Albert "Al" McNeil

The Heavenly Choir of Angels put out the call for a new director and Albert John McNeil, the founder and longtime director of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singer of Los Angeles, answered the call on November 29, 2022. Albert was living in Rancho Mirage, California with his friends Rafael Ceron, Bill Deacon, and Donald Knapp when he passed on to his life above.

Albert McNeil came into this world on February 14. 1920. His mother was Rodia McNeil, and his father was John McNeil, both famous vaudeville entertainers that settled in the Los Angeles area known as Watts.

Albert spent his early childhood in Los Angeles with his parents John and Rodia McNeil who made a living as vaudeville entertainers. One of Albert’s childhood memories was seeing musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton over at their house often for dinner. At 8 years old, Albert’s parents started him with music lessons, and they would quickly learn their son possessed a natural talent for piano. By 14, he was hired as a pianist at the local church and by his junior year of high school, Albert had become the Director of the Youth Choir at The People's Independent Church of Christ in Los Angeles.

Albert earned his bachelor and master’s degrees in music education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and did his Doctoral studies at the University of Southern California (USC), Westminster Choir College of Princeton, and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Prior to Albert’s enrollment in UCLA, he had met two musicians, Hall Johnson and Jester Hairston. They were composers as well as conductors of spirituals. They welcomed Albert with “open arms” into their musical fraternity.

In the early 50s, Albert met Helen Katherine Rambo at his local church. Al and Helen created a close bond and eventually married. With Helen’s companionship and support, The Albert Mc Neil Singers started to take shape. Albert and Helen had a son together, whom they named Richard. Al is survived by his son Richard McNeil, a prominent attorney in Orange County, and three grandchildren: Joseph, James and Ava. Preceding him in death is his sister Dorothyea Hanley. Other family members surviving Albert are his niece and nephew Robin Hanley James and Chester H. Hanley.

After spending 22 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Albert took advantage of the opportunity to teach on the college level. In 1968, Dr. McNeil was invited to the University of California at Davis to become a part of the Music Education Program. After helping to develop the program, he became head of the Music Department and Director of Choral activities for 21 years. He took the U.C. Davis chorus to England, France, Russia, China, Tahiti, and Australia. While at UC Davis, Albert spent 10 years as the Director of the Sacramento Chorale and co-founded the Sacramento Symphony Chorus.

In addition to his teaching and work with the Jubilee Singers, McNeil was active in the church choir community in the greater Los Angeles area. He was Minister of Music at the Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship for over 30 years, as well as the Director of Music at the Founders Church of Religious Science.

The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers brought the beauty of the African American spiritual music to countless thousands of people around the world including Kings, Queens, Popes and other world leaders leaving listeners speechless and none the less influenced. The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers have toured over 77 countries and 48 of the 50 states, educating and entertaining vast audiences. In Al’s words, it was his mission to share the Negro Spiritual’s beauty and message of an illiterate people with the world”. Every performance brought people to their feet and moved so many to tears.

What Albert accomplished was nothing short of a miracle! He brought people together to experience America’s 1st and only true art form. Albert will go down as one of the greatest choral conductors to walk this planet for those reasons.

We thank, praise, and cherish Albert John Joseph McNeil for all of his hard work and talent he has shared with us. Albert had a mission to spread the beauty of his music across the globe. It is safe to say Albert accomplished that goal and so much more. This is a legacy that will be left but not forgotten. The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers will continue to share and spread the “good news” of the spiritual and all of its promises.