Chord singer from High Point forms gospel choir

Mar. 21—HIGH POINT — Julian Kennedy has come full circle.

The 23-year-old High Pointer, who received national acclaim three years ago when his vocal trio, 1aChord, wowed the judges on "America's Got Talent," has returned to his musical roots.

The church.

"As a younger boy, I always dreamed of wanting to start my own choir," says Kennedy, a graduate of the jazz studies program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "And now that dream has come to fruition."

The choir, Julian Kennedy & True Foundation, will perform its first full concert Saturday evening at St. Mark United Holy Church in Greensboro. Admission is free.

According to Kennedy, the choir will sing traditional and contemporary Black gospel music — some of it original, but also covers of songs by such well-known gospel artists as Maverick City, Richard Smallwood, Thomas Whitfield and Judith Christie McAllister.

Kennedy will direct and play the keyboard for the 10-member choir.

"We have soprano, alto and tenor, but some of my members can sing any part," he says. "Most of us went to UNCG, and most of us were active in the UNCG NBS (Neo Black Society) Gospel Choir."

Kennedy, now a grad student in UNCG's jazz studies program, traces his musical heritage back to his childhood.

"I started singing when I was about 3 years old," he says. "I became active singing at church (First Emmanuel Baptist in High Point) when I was 6 or 7. I remember my first solo was 'God Did It' by Evelyn Turrentine-Agee. Later on, I was active in the youth choir and the praise team."

Outside of church, he played in the band during middle school and high school, serving as drum major his senior year at Ragsdale High School. In 2016, he competed in the annual "High Point Has Talent" competition and won second place, and in 2019 he sang the national anthem at a High Point Rockers game.

It was in 2021 that Kennedy and two of his fellow students at UNCG, Tavis Cunningham and Christoff Hairston, formed the vocal group 1aChord. The trio reached the semifinals on "America's Got Talent" and gained a loyal following during the nationally televised talent competition.

Kennedy hopes 1aChord will resume performing together, but there are no immediate plans to do so, he says.

In the meantime, he's thrilled to launch his own gospel choir, implementing something he learned on "America's Got Talent."

"What I learned was confidence," Kennedy says. "There were times when I was nervous — I was scared performing on such a big platform — but the more I kept doing it, the more confident I became. I might still get nervous sometimes, but now I know how to move past it."

Jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579