VOICES OF VICTORY RADIO CHOIR JOYFUL NOISE! GOSPEL COMPETITION WINNERS! FREE AMOS STUDIO CONCERT 7PM TUESDAY DEC 3 DOORS OPEN AT 6:30PM
The winners of the WSRE Joyful Noise! Gospel Competition, Voices of Victory Radio Choir, will perform a free concert in the Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio at Pensacola State College at 7pm on Tuesday this week. The show will be recorded for broadcast, and the public is invited to be part of the studio audience. The competition was part of the overall Joyful Noise! Gospel Celebration presented by WSRE and Foo Foo Fest, featuring New York’s Sing Harlem choir for a weekend of festivities also including a music workshop for youth and a Sunday gospel brunch. The Voices of Victory Radio Choir is a Gulf Coast community choir founded in 2002 and directed by Tom Alexander.
JOYFUL NOISE! GOSPEL CELEBRATION NOVEMBER 8–10, 2024 DOWNTOWN PENSACOLA
Join WSRE for an uplifting Foo Foo Fest event showcasing local talent and culture!
A three-part gospel celebration, featuring New York’s Sing Harlem choir and celebrating the cultural impact of gospel music, is coming to Foo Foo Fest this fall! WSRE PBS will present the Joyful Noise! Gospel Celebration from Friday to Sunday, Nov. 8–10, with three distinct events in downtown Pensacola.
THE MAIN EVENT is the regional gospel music competition from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Pensacola High School auditorium. In addition to featured performances by Sing Harlem, Dixon After Hours Performing Arts Academy, Pastor Larry Watson Jr., Solomon Bozeman and The Sounds of the Gulf Coast, and the Soulful Movement: Spirit of Excellence dance troupe, local music groups and choirs will sing for top honors.
Groups competing in the Joyful Noise! Gospel Competition: Back to Gospel; A Higher Calling; T.G. Unity; Voices of Victory Radio Choir; Voices of Intercession; The Visionaries; and Kingdom Ensemble. Competition judges are Sing Harlem director Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson, Mama Foundation for the Arts founder Vy Higginsen, music educator and blues preacher Eric Dozier, musician Gino Rosaria, former NFL player Fred Robbins and Donte Sheppard, Studer Community Institute Early Learning Development program manager.
Sing Harlem kicks off the event at noon! Doors open at 11:30am.
SATURDAY EVENT SCHEDULE:
FIRST HALF | 12PM–1:30PM EMCEES: Sue Straughn & Pastor Lonnie Wesley
Opening Performance: Sing Harlem
Welcome Remarks: WSRE General Manager Jill Hubbs
Special Performance: Dixon After Hours Performing Arts Program
GOSPEL COMPETITION: Voices of Intercession; The Visionaires; T.G. Unity
Special Performance: Soulful Movement: Spirt of Excellence
LUNCH BREAK: Enjoy the food trucks!
SECOND HALF | 2:30PM–5PM EMCEES: Dr. Rameca Vincent Leary & Pastor Larry Watson Jr.
"GOSPEL" Film Screening: Introduced by Dr. Lusharon Wiley
Special Performance: Pastor Larry Watson Jr.
GOSPEL COMPETITION: Back to Gospel; A Higher Calling; Kingdom Ensemble; Voices of Victory Radio Choir
Special Performance: Solomon Bozeman and The Sounds of the Gulf Coast
Special Performance: Soulful Movement: Spirt of Excellence
GOSPEL COMPETITION: Awards & Recognition
Closing Remarks: WSRE General Manager Jill Hubbs
Closing Performance: Sing Harlem
Saturday's event will be bookended by a private student workshop at Dixon School of Arts & Sciences on Friday, Nov. 8, and the sold-out Sunday gospel brunch on the lawn at Lily Hall on Nov. 10. Wear your Sunday best!
ABOUT SING HARLEM: Directed by Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson, Sing Harlem is a choir and social impact initiative for young people who have graduated from the Mama Foundation for the Arts’ music training program. Sing Harlem performs at prestigious venues nationwide and regularly performs for the Sunday gospel brunch at Red Rooster Harlem, a restaurant of PBS chef Marcus Samuelsson's ("No Passport Required"). The choir has performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The View,” “Good Morning America,” “America’s Got Talent,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” and the Grammy Awards. In March 2024, Sing Harlem received a standing ovation from the audience and a “YES” from all three judges on “America’s Got Talent” for their performance of “Amazing Grace.”
THANK YOU, SPONSORS!
SPONSORED IN PART BY: Foo Foo Fest; Scarlett Magazine | FACES Pensacola; Cat Country 98.7 | NewsRadio 92.3 FM/1620 AM | ESPN Pensacola; Anonymous; Edward Jones I Private Wealth Management, John L. Peacock Jr. & Jacey J. Cosentino; Cox Communications; Lamar Advertising; Pam & Harry Schwartz; Pensacola Party Bus; Riesberg Institute; Blues Angel Music; Equity Project Alliance (EPA); Everyday Nutrition; Jacque Falzone; Karla & Ted Ent; Kool Graphics; Nan Einhart; Pat Windham; Ruth & Rick Harper; Anthophilia Floristry; Pepsi; Sterling Gilliam; and Wine World. SPECIAL THANKS: BJ's Wholesale Club and the Walmart Superstore on Creighton Road.
Looking for a place to stay? Lily Hall is a boutique hotel nestled in the heart of downtown Pensacola. LilyHall.com
Joyful Noise! Gospel Celebration
STUDENT GOSPEL WORKSHOP | PRIVATE EVENT
FRI NOV 8 | 4PM–5PM DIXON SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES
WSRE PBS is bringing New York's award-winning Sing Harlem choir to Pensacola for the Joyful Noise! Gospel Celebration, and their first stop will be Dixon School of Arts & Sciences where they will conduct a gospel music education workshop for middle school students. This is an invitation-only event for Dixon students and other referred youth ages 11-14. Participants must be registered in advance and arrive at 3:30pm for check-in. Mama Foundation for the Arts founder Vy Higginsen and Sing Harlem choir director Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson will lead this one-hour music education workshop.
SAT NOV 9 | 12PM–5PM PENSACOLA HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
This Saturday afternoon celebration is open to the public and free of charge! Come enjoy the Joyful Noise! Gospel Competition plus featured performances by New York's Sing Harlem choir, Dixon After Hours Performing Arts Academy, Pastor Larry Watson Jr., Solomon Bozeman and The Sounds of the Gulf Coast, and the Soulful Movement: Spirit of Excellence dance troupe. Emceeing Saturday’s Joyful Noise! Gospel Competition will be WEAR’s Sue Straughn, Pastor Lonnie Wesley from Greater Little Rock Baptist Church, Pastor Larry Watson Jr. from Englewood Baptist Church and Rameca Vincent Leary, Community and Special Initiatives director at Pensacola State College and host of the “Connecting the Community” and “Pensacola State Today” television programs on WSRE. There will also be a short film screening of the PBS documentary "GOSPEL" from Henry Louis Gates Jr. and food trucks on site.
Joyful Noise! Gospel Celebration
SUNDAY GOSPEL BRUNCH | SOLD OUT
SUN NOV 10 | 12PM–2PM LILY HALL
New York's award-winning Sing Harlem choir will perform a full concert for this sold-out champagne brunch curated by Brother Fox Executive Chef Darian Hernandez and served, church social style, on the grounds at Lily Hall — the boutique hotel whose landmark structure was built in 1928 for the Mount Olive Baptist Church congregation. Wear your Sunday best!
