Every gospel choir is unique and different but what brings them together is the language

theyre all familiar with which is singing, the language of the bible and musical notes. Although
each choir has their own style and their own way of running things, what unifies them is the
special language used in church, their vocals, and sheet music. Although this particular
community is very positive, sounds amazing, is known nation-wide, and very involved in
different states, there are many stereotypes on campus about it that needed to be cleared up.
An interview was conducted with the University Of North Carolina at Charlottes Voices
of Eden Gospel Choirs leader, Mr. Pete, to acquire more information about this gospel choir so
that the public has a better understanding of whats involved and also, so that most of the
stereotypes could disappear. Mr. Pete founded the gospel choir during his senior year at UNC
Charlotte with no intentions of it continuing the next year. Now that its 2014, the choir has
reached its 10th anniversary and he could not be prouder. The choir was founded because at
that time, there wasnt really an official place for students to come together and use their
talents or just their hearts to worship in song. Although many individuals feel as if there are
crazy requirements to join, the requirements to be a part of this amazing choir are simple since
there are no auditions. You dont have to be able to sing! All that matters is that you want to
sing for the lord and enjoy music! Mr. Pete stated. A great number of people feel as if gospel
choirs are all about dressing up in fancy robes, being solely African American and being
unnecessarily dramatic, which isnt true and further on in this paper you will see why.
Before I joined The Voices of Eden, I was very nervous just because of all the gospel
choirs I had seen on TV and I have a phobia of singing in front of people. Even though I was
nervous, I decided to take a risk because I really wanted to join. Once I arrived, I was so pleased

when the choir director announced that there are no auditions and that all are welcome as long
as they love to sing for God. One thing I saw that I was surprised with is that there was an Asian,
girl and two white girls. Although the rest of the choir was black, I was also pleased to see that
others know that its okay to join and that gospel choir doesnt mean all black. Another
reason I was nervous was because African Americans have a different type of singing voice
whereas I have a British accent and sound quite different when pronouncing words. Luckily, the
choir instructor loves for the choir to really articulate their words and speak clearly so that
wasnt a problem for me and I also ended up singing a solo when the choir went on tour. This
gospel choir really embraces individually and is very open-minded.
The most interesting thing about this community is that the main language used is
musical language. You could come in and know nothing about the language of music and notes
and leave by the end of practice knowing a whole lot. When we sing in falsetto, all the altos,
sopranos, and tenors know not to sing loudly and give it their all so that theyre saving their
best for the performances. When sitting back and observing this unique choir, I saw that people
greet each other and communicate with each other overall by singing their words to the other
person.
When interviewing a member of Voices of Eden this time, they were asked why they
decided to join this particular choir and their response was that this gospel choir is full of
individuals who accept you as they are and enjoy singing. I love singing and can relate to this
group of people in a professional level when we go on tour around the country to perform, and
also on a personal and spiritual level. None of us are perfect Christians and I love how we can
also grow together. Our communication is not just your everyday communication you see on

campus! We communicate with bible verses, lyrics, and randomly singing a note to see who can
hit the note the best! We are basically a big family.
.
Dear Chanelle,
I am so looking forward to reading the rest of this micro-ethnography! You are off to a great
start here, and doing just what you set out to doportray the gospel choir both as it meets our
expectations and diverges from them. I really love your writing here; you are showing lots of
personality, familiarity with your group, and careful observation and questioning as well. I love
seeing this side of you!
Be careful not to get too caught up in your enjoyment of the group in order to portray it fairly.
By that I mean you want to keep using quotes from your observations and interviews to
support your statements. So, for example, if you say that it is very accepting and Christian, can
you give specific examples from your notes? This will help show your reader rather than just tell
them (maybe you were out the day we did this in class. I recommend Annie Dillards
Transfiguration if you werent there).
I am so proud of you and your writing is getting better and better. Keep up the good work, and
let me know if you have any questions before the portfolio!
Jamie