Gospel music brought to life in Birmingham
New audiences, venues, and participants across the Midlands are set to discover the joy of creativity through Gospel hymns.
Led by Ray Prince and supported through National Lottery Project Grants, Gospel Revisited is a community focused programme of digital and live music, designed to bring people together to discover and share a love of music. The project pays homage to and champions the legacy of Black women within Gospel including Mahaila Jackson, Albertina Walker and Grammy award-winning Shirley Caesar.
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, the project engaged with new audiences and participants through the creation of a series of films, sharing behind the scenes footage and the inspiration from the project. They were recorded by the project team alongside young people from the local community, giving them the opportunity to practice their digital skills.
The films feature GRP UnLock footage, filmed at Grosvenor Road Studios in Birmingham, including guitarist Paul Reid, who’s talent and musicianship made a huge impact to both the local and national scene. Paul sadly passed away on the morning of the performance screening. His knowledge and experience will be sadly missed.
Project lead Ray Prince has been involved with Gospel music from an early age, playing drums and percussion for many Gospel ensembles. Ray strives to make music inviting and accessible to all and shares his expertise with young people through a busy teaching career.
The project will deliver two major concerts at Birmingham Town Hall next year, sharing new compositions and arrangements of Gospel with elements of jazz.
Peter Knott, Director for Arts Council England said: “Music has the power to bring people together, start conversations and allows people from all backgrounds to experience new things – it’s fantastic to see how this project is bringing the joy of gospel music to all generations of the community.
“Thanks to National Lottery players we’re pleased to be able to support projects like this which create exciting opportunities, engage new audiences and celebrate talent.”
