About Harlem Gospel Choir
Harlem Gospel Choir on Tour
Raise your hands and praise the Lord when the Harlem Gospel Choir comes to town. An internationally renowned ensemble known for big voices and an even bigger spirit "inspired by God to be even more inspired," Harlem Gospel Choir packs all the energy of a mass choir into a nine-piece ensemble that includes two roof-raising contraltos and four titanic tenors. Expect an energetic night of hand-clapping, foot-stomping excitement as the choir performs a repertoire that includes gospel hits both old and new, traditional music and the occasional pop hit. The choir has toured extensively across the United States and abroad, becoming the first American gospel group to perform in Australia, New Zealand, China, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Samoa, Thailand, Burma and Morocco. They have performed for three Presidents (Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela), two Popes (John Paul II and Benedict XVI) and the United Nations General Assembly. And they have recorded with Keith Richards, the Chieftains and Trace Adkins, among many others.
About Harlem Gospel Choir
Entertainment-industry veteran Allen Bailey formed Harlem Gospel Choir on January 15, 1986, which also happens to be Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. The choir's nine-piece touring groups, accompanied by two instrumentalists on drums and keyboards, draw from a pool of some 40 members. They divide and conquer by touring the world while maintaining an all-you-can-eat Sunday-brunch residency at Sony Hall in Manhattan's Times Square. A typical show includes Kurt Carr's "In the Sanctuary," Israel Houghton's "You Are Good" and Kirk Franklin's high-octane "Looking for You," along with gospel standards such as "Oh Happy Day" and "Amazing Grace." The choir also does astounding things with Beyoncé's "Halo" and traditional numbers such as "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Every Time I Feel the Spirit." As Allen Bailey modestly told Ohio State University's The Lantern about this tuneful spiritual vessel, "We only have one superstar in this group and that's Jesus Christ, superstar."