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Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir *
Facility: SF County Jail--Men
Date: December 12, 2011
Host: Carolyn Gauthier
 
Essence story by Arlene Rudy:

I was the greeter downstairs in the lobby of the SF County Jail before the show, so I was able to talk to all the choir members and musicians as they came in for the performance. Several of the choir members told me that this was by far their favorite show for them to perform in, and they looked forward to it every year. One choir gal told me she wasn’t feeling particularly well, but she wouldn’t miss this night for anything! And a SF County Jail employee made a point to come over to me to tell me she has seen the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir perform before, and she was very excited about seeing them perform again this year.
There was a floury of movement and excitement in the air as the choir got into their positions in preparation for the first show to begin. I looked around at the audience and they initially looked a bit reserved (maybe even skeptical) as the singing began. But slowly I could see an obvious transformation over the men in the audience as the choir’s enthusiasm and songs washed over them. Many of the men began to relax and simply sat back and soaked in the glorious music.
 
One County Jail staff member was so touched by the music that she waved her arm in the air to the music as cried all the way through the entire performance. And she wasn’t the only person in tears; I saw several men wipe away a tear or two as the music touched them.
 
Terrence introduced one song in particular that he had written, and then two of the choir members came forward to sing the touching song and sang their hearts out. This particular song was particularly well received with hoots and hollers from the audience erupting into a standing ovation when the song concluded.
 
Clearly by the end of the first performance, the audience was fully engaged and very much wanting the performance to continue beyond the last number. The combination of Christmas songs and other touching songs sung by a very enthusiastic and very talented choir worked its magic on the audience as demonstrated by the standing ovation concluding the show.
 
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Bread and Roses
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bread-Roses/43261289939


Lisa Starbird
Bread & Roses
Program Assistant
415-945-7127 ext.104
Lstarbird@breadandroses.org 
BREAD & ROSES!
http://www.breadandroses.org 
"Hope and Healing Through Live Music" 

Date: Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 5:17 PM

Name
Jeanette Mosley
Comment
AWESOME!!!! Each and every year, the choir just gets better and better and gooder and gooder and
we just keep on gettin "BLESSED". I love you all.
Get over Grammy, OSCAR IS IN THE HOUSE. ALL PRAISES TO OUR GOD. Terrance Kelly you are the BOMB. OIGC I thank God for you and your willingness to share your gifts and talents.

See you next year by God's Grace. Merry Christmas.

Jeanette Mosley
Ms. Bea, I will volunteer again, just say the word.

From: Dave Karlin
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2011 10:14 AM
To: admin@oigc.org; Ben Heveroh
Subject: Re: ticket order form

Nancy and Ben – I wanted to take a moment and say thank you for the wonderful seats we had for the show last night at The Paramount.  If you remember, I had brought my wife along with several students from the ESL class I teach at the Senior Community Center in Belmont.  They were blown away and had never experienced anything “interfaith” or “gospel”.

My wife was familiar with Bishop Yvette Flunder as she is a member of the UCC in San Mateo and is very close with Penny Nixon who is their minister.  Ms. Flunder has been a guest several times in San Mateo but my wife had never heard her sing.  Wow, what pipes!

As for me, I grew up just outside Chicago in Skokie, which at the time was a predominantly white and Jewish neighborhood.  Each Sunday I would watch TV waiting for football to start.  An early riser, I was bored with the cartoons and fell in love with a show called Jubilee Showcase.  Looking back now, this show helped shape my love of gospel, jazz, soul and the blues.  If you are not familiar with this show, take a moment to check it out:

http://jubileeshowcase.com/

After reading the article I now see so many connections.  Lucky for me to have these experiences so young.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show last night and wish I could have had a chance to thank you both in person.  Please keep me on any email list you may keep for future shows and you can count on seeing me again in the future! - dk

-- 
Dave Karlin

Check out our segment of the Bonnie Simmons show, where she gives Terrance a hard time!
Featuring soloists of the choir: Isa S. Chu, Tessa Loehwing, Nicolia Bagby, and Dan Strauss.

TRT: ~26min

Eat at Panda Express at City Center on December 3rd with the attached flyer, and OIGC gets 20% of your purchase amount! Grab a bite to eat before the Holiday Concert :) I know that's where I'm eating for lunch before sound check!

~Isa