Choir members, adorned in traditional choir robes with their eyes to the high heavens and hands folded, surrounded the stage in Chicago’s United Center. Gospel aficionado and co-host Donald Lawrence gets the crowd to their feet from backstage. “Are we ready to shout it out loud?” he asked. The crowd responded with great applause and excitement that reverberated throughout the whole building. Within moments, the celebration of Gospel music began.
GlossMagazineOnline (GMO) had all access to this year’s Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound (HSTS) 2010 Gospel Competition. HSTS is in its third year of celebrating the ministry of music. The arena was filled to capacity as gospel heavy hitters Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans hosted. Lawrence, as a keen choir director who understands the academics of music, is all too familiar with what it takes for a choir to win such an esteemed competition.
“There has to be a connection with the lyrics. There’s a transformation that has to take place,” Lawrence said. “The power of the music is supposed to remind us of the way God sees us.”
The Clark sisters, Dorinda Clark Cole and Karen Clark Sheard, as well as Pastor Marvin Sapp were the judges for the 
evening. They provided each choir director with constructive criticism and sound advice; often given with a little humor and sarcasm. The Clark sisters have an established career in the gospel industry and understand what it takes to reach people.
Photo: Pastor Marvin Sappp, CeCe Winans and Donald Lawrence
“It is important to implement the word [of the Bible] into your music ministry. It moves people. [It’s] life changing,” Cole said.
“Being on stage will encourage them (choirs) to continue to pursue their dreams,” said Sheard.
The competition was based on the best small and large choirs. In the small choir category there was: Voices of Calvary, Living Word Baptist Church Choir, Lively Stone Sanctuary Choir and Redeemed Tabernacle Church of God in Christ Choir—People's Choice for best small choir and recipient of a $10,000 check from Verizon Wireless. God's House of All Nations Gospel Choir, Destiny Worship and Praise Chorale, Fellowship MB Church Mass Choir and the winners Greater First Church Chorale were in the large choir category. Greater First Church Chorale won best overall regional choir to go to the Nationals in Washington, D.C. and was presented with a $10,000 check from Verizon Wireless. They also won V-cast People's Choice Award via text messaging and were awarded a $5,000 check.
Elder Carl Hearn, musical director for the Greater First Church Chorale, was overwhelmed and ready to move forward. “This is the fruit of our labor,” Hearn said. “I want to push the choir to another level and receive the vision of how far this choir can go.”
Photo: The Tabernacle Church of God in Christ Ministries
Walt Whitman, creative and musical director of the Soul Children of Chicago, said that unity has to resonate from each choir. “The Greater First Church has a bond beyond singing. They are anointed,” Whitman said. “The teachings choir members receive from the church determines the level of anointing that manifests through the music and GFC just had it.”
The evening would have not been complete without performances from the judges and the hosts. Pastor Marvin Sapp was the first to perform. The crowd rose to their feet as they were presently surprised to see Sapp hit the stage. He lost his wife, Dr. Malinda P. Sapp, to colon cancer in September. It would be fair to say that he left his heart on the stage.
The Clark sister’s hit the stage separately, and CeCe Winans sang her new single “For Always” from her new album The Best of. She told GMO that the best performances happen when the performer gets lost in the song. “People are engaged when you’re engaged. You want them to leave inspired, empowered and encouraged,” Winans said.
Two of the most important elements of this event were the Hopeline: Old Phones = New Hope program and the Chicago artist/artists selected to create a gospel inspired mural. Hopeline collects old cell phones in support for domestic violence victims. It provides refurbished phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations around the country that focus on domestic violence prevention, according to Erica Sevilla at Verizon Wireless' Midwest office. In total, 360 phones and accessories were collected. The choir that collected the most phones and accessories was GFC. They were awarded a $1,000 check from Verizon Wireless.
Like music, art uplifts and inspires as well. R.K. Design members, Rahmaan Barnes, Max Sansing and Angel "Rome" Pagen came together and created the extraordinary piece of art which will be a permanent mural in Chicago. They blended striking hues that represent the vibrancy of Chicago with the familiarity of 
praise and worship that that is seen in churches across the city.
Photo: Pastor Marvin Sapp and The Clark Sisters
Donald Lawrence closed the show with his hit single “Back II Eden,” from his Law of Confession Part 1 album, with the help of the Clark Sisters, CeCe Winans, Pastor Marvin Sapp, all of the competing choirs and the audience singing, "Gonna shout it out loud/.../Let’s get back II Eden/Live on top of the world." Living on top of the world certainly rang true for Greater First Church.
The evening defined music as the sound of the soul. Feet stomping. Hand clapping. Soul stirring.
For more images from How Sweet the Sound, visit the Glossy Blog.
-Photos by Cicely Teal and Billy Montgomery
Cicely's Facts: Cicely V. Teal GMO's Marketing Assistant. Cicely graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a BA in Communication and is studying to get her MA in Journalism at Depaul Univeristy. She has worked as an intern for WTTW Channel 11 and currently contributes to N’Digo Magapaper and Urban Influence Magazine. She can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
