Filling the Hall With Gospel Sounds

It was the year of 9/11, 2001. And everyone needed a lift, Michael Brown recalls. For some, that lift came from the gospel choir that Brown started at The Hotchkiss School, a no-audition sing-fest open to all in the the school community.

“It was strictly volunteer,” Brown says, “and no-credit. That’s what I prefer. Once they get the gospel bug, that’s it. They’re hooked.”

Now the group includes singers from the South Kent, Taft and Westover schools and numbers 75 people, all preparing for the choir’s annual performance in The Hotchkiss School’s Elfers Hall this Sunday.

While gospel singing started in black churches, gospel singing is open to all, Brown says. “It creates a space of joy. It puts things in perspective. And when you sing, you bring joy to everyone who hears you. The gospel is for everyone.”

Brown writes many of the songs, and the group is joined  by professional singers who take on the solo lines. The audience is part of the show, too. “We are open to everything: singing, stomping, speaking in tongues. All of it.”

So for one evening a year, Elfers Hall, a  serene and beautiful place for mostly classical music, will be bursting with gospel sounds. And that always fills the hall, Brown says.

The Hotchkiss School’s  Gospel Choir is performing this Sunday, April 24 at 3 p.m. in Elfer’s Hall. Admission is free. For information, call 860-435-4423.

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