In the Spirit of Ellington

BillyRay Sheppard & The Heritage Big Band are taking over the Jo Long Theatre on Friday, December 11, for In the Spirit of Ellington, a night built around Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts. They aren't doing it alone: the San Antonio Gospel Heritage Choir joins them on stage, and guest vocalist Lori Williams adds another voice to the mix. It's a big-band show in the fullest sense, with a full choir backing the band throughout.

The Sacred Concerts were a series Ellington first premiered in the 1960s, and they sit in a different place than the dance-hall swing he's best known for. He wrote them as a fusion of jazz, gospel, classical, blues and sacred traditions, and the program reflects that—you'll hear richly layered choral harmonies, expansive big-band orchestrations and solo performances. The whole thing comes from Ellington's belief that sacred music could hold both reverence and swing at the same time, and the evening pulls selections from across the series to show how that worked in practice.

It's a collaboration between two of San Antonio's leading musical ensembles, and the evening is presented in partnership with the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum as part of the Carver Community Cultural Center's 2026/27 season. The Jo Long Theatre is inside the Carver, at 226 N. Hackberry in San Antonio. The concert runs from 8 PM to 10:30 PM, and tickets are $32.