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The Total Experience Gospel Choir is a gospel music group based in
, Total Experience Gospel Choir official site. Accessed online 25 October 2008.Misha Berson
Pat Wright's Total Experience -- Seattle's Mistress Of Music Lives The Gospel She Sings
''Seattle Times'', December 10, 1998. Accessed online 25 October 2008. They have sung in at least 38 states and 22 countries, have performed for United States presidents
Pastor Wright has earned the nickname "The Idol Breeder" and has become once again uniquely distinguished after three of her choir members became finalists on the television series American Idol. Among its former members are ''
Until 1992–93, the choir was composed primarily of African American youth. Since that time, the choir's character has evolved. It currently has members from 6 to 65 years of age. Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast Areas of Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2005, Pastor Wright has dedicated many hours for hurricane relief work. One of her own teenage choir members and her younger brother were caught up in the hurricane while in South Mississippi visiting family. Upon their safe return to Seattle, Pastor Wright and Total Experience Gospel Choir devoted themselves tirelessly to hurricane relief. They visited the areas in August 2006, April 2007, March 2008, August 2008 and August 2015 helping to rebuild lives and property. While there, they were featured on local television a number of times rebuilding, dedicating and celebrating with hurricane survivors during the various mission trips.Don Culpepper,
"Seattle Choir Helps Gulfport Family Rebuild", ''www.wlox.com''. Accessed online June 25, 2009 For Pastor Wright's efforts, ABC News World News Tonight named her "Person of the Week" in May 2007 as well as one of the "Persons of the Year" on a broadcast aired December 27, 2007. See related links on the website ww.totalexperiencegospelchoir.org DirectTV on April 9, 2008 aired their special entitled "Hometown Heroes" where Pastor Wright and Total Experience Gospel Choir were honored for their work on the Gulf Coast of MS as well. SCAN TV honored Pastor Wright in February 2008 on local television in their Black History programming where she, along with other local community members, were lauded for their contributions to Black History in the Pacific Northwest. In October 2007, Pastor Wright and members of Total Experience Gospel Choir traveled to Busan, South Korea where they competed in the Busan International Choral Festival and Competition. The choir placed "second" and won the Silver Medal in "Ethnic" and "Pop" categories. There were 36 choirs from 11 countries in the competition. In 2008, Pastor Wright and Total Experience Gospel Choir participated in the creation of the first of its kind "campaign CD" in an effort to help elect President Barack Obama. The CD "Seven Songs for America and One For The World" was produced by The Bergevin Brothers. All profits from "Seven Songs For America..." go to support Pastor Wright's "Seattle Artists" foundation to rebuild the lives and homes of Katrina victims in Mississippi and Louisiana. For more information about the campaign CD see www.bergevinbrothersmusic.com
During 2014, The Total Experience Gospel Choir performed "Highway to Heaven" with the Heart Band at the Benayra Hall in Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia as well as many other Washington state locations. Pastor Pat Wright was asked to tour around the United States with Heart to teach the various choirs that accompanied them in each city. On May 27, 2015 in Seattle at KeyArena on May 27, Pastor Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir performed on stage with Barry Manilow on his ONE LAST TIME concert! They sang the background for "Copacabana", "I Write the Songs" and "Miracle". In July 2015 Pastor Wright took the choir down to New Orleans for the Ten Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, working alongside Randy Novak of "Shirts Across America", the choir help renovate St. Jude Community Center and performed in various locations such as St. Augustine Catholic Church and anywhere there was a need to lift the spirits of the locals. During a fund raising trip to Seattle in October 2015, Pastor Wright and a select few of the choir members were honored to sing for President Obama at the Westin Hotel. On October 23, 2016, Pastor Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir will be celebrating 43 years of praise.
Official site
''Seattle Times''. 15 photos from the choir's tour of the post- Hurricane Katrina
WLOX, Mississippi Gulf Coast, ABC Affiliate
WLOX, Mississippi Gulf Coast, ABC Affiliate
Helping elect President Obama American gospel musical groups Culture of Seattle Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1973
The Total Experience Gospel Choir is a gospel music group based in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, United States, founded in 1973 by Patrinell "Pat" Wright, who continues to lead the group as of 2016.Total Experience Gospel Choir: Founder/Director Bio, Total Experience Gospel Choir official site. Accessed online 25 October 2008.Misha Berson
Pat Wright's Total Experience -- Seattle's Mistress Of Music Lives The Gospel She Sings
''Seattle Times'', December 10, 1998. Accessed online 25 October 2008. They have sung in at least 38 states and 22 countries, have performed for United States presidents
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, and made at least seven recordings of their own, as well as singing behind Barry Manilow at KeyArena in 2015, and on the song "Save Me" on Dave Matthews's CD ''Some Devil''. They have appeared in television commercials ("to pay our bills") and on the public radio program '' A Prairie Home Companion'' as well as numerous other radio programs.
Wright was born in Carthage, Texas
Carthage is a city and the county seat of Panola County, Texas, United States. This city is situated in deep East Texas, 20 miles west of the Louisiana state line. Its population was 6,569 at the 2020 census.
History
Carthage was founded in 1847 ...
. Her father was a Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
preacher and her mother a schoolteacher. she sang her first solo at the age of 3, and by her 14th birthday, was directing two choirs in her father's church. She graduated as valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
from Turner High School in Carthage, Prairie View A&M University in Hempstead, Texas
Hempstead is a city in and the county seat of Waller County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area.
History
On December 29, 1856, Dr. Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots in ...
and moved in 1964 to Seattle. She has had an extensive musical career in her own right, and since 1997 has been pastor of the Oneness Christian Center in Seattle, which she co-founded.
Wright began the group in 1973 as a gospel music class at Seattle's public Franklin High School. Many lives have been touched, voices lifted in praise, children mentored and at times adopted, and decades passed. For a photo essay see the Total Experience Gospel Choir Facebook Page or on the website www.totalexperiencegospelchoir.org Photo GalleryPastor Wright has earned the nickname "The Idol Breeder" and has become once again uniquely distinguished after three of her choir members became finalists on the television series American Idol. Among its former members are ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' contestant Sanjaya Malakar in 2007, 2004 contestant Leah LaBelle Vladowski, and 2002 contestant Karma JohnsoUntil 1992–93, the choir was composed primarily of African American youth. Since that time, the choir's character has evolved. It currently has members from 6 to 65 years of age. Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast Areas of Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2005, Pastor Wright has dedicated many hours for hurricane relief work. One of her own teenage choir members and her younger brother were caught up in the hurricane while in South Mississippi visiting family. Upon their safe return to Seattle, Pastor Wright and Total Experience Gospel Choir devoted themselves tirelessly to hurricane relief. They visited the areas in August 2006, April 2007, March 2008, August 2008 and August 2015 helping to rebuild lives and property. While there, they were featured on local television a number of times rebuilding, dedicating and celebrating with hurricane survivors during the various mission trips.Don Culpepper,
"Seattle Choir Helps Gulfport Family Rebuild", ''www.wlox.com''. Accessed online June 25, 2009 For Pastor Wright's efforts, ABC News World News Tonight named her "Person of the Week" in May 2007 as well as one of the "Persons of the Year" on a broadcast aired December 27, 2007. See related links on the website ww.totalexperiencegospelchoir.org DirectTV on April 9, 2008 aired their special entitled "Hometown Heroes" where Pastor Wright and Total Experience Gospel Choir were honored for their work on the Gulf Coast of MS as well. SCAN TV honored Pastor Wright in February 2008 on local television in their Black History programming where she, along with other local community members, were lauded for their contributions to Black History in the Pacific Northwest. In October 2007, Pastor Wright and members of Total Experience Gospel Choir traveled to Busan, South Korea where they competed in the Busan International Choral Festival and Competition. The choir placed "second" and won the Silver Medal in "Ethnic" and "Pop" categories. There were 36 choirs from 11 countries in the competition. In 2008, Pastor Wright and Total Experience Gospel Choir participated in the creation of the first of its kind "campaign CD" in an effort to help elect President Barack Obama. The CD "Seven Songs for America and One For The World" was produced by The Bergevin Brothers. All profits from "Seven Songs For America..." go to support Pastor Wright's "Seattle Artists" foundation to rebuild the lives and homes of Katrina victims in Mississippi and Louisiana. For more information about the campaign CD see www.bergevinbrothersmusic.com
During 2014, The Total Experience Gospel Choir performed "Highway to Heaven" with the Heart Band at the Benayra Hall in Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia as well as many other Washington state locations. Pastor Pat Wright was asked to tour around the United States with Heart to teach the various choirs that accompanied them in each city. On May 27, 2015 in Seattle at KeyArena on May 27, Pastor Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir performed on stage with Barry Manilow on his ONE LAST TIME concert! They sang the background for "Copacabana", "I Write the Songs" and "Miracle". In July 2015 Pastor Wright took the choir down to New Orleans for the Ten Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, working alongside Randy Novak of "Shirts Across America", the choir help renovate St. Jude Community Center and performed in various locations such as St. Augustine Catholic Church and anywhere there was a need to lift the spirits of the locals. During a fund raising trip to Seattle in October 2015, Pastor Wright and a select few of the choir members were honored to sing for President Obama at the Westin Hotel. On October 23, 2016, Pastor Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir will be celebrating 43 years of praise.
Notes
External links
{{Commons category, Pat WrightOfficial site
''Seattle Times''. 15 photos from the choir's tour of the post- Hurricane Katrina
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
.
WLOX, Mississippi Gulf Coast, ABC Affiliate
WLOX, Mississippi Gulf Coast, ABC Affiliate
Helping elect President Obama American gospel musical groups Culture of Seattle Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1973