Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Washington-based a cappella group, is renowned for an eclectic repertoire that reverberates with black American musical traditions from spirituals, gospel and blues to rap, hip-hop and jazz improvisation. This week, the Grammy Award-winners make their Hylton Center debut. The members of the ensemble are Ysaye M. Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil, Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson and Shirley Childress Saxton, the American Sign Language interpreter. Barnwell, the multitalented spokeswoman for the group since the retirement of its founder, Bernice Johnson Reagon, explained that this will be a departure from their usual concert.

“It will be more seasonal with songs from different traditions, including Hebrew and Arabic,” she said. “One of the loveliest songs, ‘The Nativity,’ is from a commission by the American Bible Society based on Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus. Others chosen from our repertoire express how we look at the season.