LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of Louvinia G. Pointer, Found-
er and Director of the Great Day Chorale and mother of Grammy Nominated
Jazz Violinist, Noel Pointer

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
citizens of the State of New York whose lifework and civic endeavor
served to enhance the quality of life in their communities and the great
State of New York; and
WHEREAS, A musicologist and celebrated arts educator, Louvinia G.
Pointer of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York died on February 18,
2009, at the age of 92; and
WHEREAS, Born in Holly Hill, South Carolina in 1916, Louvinia G. Poin-
ter and her family migrated to Harlem in 1926 in search of the progres-
sive opportunities for African Americans in the North; and
WHEREAS, Trained as a pianist from a young age, organist and lyric
soprano, Louvinia G. Pointer was prompted by friends to audition for
Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater when she was 18; she won the legend-
ary competition but relinquished her prize for fear of the response
church members at Salem United Methodist Church might have; and
WHEREAS, Under the tutelage of Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, the
father of Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen, Louvinia G. Pointer
developed her skills as a music conductor, performer and pianist accom-
panying church members in weekly services, including a young Eartha
Kitt; and
WHEREAS, With a recommendation from Countee Cullen, Louvinia G. Point-
er was accepted to New York University in 1935, where she studied music
education and later enrolled in the Music Masters program; and
WHEREAS, Louvinia G. Pointer auditioned for renowned British play-
wright Noel Coward in 1939, seeking a part in his new Broadway
production, "Set to Music," starring Beatrice Lillie; she got the part
and an obbligato was composed for her to open the production; and
WHEREAS, In 1942, Louvinia G. Pointer was approached by the producers
of "The Pirate," a musical comedy about a small village in the West
Indies in the early 19th Century, starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
and joined the cast playing the role of maid to Fontanne's character,
Manuela; and
WHEREAS, That same year, Louvinia G. Pointer became a choral director
in the National Youth Administration Radio Workshop, a unit of President
Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration which provided programming and
employment opportunities for unemployed youth during the Great
Depression; and
WHEREAS, Using the skills that she learned in the church and at New
York University, Louvinia G. Pointer directed one of the two National
Youth Administration Radio Choirs, which performed weekly concerts on
WNYC-FM until the conclusion of the program in 1943; and
WHEREAS, Through the success of her choir, Louvinia G. Pointer became
acquainted with African American tenor Harry T. Burleigh, the muse of
Antonin Dvorak's Symphony of the New World, and the chorus was invited
to perform at a dinner in honor of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; and
WHEREAS, In 1947, Louvinia G. Pointer married World War II veteran
William Davis Pointer Sr., and the couple had three children, Olive
Elise Pointer, William Davis Pointer Jr. and internationally acclaimed,
Grammy nominated jazz violinist and political activist Noel Whitaker
Pointer; and
WHEREAS, Her final Broadway role was in the 1951 revival of the Marc
Connelly 1936 film classic, "The Green Pastures," a musical setting of
the Biblical "Creation"; Louvinia G. Pointer also worked as Assistant

Choral Director to famed arranger of the Negro Spiritual, composer Hall
Johnson; and
WHEREAS, In the production, starring Ossie Davis and Robert "Bobby"
McFerrin Sr., Louvinia G. Pointer led the Hebrew children out of Egypt
with the song "Oh Lord I Don't Feel No Ways Tired"; and
WHEREAS, Louvinia G. Pointer began her tenure as a music educator in
the New York City public school system in 1958, where she educated thou-
sands of youth at Girls High School, Tilden High School, P.S. 21 and
Lefferts Junior High School; and
WHEREAS, In 1987, Louvinia G. Pointer founded the Great Day Chorale, a
50-member a cappella singing ensemble whose mission was to preserve and
present the Negro Spirituals in their authenticity; under her leader-
ship, the four-part ensemble performed nationally and internationally in
New Orleans and Barbados; and
WHEREAS, Louvinia G. Pointer took her knowledge and love of the Negro
Spirituals to Cuba, and the Great Day Chorale also sang in venues across
the tri-state area including Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Brooklyn
Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Historical
Society, Carnegie Hall, Emmanuel Temple, Lincoln Center, the New York
Stock Exchange, Yale University, the United Nations, Weeksville Heritage
Center and Rikers Island; and
WHEREAS, The Great Day Chorale recorded two albums, "In Bright
Mansions Above" and "Mary Had a Baby," and were featured singing "In the
Garden" in "Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan," a 2008
documentary about his gospel music arrangements; after 21 years, she
conducted the Great Day Chorale in its final performance in 2008; and
WHEREAS, Louvinia G. Pointer is survived by daughter Olive Pointer
Harney and her husband, Tony Award winning actor Ben Harney; son, Rever-
end William D. Pointer Jr., the Associate Pastor of Christian Cultural
Center in Brooklyn; daughter-in-laws Elder Lillie Pointer and Chinita
Pointer, the wife of the late Noel Pointer; fourteen grandchildren;
seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and cousins, all of
whom felt privileged to be a part of her life and rejoiced in her many
achievements; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit, imbued with a sense of
compassion, and comforted by a loving family, Louvinia G. Pointer leaves
behind a legacy which will long endure the passage of time and will
remain as a comforting memory to all she served and befriended; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Louvinia G. Pointer, Founder and Director of the
Great Day Chorale and mother of Grammy Nominated Jazz Violinist, Noel
Pointer; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Louvinia G. Pointer.