ULAC and the UL Alumni Association in the Americas are working toward with UL, we plan to create something state-of-the-art that will endure — a building that will still be with us 75 years from now, enshrining the importance of music, dance and drama for generations to come.”
ULAC comprises 50 graduates, mostly based in the United States, who sang in the UL Chorus as students and now continue to represent the University with distinction abroad. The nonprofit ensemble began in 2009 to give back to their alma mater through annual fundraising concerts. The chorus has performed across the United States, including at Yale University and Johns Hopkins University. In 2012, ULAC made its Liberian debut, performing at the second inauguration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Russell said this second ULAC homecoming is especially meaningful.
“It’s our alma mater’s 75th Anniversary Founder’s Day celebration,” he said. “Seventy-five years represent generations of students whose lives, including ours, were shaped by their sojourn through this great institution. To lend our voices to such a historic moment is both humbling and deeply personal.”
He said the fundraising effort flows naturally from that gratitude.
“We know firsthand how transformative the arts can be,” Russell said. “A dedicated space for performance means opportunities for students to grow creatively, develop discipline and find confidence that extends far beyond the stage. We want future generations to have a place where their gifts can be nurtured and celebrated. This will help transform the University from being only a place of instruction into a place of artistic creativity and expression.”
Join the celebration
UL kicked off its 75th anniversary celebration on Feb. 15 — Founder’s Day — and ULAC and UL Chorus members have lent their voices to the ongoing commemorations. Dr. Maparyan expressed gratitude for the combined ensemble’s participation, calling it “a tremendous gift and also a pleasure because I get to hear them sing.”
About 30 ULAC members are in Liberia for the anniversary celebrations. Russell said the benefit concert will send a message that “giving back does not require perfection — it requires commitment.”
“The arts belong to all of us,” he said. “As the University marks 75 years, this concert is both a tribute to the past and an investment in the future — a reminder that when people from different walks of life come together in harmony, something meaningful happens.”
Tickets are $20 for regular admission, $50 for patrons and $100 for special patrons. Tickets will be available at the venue. Formore information, call Felecia J.W. Dorbor at 077 656 4836. Tickets can also be purchased via Mobile Money payments: Lone Star – 088 689 0356 to Boakai K. Robertson and Orange –077 881 6692 to Irene Horace. Doors open at 5 pm.
