By Mary O’KEEFE

St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church is celebrating Black History Month featuring the talents of composer singer/songwriter Adrian Dunn and the Adrian Dunn Singers.

Adrian Dunn and his singers will be “sharing spirituals and gospel music that reflects current themes and issues facing the African American community,” according to St. Luke’s.

Dunn and his singers are well known at St. Luke’s and were originally invited by Vicar Guy Leemhuis to perform at the church.

“I serve as a member on the Program Group for Black Ministry for the Episcopal diocese of Los Angeles and after coordinating the event for MLK (Martin Luther King Jr.) [Day] with Bishop Curry a clergy colleague connected me with Adrian who wanted to have the group sing at a church service the morning after their concert at Colburn School of Music and the morning after [their] album drops,” said Leemhuis in a previous CVW interview.

Dunn is an accomplished singer, songwriter and producer who holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree in voice from The Music Conservatory at Roosevelt University with additional musical studies in opera at The Sibelius Academy of Music in Finland. He has sung with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Grant Park Symphony Chorus and is a frequent soloist in Handel’s “Messiah.”

His most recent composition, “Emancipation,” a PBS special, was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2023 and featured The Adrian Dunn Singers & Dunn’s Rize Orchestra.

Adrian Dunn Singers will be at St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church on Feb. 18. They will be joining the choir at the 10 a.m. service and will have a concert at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the afternoon performance.

St. Luke’s, 2563 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta, is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year. Any donations will help with the continued maintenance and upkeep of the historic church.