A Mississippi men’s choir with roots that date back 85 years will perform at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church Wednesday as part of its Lenten Arts Series.

The Jubilee Singers of the Utica campus of Hinds Community College, directed by Bolton native Dr. Bobby Cooper, will perform a variety of sacred music, including classical, gospel and spirituals, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Bovina church on Warriors Trail. The concert will follow a Holy Eucharist healing service at 6 and soup dinner at 6:30.

“The early singers performed Negro spirituals to help raise funds for the school during the 40-year Holtzclaw era,” Cooper said, referring to Dr. William Holtzclaw, the school’s president from 1903 to 1943. “I was so moved by the original group’s history, dedication and purpose, I felt compelled to revive the unique quality of the historical plantation-era music.”

Cooper has directed the choir since the 1970s, when he joined the Utica college faculty as music instructor.