François Clemmons recounts how music, especially spirituals, has played a prominent role throughout his life, from singing in church and school assemblies, to the founding of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. He describes that while he was trained in classical and operatic music, the Ensemble, founded in 1984, filled a personal need in his life not addressed by his successful concert career.  He discusses his views on the difference between spirituals and gospel music, the concertizing of spirituals, and relates some of his teaching experiences at Middlebury College.