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BUFFALO — Wyatt’s Chapel Baptist Church, located at 153 Wyatt’s Chapel Road in Buffalo, will host “A Musical Appreciation for Andre L. Tate” at 6 p.m. tonight, Saturday, March 16.

Assistant Minister of Music Andre Tate has played music weekly at Wyatt’s Chapel — as well as assisted with the direction of the church’s children’s choir, mass choir and all-male chorus — since June 2009. He directs music as well as voices.

Tate said he grew up singing traditional gospel music in a quartet in Gaffney, and he is doing what he can do to keep the genre alive. Tate is the son of the late Rev. Dr. L.T. Tate of Gaffney, and he was involved with the music of his father’s church for years.

The Rev. Elijah Ray of Wyatt’s Chapel said Tate is committed to the work of God and is very supportive of what he referred to as the church’s extracurricular activities.

“One of the most important things about Andre is he is very supportive of church activities and events, even those that take place outside of regular Sunday morning services,” Rev. Ray said. “He has been with us over three years, and because of his faithfulness, several of us thought it would be nice to honor him.”

The Rev. Ray said Tate is active in the community and is supportive of multiple choirs, not just Wyatt’s Chapel. He also said other choirs often reach out to Tate because of his ability to play by ear.

As a show of appreciation for Tate, the church has organized a special service for Saturday, which will feature at least nine groups from Union County, as well as visitors from surrounding counties.

Gospel group 2gether of Spartanburg are special guests for Saturday’s service, as well as The Gospel Prophets of Woodruff. Other choirs from the local area who will perform include McBeth Baptist Church Choir, Wyatt’s Chapel All-Male Choir, Foster’s Chapel All-Male Choir, The Dunanaires of Carlisle, The Hubertlets of Carlisle, The Bethany AME Church Choir, The Walker All-Male Chorus of Cross Keys and the Littlejohn Singers of Kelton.

The Rev. Ray also pointed out that Tate receives much support from his wife, Tawanna, and his two young children, Isaac and Isaiah.

Staff Writer Derik Vanderford can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 29, or by email at dvanderford@civitasmedia.com.