A perfect continuation!
We've arranged many choir concert through the years. But I don't think we've seen this much life on a choir concert ever before. Usually you need a rock band to shake the audience like Ansgar Gospel Choir did!
Some 200 anticipating people were gathered in the church when the choir went on stage. They're a very large choir, and incredibly skilled! They total around 80 members. The band consist of a drumset, a bass (a 9-stringed one, even!) two guitars, three keyboards, two saxophones and two cornets. Probably the largest band we've hosted in our festival history!
They started with full power, and the audience had a great time from the very start. Occassionally they calmed down the music a little, and even performed two songs with only a small part of the choir. We also got to hear a spontaneous testimony from one of the choir members, God is the focus for this choir you see! One more thing that made this into a fantastic concert was that after every slower song they came back with more power, more tempo and more life!
We have to give special credit to two of the ladies on the first row. Pretty early during the concert they picked up their tambourines. A little unusual for a choir? Yes indeed. But what a great idea! About halfway through the performance they jumped up on a chair each at the front row. That's when the audience exploded! They even had a spare tambourine which they lended out to the audience! It didn't take too long before a little crowd gathered in front of the stage, and during the rest of the show it was pretty crowded in that area.
The conductor, Syver, participated actively with singing, a short speech and different stories. He told that the choir had been to New Orleans on a study trip, and that they tried to recreate the sound and mood from the afro-american gospel ministries. We think they did a good job at this. The mood was through the roof, the choir managed to include their audience in a very special way, and at the same time communicate a message in a very clear way. When they went off stage the audience shouted for more. And when they went off stage once more after two extra songs you could hear the audience shout "one more hour"!!!
 Ansgar Gospel Choir goes on stage |
 They're a large choir! |
 One of the pianists |
 A very special bass |
 They pick up their tambourines... |
 Conductor Syver in front of the choir |
 Here you can see two of the pianists |
 They have a solid group of wind instruments! |
 One of the guitarists |
 This lady sang several solos during the evening |
 A lot of life in front of the stage... |
 The audience nearly got lift-off!! |
Last updated: 23.05.2008
