Jamaican-American classical composer Jacqueline L. Hopkins has described the world premiere of The Jacqueline Hopkins Choir on Oct. 12 at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church (FSUMC) in Brooklyn, the church of her childhood, as “a very moving experience on many levels.”
Hopkins told Caribbean Life on Tuesday, Oct. 28, that the 136-year-old church, at the corner of Fenimore Street and Rogers Avenue, is where she, her Jamaican-born mother, her Grenville, N.C.-born father, and her siblings worshipped every Sunday.
She said she felt “great nostalgia and pride” in launching her choir’s “world premiere“ there.
“I felt that my parents were looking on from heaven and applauding along with the congregation,“ Hopkins said. “In addition, I felt excited to share my music with the public.”
She said the premiere was “an overwhelming success because the crowd clapped enthusiastically, and for a long time, but several people also screamed with glee.”
Hopkins said, “This was only the beginning,“ as she has a goal to perform all 10 movements of her Requiem at as many churches as possible in the near future.
On Aug. 28, 2022, Hopkins said she sang excerpts of her work at FSUMC in memory of her parents.
More recently, in August 2025, she said she established the Jacqueline Hopkins Choir.
Hopkins, who has lived in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, her entire life, said she is the “proud daughter“ of the late Harold and Louise Hopkins and is also “proud“ of her Jamaican heritage.
Hopkins said she first studied music with Louvina G. Pointer, mother of classical violinist Noel Pointer, as a choir member at Brooklyn’s I.S. 61.
She said she continued to study music at Hunter College, where she was a member of the choir under the direction of maestro Paul F. Mueller.
“If I had never been in the choir under Paul F. Mueller, I would never have written my Requiem,“ Hopkins said. “It would be impossible. He inspired me.
“If there were no Paul F. Mueller, there would not be a Hopkins Requiem,“ she stressed, stating that Prof. Mueller taught her Mozart’s Requiem and Fauré’s Requiem.
Hopkins said the works she performed at Hunter College included the Requiem Masses of Gabriel Fauré and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
At the height of the pandemic, Hopkins said she spent two years composing her own Requiem entitled “The Hopkins Requiem.“
The two selections The Jacqueline Hopkins Choir performed, to rave reviews, during Worship Service at FSUMC, on Oct. 12, were “Rex Tremendae“ and “Jerusalem.”
