The Essence of Harmony Choral Society will compete in the WHYY Lifting Voices in Praise Finale Competition at the Esperanza Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 21.
According to its website, WHYY will air the series “Gospel,” with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., in February. The program is an exploration of African American religion’s two transcendent gifts to national and world culture: gospel music and the Black preaching tradition.
The WHYY Lifting Voices in Praise showcase and competition was created to highlight local talent and bring together musicians from across southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware. There were 50 entries – 18 semifinalists and 10 finalists, including the choral society.
“To say that people were excited actually is kind of an understatement,” said Gwen Ricks-Spencer, the society’s administrative manager. “There was yelling and cheering, and people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can’t believe we made it.’
“We sing for the love of it, and so this was a great opportunity to go in and do it,” she added. “But if it hadn’t come through, we would still keep singing, but it’s exciting.”
According to its website, the choral society – a local choir based in Moorestown – is a diverse group dedicated to preserving and amplifying the unique sounds of Black American music, such as spirituals, hymns and gospel, as well as well-known classical/choral works. The nonprofit strives to bring together singers of all ages and backgrounds to advance both the art of choral music and to celebrate the beauty of diversity.
Every choir competing in the WHYY Lifting Voices in Praise Finale Competition has to pick one song that’s in the public domain, and from Ricks-Spencer’s perspective, that makes things a little more challenging.
“ … A lot of the gospel music that a lot of people know, it’s the more contemporary stuff, which is all copyrighted,” she explained. “Of course there are rights that have to be paid for and we understand and respect that. So (we) had to do a little bit more digging to find something that would work.”
The society’s next big event is its annual Handel’s Messiah concerts, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3,.at Converge Church in Moorestown. A 7 p.m. performance is scheduled for the day before at First Congregational Church of Montclair.
“It’s a big piece to work on; just to sing it one time,” Ricks-Spencer pointed out. “It’s so exciting to do it, but then you do it and you’re like, ‘I wish I could do this again; I want to sing it one more time.”
The society’s founder, Cherisse Bonefont, saw a need in 2018 for an inclusive community choir where choral pieces written by composers of diversity could be highlighted, according to the group’s website. Outside of a few choirs within the state, there wasn’t space for singers to fully embrace all cultures and showcase classical and contemporary voices.
The society seeks to fill that void, not only as a choir, but a movement, where others might see and be inspired to do the same in their communities.
“We’re a group of people that have decided to come together with our joint love of music,” Ricks-Spencer said. “ … Everybody’s welcome. If you want to sing and you want to sing this music, you’re invited.”
For more information on the The Essence of Harmony Choral Society, visit https://www.essenceofharmonycs.org.
