The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

group.

History

The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30-member ensemble blends elements of African

Negro spiritual Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the e ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

American popular music American popular music has had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, bluegrass, count ...

. The group performed at the first of the 46664 concerts for

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and has since toured internationally several times. Their albums ''Blessed,'' ''African Spirit'' and ''Freedom'' won the

Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists between 2004 and 2011 for quality traditional world music albums. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originall ...

in 2006, 2007 and 2018, respectively. On 7 July 2007 they performed at the South African leg of

Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ''Live Earth'' was built upon the beli ...

. Also in 2007, they joined

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

in contributing to '' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' (

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

), performing their version of Domino's "

Valley of Tears The Valley of Tears ( he, עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא, ''Emek HaBakha'') is the name given to an area in the Golan Heights after it became the site of a major battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, known as the Valley (or Vale) of Tears Battle, w ...

". The group was featured on the

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...

song " Down to Earth", written for

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

's 2008 feature film ''

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''. The song was nominated for the

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at the

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and the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

at the

81st Academy Awards The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 ...

. The group performed at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

final draw on 4 December 2009 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa. In 2010, composer

Christopher Tin Christopher Chiyan Tin (born May 21, 1976) is an American composer of art music, often composed for film and video game soundtracks. His work is primarily orchestral and choral, often with a world music influence. He has won two Grammy Aw ...

's song "

Baba Yetu "Baba Yetu" (Swahili language, Swahili: "Our father, Our Father") is the theme song for the 2005 video game ''Civilization IV''. It was composed by Christopher Tin and performed by Ron Ragin and the Stanford Talisman. For its re-release in Tin's ...

", which featured the group, won the

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

. The song had originally been produced for

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's 2005 videogame ''

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'', but Tin enlisted the Soweto Gospel Choir to re-record the song for inclusion on his debut album, ''

Calling All Dawns ''Calling All Dawns'' is a classical crossover album by Christopher Tin released in 2009. The album won two Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the s ...

'', leading to the song's nomination and award. This marked the first time a video game composition had won or been nominated for the category. The group collaborates with American publishing company MusicSpoke to publish transcriptions of a number of its pieces, including "Balm of Gilead," "Hloholonofatsa," "Ke Na Le Modisa," "Khumbaya," "Shosholoza," "Somlandela," and "Swing Down Sweet Chariot."

Discography

* ''Voices from Heaven'' (

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

, 2005) * ''Blessed'' (Shanachie, 2006) * ''African Spirit'' (Shanachie, 2007) * ''Grace'' (Shanachie, 2010) * ''Freedom'' (Shanachie, 2018) * ''Hope'' (Shanachie, 2022)

Contributions with
Christopher Tin Christopher Chiyan Tin (born May 21, 1976) is an American composer of art music, often composed for film and video game soundtracks. His work is primarily orchestral and choral, often with a world music influence. He has won two Grammy Aw ...

*''

'' (2009) *''

The Drop That Contained the Sea ''The Drop That Contained the Sea'' is a classical crossover album by Christopher Tin released in 2014. It premiered on April 13, 2014 at Carnegie Hall and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart on May 24. The album c ...

'' (2014)

Other contributions

*'' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' (

, 2007)One song, "Valley of Tears", performed with Robert Plant. Pray for me: off the album "UNCLAD" by Nigeria's Darey Art Alade (2015)

References

External links

Soweto Gospel Choir The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group. History The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30- ...