Cerca Mr Brown e The American Gospel Choir questa settimana su “Affari Tuoi”

From Spiritual to Hip-Hop/ Faith Gospel Choir- 4,5,6, September – Modena, Italy

Tenuto dal Maestro Nehemiah H. Brown (USA)

Concerto Finale – 6 settembre ore 21:30  guest soloist: Josie St. Aimee (USA)

per L’informazione ed iscrizione  www.faithgospelchoir.it

Pics from Sweden – Florence Gospel Choir

Remembering Dr. Horace Boyer – FGC sings “Deep River”

Dr. Horace C. Boyer – 1935-2009 .

Horace Boyer, editor of the Episcopal Hymnal, Lift Every Voice and Sing, a beloved musician who loved teaching others to sing with passion, enthusiasm and excellence, has died at age 74

From : This Far By Faith – Horace Clarence Boyer at pbs.org……

Horace Clarence Boyer grew up in Winter Park, FL in a deeply religious home. Both his parents were ministers in the Church of God in Christ, and Boyers sang in the choir from third grade. At ages 12 and 13, Boyers and his brother, James, went to live with an aunt who taught them not just church music, but “sanctified music,” which Boyers explains as “jubilant shout songs” – gospels and ballads.

Upon their return home, James and Horace began performing the new music they’d learned at local churches and, at ages 15 and 16, started recording gospel records as “the Boyer Brothers.” With money earned from their performances, the brothers put themselves through Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach. The Boyer Brothers have since traveled throughout 40 states, appearing in concerts, festivals, and on television in solo performances, as well as with such famous gospel singers as Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward.

Much to his parents’ chagrin – they didn’t want him to be “learning music that was not for the Lord,” – Boyers went on to earn M.A. and Ph.D degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He taught music theory and African-American studies at Albany State College in Georgia, the University of Central Florida, and from 1973 to 1999, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Boyers has published over 40 articles, contributed to many anthologies on music, written liner notes for gospel legends, and authored the popular book How Sweet the Sound: the Golden Age of Gospel. He served as Curator of Musical Instruments at the Smithsonian Institution and also as United Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholar-at-Large at Fisk University, where he directed the famed Fisk Jubilee Singers in 35 concerts.

Boyers has directed countless singers in choirs, ensembles, and workshops. With every group, he attempts to reach a mix of cultures and races. He spends an equal amount of time explaining the culture behind the song as he does the mechanics of the singing, “because if people don’t know why and how they’re doing something, it’s never going to sound right.

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His method of teaching also safeguards the roots of gospel. When Boyers was a young man, gospel music was just an extension of the church service: “When I came into gospel, I was really seeing it as a testimony to my beliefs, a way of testing the spirits. I was trying to be as close to God as possible.” Gospel’s popularity has taken it further away from its roots in the Church, and preserving this legacy has become central to Boyer’s mission as a teacher, director, and scholar.

Upon his retirement in 1999, the University of Massachusetts established the Horace Clarence Boyer Gospel Music Fund in honor and recognition of his outstanding service.

FGCS director, Nehemiah H. Brown was a member of the Voices of New Africa House Choir, UMass, founded by Max Roach and directed by Dr. Horace C. Boyer.  As one of the piansts for the choir at UMass, he studied and was mentored by Dr. Boyer, who later wrote liner notes for his first recording.

Rockin’ Jerusalem is a spiritual arranged by Dr. Boyer for the Episcopal Hymnal, Lift Every Voice and Sing.

California Dreaming in Florence

Everyday is a Day of Thanksgiving……

Bridge ….over troubled water..Grazie ! Grazie! Grazie ! al Massimo Cavallina ed Conottieri Firenze ..”Thanks for the Magic on the Arno”…al Florence Gospel Choir per il suo sostegno nei progetti del anno 2008-2009. Guido – The man!!! e The Celebration Gospel Choir… Il Faith Gospel Choir e Rossana per i grandi belli momenti insieme …’il brodo supremo” e per tutto…un altro Jam Session!!!! Il Coro San Leonardo , “Born to Run”, Thank you for being here, there and everywhere. …Al Revolution Gospel Choir..e il Prato Mass Choir ….Ragazzi siete veramente forte..Saluti al Leandro, Ylenia, Sergio, la famaglia Morganti e Prato gospel School..,Bravi!!! Al Precious Gospel Singers…Dir. Giulia Martella…Che Emozioni !!!! Alla Signora Sybil Smoot..You are So Beautiful!!! Christina , Barbara e St. James Family…Thanks for the Blessings!! Saluti al Grazia Secondi e suo coro da Finland…Ben arrivata a Gea ..baci a Laura e Gabriele….Ben arrivata ad Elena e saluti a Chiara e Guido..”All My Love!!”…Saluti al 5 Guys – Gianni,Stefano, Chris + Leandro e , Chiara DePalo al Londra… saluti agli amici dal Cesena Gospel Choir.e .Marco Balestri che fa medicine per “body and soul”!! al Pasquale e i Gospel Voices..Isa e Gli Insegnanti dal Badtuka Luciani , La Linda ed i ragazzi dalla Scuola Padule, Bagno a Ripoli, Bianca Maria ed i ragazzi da Prato…”You made me proud”..a Laura Anna e il laboratorio Gospel dal Musicando – Riccione 2009 – ‘Expect a Miracle!!!” ..a Josie St. Aimee e i Ragazzi dal Sacro Cuore Choir, Modena..”It’s been a Long Road To Freedom…e finalemente grazie a mio carissimo amico e ideato della Florence Gospel Choir School…. Eusebio DeCristofaro…Sei Grande!!!! Che bella voce!!! e “Praise God from whom all Blessings Flow……With One voice We’re Givin’ Up Da Prayze!!! baci Nehemiah

Il Ponte Vecchio / Cannottieri Firenze – Bridge over troubled waters….

A Look Back At Koko Taylor, Queen Of The Blues

Blues legend Koko Taylor died this afternoon. That’s one of the few introductory sentences about Taylor that don’t also include the words “The Queen of Chicago Blues” — or, more ambitiously and just as accurately, “The Queen of the Blues.”
The 80-year-old legend (born Cora Walton), who died following complications from May 19 gastrointestinal surgery, experienced her greatest commercial success performing Willie Dixon’s classic song “Wang Dang Doodle” (also popularized by Howlin’ Wolf).
But that song crashed the charts in 1966, and Taylor has been a beloved, award-winning blues staple ever since. Since signing with the Alligator label in the mid-’70s, she’s won a Grammy (for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1985), not to mention literally dozens of Blues Music Awards — the latest of which she won on May 7. (Taylor gave her last performance that night.) More importantly, she remained a touring powerhouse until very recently, bringing a raw and gutty sound to blues clubs and midsize theaters across the country well into her old age.
In the days to come, look for impassioned tributes to Taylor from the singers who succeeded her — particularly the brash young likes of Shemekia Copeland and Susan Tedeschi, who owe her a tremendous debt. Taylor earned every kind word they say.
Hear more of Taylor’s recorded legacy below, and leave your thoughts on the singer’s legacy in the comments section.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2009/06/a_look_back_at_koko_taylor_que_1.html

Gospel Pioneer David ‘Pop’ Winans.

David “Pop” Winans, one of the founding fathers of American gospel music, died last week at the age of 74. Winans is being remembered Wednesday in Detroit as patriarch of perhaps the most popular family in gospel music. [Read more]

Say a Prayer and Extend a hand to the Province of Aquila !

8 aprile 2009

21:00

Say a Prayer and Extend a hand to the Province of Aquila -

A moment of solidarieta’, prayer and help for those who have suffered loss as a result of the earthquakes in Aquila.

Place – St. James Church – via Rucellai 9 – Florence, Italy

Time: Wednesday/ Mercoledi  – 9 pm/ore 21.

With the participation of the Florence Gospel Choir, Revolution Gospel Choir, Letizia Dei e Coro and many others. Come together, lend a hand…

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