Next weekend, the Sunrise Theatre will swell with the spiritual songs of Ann Caldwell and the Magnolia Singers.

The a cappella vocal ensemble focuses largely on performing early southern pieces as well as African work songs, jazz, blues and gospel spirituals. They hope to preserve these songs and the emotion brought to them when they were conceived many years ago. The work songs, dating back to the days of slave and master, provided a means of maintaining the spirit of those subjected to slavery and a break from the indignities from everyday burdens. In addition, the songs gave the slaves a chance to pace the workday and a way to praise the Lord, since their religion had been stifled in most other ways.

Ann Caldwell and the Magnolia Singers weave the songs of the past with jazz and blues features to provide a multicultural appeal to southerners of all races and a bond to both community and to God.

Caldwell, a native of Charleston, SC, founded the group in 1998 as the next step in her singing career. Caldwell has spent most of her life around music, dating back to her childhood days where she sang as a child along with Duke Ellington records. However, only 10 years ago did she move from making singing a peripheral aspect of her life to making it the focus of her life. She first performed in the chorus of the show “Porgy and Bess” and after that slowly began her shift to a full-time singer. She first began singing at weddings and parties with the David Archer Band and soon became a well known for Charleston music lovers. In 1996, she did a show at the Lowcountry Legends Music Hall about lowcountry history, which was narrated through spirituals and Gullah and has since given new intensity to her career.

She along with the magnolia singers have since performed at a multitude of venues in the southeast including several appearances at Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

In their performances, Ann Caldwell and The Magnolia Singers try to maintain a light, fun show that involves the energy of the audience as much as it seeks to entertain them. The interactions between the singers themselves give away the fact that they are thrilled to be able to do what they so passionately love.

“I am privileged, I am blessed to be able to do it,” said Caldwell