Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir celebrates ten years of music with a special anniversary concert at The Glasshouse in Gateshead.
Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne, Voices of Virtue has developed into one of the North East’s leading gospel choirs, bringing together singers through a shared love of gospel and soul music.
The anniversary performance looks back across a decade of the choir’s work with a programme combining gospel classics, soul and uplifting contemporary songs.
The Glasshouse describes the evening as a celebration of joy, harmony, love, hope and unity.
Behind that celebratory sound lies a much deeper musical history.
Gospel music emerged from the Black church tradition in the United States, drawing upon spirituals, hymns, African musical traditions and the experiences of African American communities.
Its development cannot be separated from the history of slavery, emancipation, segregation, migration and the Black church.
The church became much more than a place of worship.
For many Black communities it was also a centre of education, organisation, political activity, mutual support and cultural expression.
Music sat at the heart of that experience.
Call-and-response singing, collective participation, powerful vocal improvisation and the connection between music and testimony became defining elements of gospel.
Those traditions subsequently transformed popular music across the world.
Soul, rhythm and blues, rock, funk and many forms of contemporary pop carry the influence of gospel singing.
Britain developed its own gospel traditions as African and Caribbean communities established churches and communities after the Second World War and in subsequent decades.
Today British gospel music forms an important part of the country’s Black cultural landscape.
Voices of Virtue is part of that continuing North East tradition.
The choir has previously participated in projects connected with the history of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s visit to Newcastle and has performed alongside artists including Sting.
It is important to be precise about the Black History Month connection.
This tenth-anniversary concert is not currently promoted by The Glasshouse as an official Black History Month event.
Its relevance comes from the Black musical tradition at the heart of gospel, the choir’s place within the cultural life of the North East and its timing in October.
The anniversary offers audiences an opportunity not only to celebrate ten years of a local choir but also to recognise a musical tradition whose roots lie deep within Black history.
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