Q, Woman, Class of 2019
Interview Transcript
(Excessive filler words such as “um,” “like,” and “you know” have been omitted)

Sharldine Desire: So, when did you first start singing gospel music and why?
Q: Honestly, I didn’t start singing gospel music seriously until I got here. My mom was a worship leader at our old church but our old church was like really tiny so…I don’t know, it was weird, I never really had the full “black church,” huge thing experience.
SD: When you started singing it seriously here, did you like it right away?
Q: Yes.
SD: What kept your interest? Like what about it kept your interest?
Q: Just like memories of growing up and using my voice for something I’ve always enjoyed and just feeling more connected to it. Like my life has been two different extremes, like when I was growing up it was all church all the time and there wasn’t really a choice and then when I got older and I started to separate from the church a little bit but I still felt strongly about my belief in Jesus and God…but then al my friends didn’t have religion in their lives, so it was like two extremes. But here I finally like—gospel music gave me that balance. Just participating with other people who feel how I do to an extent and aren’t like…crazy, you know what I mean. Like crazy old people who are just trying to control you, they’re just regular people that are your age and that was like a new experience for me in that I didn’t know how much I wanted that in my life until I got here.
SD: Good, so…you found out that Gospel Choir was that but what made you want to join in the first place?
Q: Ya’ll didn’t have auditions and I just wanted to sing [laughs]
SD: No, that’s actually so real. That’s actually why so many people come and then they realize we’re amazing and then they stay.
Q: Yeah basically…and I’m really glad I did because all the stuff I auditioned for I didn’t get into so it was like a good…not really a fallback but like a good anchor to know that no matter what happens I’ll still be able to sing.
SD: So how do you think it’s impacted your life here so far?
Q: It has kind of given me…like a group I belong to and an identity here. And I feel like at Williams everyone stresses like having an identity and having a group so much so it helped assimilate me into this new place that is very different from home.
SD: How, if applicable, do you interact with gospel music outside of the choir?
Q: I listen to it a lot when I’m doing homework or when I need strength. I’ll put some gospel music on in the background and hope that it motivates me. It’s kind of my way of communicating to God without always having to get on my knees and pray and set aside time for that. It’s kind of like my way of showing him that I’m always thinking of him and it’s also comforting for me as well.
SD: So what do you think is the difference between listening to and singing gospel music on your own and learning a song to perform with GC?
Q: Umm…can you rephrase that?
SD: Sure…like I guess for me, when I’m like in my gospel zone or in the middle of one of my praise sessions verses when I’m like teaching the choir or singing with the choir…it sometimes just feels different for me, not necessarily in a good way or a bad way…just different. Does it feel different for you and how?
Q: Hmm I don’t know…like I said before…for me Christianity was kind of like this thing that was for old people because I was the only kid in my church so I don’t know when I listen to it alone…at first I used to think that I was the only one of my age that listened to that stuff but when I sing with the choir it reminds me that I’m not alone and that there are all different types of people who appreciate this music for worship or just because they like the energy or other stuff. So I guess it just gives me…like I have more perspective when I’m singing it with the choir than when I listen to it alone.
SD: Do you like performing gospel music with GC?
Q: Yes…
SD: How do you think it is read here at Williams, like the performance of it?
Q: Hmmm I don’t know. That’s a good question. It’s always interesting to know how people connect with it. Because gospel music, especially modern gospel music, is just so catchy and upbeat…it’s hard not to like it, whether you’re like an atheist or whatever branch of religion you fall under. It’s just pleasant to the ear…so I feel like at Williams it can be kind of be like that, just really nice to listen to. I think that maybe other people might think of it more like a culture…like if I was to go watch that…what’s that dance group? They dance to Spanish music?
SD: Ritmo? Ritmo Latino?
Q: Yeah, like if I watch them, I see it as entertainment but also a cultural thing, like experiencing a different culture and I think Williams [students] see it the same way. Even if they don’t believe in it, they’re experiencing a different type of culture.
SD: Nice, um…what role do you think gospel music has played throughout history within the black community?
Q: I think it’s just been a really big integral part of a lot of people’s upbringing, like upbringing throughout generations. With our concert, it was Gospel Through The Times, before gospel used to be like simple Negro spirituals…it was a means of communication while still showing your faith in God. I feel like that’s carried out throughout the black community. You know maybe not as intensely as trying to escape from slavery but I think it’s still a big part of how we keep our faith in the face of adversity and everything you have to go through in America with being black and stuff.
SD: I guess you already kind of answered this but if you want to speak more to it…do you still think it plays that same role today? Do you think gospel music impacts the black community in the same way?
Q: I don’t know, it’s hard to say because now…since so much has changed—well a good amount of things have changed—people have like this choice of whether they want to be a part of that culture or not. Where as before it wasn’t a choice but like a means of survival. So I think it’s changed in that way and in that way it also becomes more fun and enjoyable and it doesn’t always have to be so intense, even though it’s still very intense in some churches. I think there’s like different places on spectrum now. Gospel music can be fun and just nice to listen to and it can go to the same intensity as it was throughout history.
SD: And how about outside the community? Like gospel music like a lot of black music and black culture has kind of like gone past black people and moved into the mainstream and had gotten musical influences from other types of music styles…so do you think gospel music speaks to people outside the religious black community?
Q: I’m not really sure. It’s hard to say…like gospel music down south in black churches is a huge thing and it’s a huge thing that I think is very contained. Like I don’t think many people from other cultures are that affected by it. And I don’t know if it been assimilated into like cultural appropriation like rap music or any of the stuff we’re dealing with now. I don’t think gospel music has gotten to that point yet but it’s hard to say because, again, I have a very limited view of gospel myself.
SD: So those are all the questions but do you have anything more you want to say maybe about your experience in the choir or the concert, what was it like for you? It was your first one…so how was that, the response of the audience and everything?
Q: Like how it is with the choir in general…I think, it’s very interesting…the kind of people who are in the choir. We’re the most diverse singing groups, I’d argue, on campus. And especially with a cappella, they have the same type of people, they have their own kind of culture and their own kind of feel. When you say their name you think of “X” type of person but I feel like you can’t do that when people say “Williams Gospel Choir,” you can’t distinct like “black girl” or “black man” because that’s not the only people who are in it. You have TAs from around the world; you have people who’ve graduated who are still a part of it and then different people on the spectrum who are at Williams now so I don’t know. I think it says a lot that we attract all different types of people and I think it gives the choir a very welcoming appeal. And when I hear people talk about us they’re like “you guys definitely look like you have the most fun on stage than any other group” and stuff like that and I couldn’t really not agree because we obviously do [laughs]. So the concert yeah…it was definitely an experience. It was nice seeing all these people come out. Some people you see may surprise you and then some people you thought would be there but weren’t there for whatever reason. So you focus so much on the crowd in the beginning, like who came and who didn’t come, but the deeper you get into it the more it’s like about you and your experience with the music than it is about who came and who didn’t come.

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