It was all really very organic, becoming a gospel singer. I grew up in a Pentecostal church, where music was all around, all the time. It was a very rich, even if informal, education for me.
At the same time, my mum decided to send my sister and me to have piano lessons. That began a rather more formal education. At some point, the two came together, forging in us both a desire to have a career in music. My sister is also a gospel choir conductor.
The church I went to is part of a nationwide Church, based in several major cities in England. Each of those cities was a district, and each of those districts would have a choir. I belonged to the one in London. Noel Robinson was the conductor then, and he encouraged my sister and me to get involved in working in choir leadership. That choir led directly to the start of the Kingdom Choir.
We’ve worked hard at cultivating a certain culture of love, hope, and inspiration within the choir, and our audiences are invited into that at our performances. We don’t just want the audience to observe us as we sing: we want them to join us and be part of the family. This means that each of our shows is unique, special. We have a laugh with one another, and sometimes the most random things take place, including audience members joining us on stage to perform.
The choir’s seen different seasons, but we’re so happy to be here, still, after 30 years. We’ve had two big 30th-anniversary celebrations — the first last year in November at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, followed by an encore performance at the Barbican this year in May. Both were amazing and sold out.
I don’t know that there’s extra work in curating a gospel choir. I think that work comes with all genres and styles, but in different ways. With gospel music, yes, you have to know how to dance, step-touch, clap, remember your harmonies, format, lyrics, and watch your director at the same time. I’d look at what you call a normal choir and think, well, you’re supposed to sight-sing. . . My sight-singing is not up to that standard — that’s staggering to me, though I’m classically trained.
Most choirs sing by ear around the world: they’re aurally trained. Reading a score on the spot, dynamics and signing, both clefs — that’s far too much! The more we research one another’s cultures, the more we appreciate about them and about ourselves.
We’ve been blessed by some incredibly talented arrangers from the choir, including Clinton Jordan, Marsha Morrison, Jonathan Owusu-Yianomah, and Wayne Ellington. They have all been instrumental in giving Kingdom Choir flair to our music.
There are still a few of my peers who were founder members, which is wonderful, l because we share the history of the 30-year journey. We have a good mix in the choir: many of the choir are folk who I’ve known over many years, and there are others who are about half our age. A lot of these were either students of mine, or in my youth choir, or were mentees at one point or another. The mix is important: each generation brings their world-view, approach, and understanding of faith and artistry to what we do and how we do it.
I don’t know what the conversations were before Prince Harry’s wedding, but apparently it was the King who wanted the choir and loves gospel. The invitation came out of the blue, and from a lady who had sung in the choir some years before. I hadn’t been in touch with her for a long time, but she just rang me up, said I’d get a call, couldn’t say what it was about, but it would be big.
No, we weren’t frightened at all — just ready. Actually, we were excited. We were escorted in a coach down the motorway by the police, which was great fun, and the choir sang and laughed the whole way there. The arrangement wasn’t our idea: it came from the royal couple, who asked us to provide a very stripped-back version of “Stand by me”. I didn’t know it would have that effect on people, but I knew something had changed afterwards. We had to be escorted to the green room, and then people wanted to talk to us.
There’s so many gospel community choirs of all races, creeds, and none, now. I ran one in Lewes for a number of middle-aged and older people. For the first few weeks, it took them a while to get used to the step-touch — they kept bashing into each other — but that same choir went on to win the Songs of Praise Gospel Choir of the Year.
It’s all do-able: you just have to have confidence. Well, yes, I gave them the confidence, but they were open to receive it. You have to be open to any kind of learning or education.
If people want to sing, they must sing. If old folk, children want to sing, they must sing. And you get to sing by singing. It helps people if they feel valued and loved: their performance is impacted — “performance” in its broadest sense.
Vocal folds are muscles: they need sleep, fluid, warming up. When I worked in a school, my voice was always going. I wasn’t taking care of it, and I was always getting colds. I’m not really a singer. I’m the conductor — the teacher, educator — I ask people to present themselves.
The popularity of gospel choirs is increasing in schools, music centres, and across Europe. I was recently judging a Europe-wide gospel competition in the Royal Albert Hall. Since the royal wedding, we get so many wedding requests, and I’m sure we’re not the only gospel choir to find that.
I was invited to become a Tearfund ambassador this year, and I felt it could be a way in which I could play my part in drawing attention to, and garnering support for, those suffering in our world. My hope is that I’ll help to bring even more visibility and reach to Tearfund and the important work that they undertake globally.
I’d previously travelled to Rwanda in 2011, and learned about the devastation caused by the 1994 genocide; so I was interested to revisit the country to understand how Tearfund’s work was impacting the communities there.
The Rwanda I had visited back then was quite different to the one I found this time around. A lot of development and economic restoration has taken place, but almost 40 per cent of Rwanda’s population is still living in poverty. It’s here that Tearfund, in partnership with local churches, becomes important in development, and in the empowerment of local communities to produce local solutions to poverty.
Obviously, our choir tour to the US will be undertaken in very different circumstances. We’ll be travelling throughout the US and Canada delivering a Christmas show. I’m really looking forward to it, But, ultimately, it’s all about releasing the Kingdom: whether it be through charitable work or through song, the ministry points to Jesus.
We’ve got two Christmas EPs, arrangements of well-known Christmas songs. One we wrote ourselves isn’t directly a Christmas song, but we wrote “Together again” just coming out of Covid.
I love hanging out with family. I love a good movie, with popcorn. I also like going out to eat.
Cautiously looking forward to Dubai just after Christmas, singing at the opera house there. We’ve sung there before at the expo in 2022.
My faith has been a journey, for sure. What is wonderful is that God is constant in and throughout the journey. In every circumstance, I find out more about who he is. It’s not all about the sunshine, it’s about working through it all with God and finding his heart in it all. This journey will never end.
Injustice towards the powerless at the hands of the powerful makes me angry.
Family, friends, food, fellowship, and time spent with God are the things that make me happiest.
I love the glorious sound of really good communal singing, and, oddly, the sound of aeroplanes at night.
God’s written word as well as his personal word to me give me hope for the future.
I pray for my family, the choir, and to see the hand of God in world movements and situations through the work and service of his people.
I think I might choose to be locked in a church with St Paul. His worship stayed constant in through all sorts of situations. I’d like to be around the type of worship powerful enough to rock foundations and set people free — literally and spiritually.
Karen Gibson was talking to Terence Handley MacMath.
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kingdomchoir.com