In The Beginning...
In the latter months of 2000 Brighton resident Sandy Holder was taken to a gospel workshop in London.To say she found the session amazing would be a gross understatement. With the old adage of "nothing ventured, nothing gained" She asked the Musical Director if he would be willing to run such workshops in Brighton. The rest as they say is history. Along with friend Jackie Blackwell, Sandy set about organising the first set of workshops. Jackie among her many valuable contributions to the choir’s development was the inspiration behind naming the choir Brighton Goes Gospel.
Since then the choir has gone from strength to strength with over 2,000 choir members having been involved. Each term the choir manages to perfectly reflect the unique, vibrant and diverse qualities of Brighton. Rehearsals are like a weekly tonic, we sometimes start off weary from the rigours of the week and come out on a complete adrenaline-high. Most of us are not formally religious but all of us are totally enthused about gospel music, the very roots of soul. Our choir has been given the opportunity to perform at various events, including The Royal Albert Hall, Brighton Peace Festival, Brunswick Festival, Brighton Live Week, Labour Party Conference, the Brighton Dome and sung live on local radio.
Choirs
Today two choirs perform under the Brighton Goes Gospel umbrella:
The Workshop Choir
BGG workshops are open to anyone who wants to try singing in the gospel style, regardless of ability, experience, race, religion, or sexuality. All we ask is for people to commit to attend a term's workshops and any extra rehearsals organised for the end-of-term grand concert. The maximum number of members of the workshop choir each term is 100, so please make sure you book early! (Further information)
The Performance Choir
The performance choir consists of more experienced members of BGG who have been singing for some time and who perform to a high level at the end of term grand concert. Entry to the performance choir is open to anyone who has sung in the Workshop Choir for one term or more and is dependent on availability of places (we allow for a maximum of 50 members of the performance choir each term). Membership of the performance choir requires a higher level of commitment than that expected of the workshop choir. (Further information)