In May 2026, the Lafayette Inspirational Ensemble celebrated its 35th year of service. The Ensemble is under the direction of Janis Russell, who assumed that role in 2000 after the untimely death of the late Oliver Williams, Jr., who had directed the group since its founding in 1991. At the time, under the direction of organist Hampson Sisler, LAPC’s music programming was largely classical.
Janis and her husband Mike Weatherly, a bass player, had joined LAPC in 1988. The Ensemble is an outgrowth of the Lafayette Trio, which consisted of Oliver, Janis, and Mike. The trio evolved into a full gospel choir once the three were joined by pianist Aaron Williams (no relation to Oliver).
From its earliest days, the Ensemble was intentionally a diverse group, welcoming singers regardless of race, color, creed, or sexual orientation. This was put to the test when the Ensemble was invited to St Patrick’s Cathedral to perform in a program honoring Pope John Paul II. The organizers asked Oliver Williams to “leave the white singers at home” but Oliver refused to compromise and the entire Ensemble ultimately participated in the event.
In a 2026 interview, Janis was quoted as saying: “Everybody who knew Oliver loved him. He was funny. He was smart. And he was just very charismatic and just very knowledgeable and very, very loving, very accepting, very open.”
In addition to singing at monthly services at LAPC over these many years, the Lafayette Inspirational Ensemble also participated in several notable “extracurricular” projects. The Ensemble sang in Donald Byrd’s Harlem Nutcracker, which was performed down the street at BAM during the 1990s. The group also sang on the steps of New York’s City Hall for a program that included then-President Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and “a whole cast of…Hollywood types,” in the words of Janis Russell.
In 1998 and 1999, the Ensemble provided the musical accompaniment for Slain in the Spirit, a rock opera about Jonestown created by Taj Mahal and Susan Yankowitz, as described in Jonestown & Peoples Temple: A Digital Archive.
“In New York, the artistic team continues to work with the wonderful Lafayette Inspirational Choir [sic], whose members serve as the community of Jonestown.” – from Jonestown & Peoples Temple: A Digital Archive
In 2003, the group sang in St Patrick’s Cathedral for a program marking the 25th anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul II. The program was live-streamed to the Vatican, so His Holiness could swing to Brooklyn-inspired gospel riffs. The Ensemble was also heard in Body of War (2007), a documentary film by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro that chronicled the journey of Tomas Young, who was paralyzed while serving in Iraq. Donahue worshiped at LAPC on a number of occasions during that period.
In 2009, the Ensemble welcomed Prudence Mabhena, the lead singer in Liyana, a group of disabled musicians from Zimbabwe who made LAPC the first stop on anAmerican tour sponsored by the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. Prudence was the leading character in Roger Ross Williams’s Oscar-winning documentary Music by Prudence.
– by Edward Moran
May 10, 2026
