In celebration of Black History Month, DePaul University will present the premiere of "Sermon of the Middle-Aged Revolutionary Spider," a new composition for tenor and chamber ensemble by DePaul School of Music faculty member Janice Misurell-Mitchell.

The performance is part of a Feb. 21 poetry and music event which will highlight the works of Angela R. Jackson, a Carl Sandburg Award-winning poet raised in Chicago. The event begins at 8 p.m. in the DePaul Concert Hall, 800 West Belden Ave.

Jackson will begin the evening with a reading of her poetry. Then nationally-renowned tenor William Brown will perform "Sermon," a composition based on Jackson's poem about the many overpowering the few and the African proverb: "When spider webs unite, they can fell a lion." The composition is presented as a sermon in song and spoken text with music accompaniment. Performing with Brown will be members of the DePaul School of Music faculty conducted by Donald DeRoche, the DePaul Gospel Choir and guest performers.

The event is open to the public and admission is free. It is sponsored by the DePaul's Women's Center, the School of Music, Student Life, the Cultural Center, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, the Center for African American Research and Multicultural Student Affairs office. For more information, call 773/325-7558.

The poem "Sermon of the Middle-Aged Revolutionary Spider" was published in 1993 in Jackson's book, "Dark Legs and Silk Kisses: The Beatitudes of the Spinners," one of five collections of poetry Jackson has authored. Jackson was born in Greenville, Miss., and raised on Chicago's South Side. She was educated at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. In 1994 she received the Carl Sandburg Award for her poetry. Jackson teaches English at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Misurell-Mitchell is a composer, flutist, performance artist and active proponent of new music. She is co-artistic director of the Chicago contemporary chamber ensemble CUBE. She has received numerous grants and honors from cultural organizations and her works are performed throughout the United States and Europe. Her music has been featured at Ravinia, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Carnegie Hall, the New Music American Music Festival in Houston, National Flute Association conventions, the National Museum for Women in the Arts and on PBS. Master Musicians Collective will release a CD of her work for orchestra, "Luminaria," in 1997.

Brown is professor of voice at the University of North Florida. He is known in Chicago for performing with the Black Music Repertoire Ensemble at Columbia College and will sing with the Chicago Sinfonietta in March. An avid performer of 20th century music, he has appeared with such groups as the Boston Musica Viva, the Kitchen Concerts in New York, the Washington Contemporary Chamber Players, the San Francisco Contemporary Players, and with ensembles in Europe and Asia.