Q, Woman, Class of 2019
\nInterview Transcript
\n(Excessive filler words such as \u201cum,\u201d \u201clike,\u201d and \u201cyou know\u201d have been omitted)<\/p>\n
Sharldine Desire: So, when did you first start singing gospel music and why?<\/strong> Word Count: 1707<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Q, Woman, Class of 2019 Interview Transcript (Excessive filler words such as \u201cum,\u201d \u201clike,\u201d and \u201cyou know\u201d have been omitted) Sharldine Desire: So, when did you first start singing gospel music and why? Q: Honestly, I didn\u2019t start singing gospel … Continue reading
\nQ: Honestly, I didn\u2019t 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\u2026I don\u2019t know, it was weird, I never really had the full \u201cblack church,\u201d huge thing experience.
\nSD: When you started singing it seriously here, did you like it right away?<\/strong>
\nQ: Yes.
\nSD: What kept your interest? Like what about it kept your interest?<\/strong>
\nQ: Just like memories of growing up and using my voice for something I\u2019ve 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\u2019t 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\u2026but then al my friends didn\u2019t have religion in their lives, so it was like two extremes. But here I finally like\u2014gospel music gave me that balance. Just participating with other people who feel how I do to an extent and aren\u2019t like\u2026crazy, you know what I mean. Like crazy old people who are just trying to control you, they\u2019re just regular people that are your age and that was like a new experience for me in that I didn\u2019t know how much I wanted that in my life until I got here.
\nSD: Good, so\u2026you found out that Gospel Choir was that but what made you want to join in the first place?<\/strong>
\nQ: Ya\u2019ll didn\u2019t have auditions and I just wanted to sing [laughs]
\nSD: No, that\u2019s actually so real. That\u2019s actually why so many people come and then they realize we\u2019re amazing and then they stay.<\/strong>
\nQ: Yeah basically\u2026and I\u2019m really glad I did because all the stuff I auditioned for I didn\u2019t get into so it was like a good\u2026not really a fallback but like a good anchor to know that no matter what happens I\u2019ll still be able to sing.
\nSD: So how do you think it\u2019s impacted your life here so far?<\/strong>
\nQ: It has kind of given me\u2026like 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.
\nSD: How, if applicable, do you interact with gospel music outside of the choir?<\/strong>
\nQ: I listen to it a lot when I\u2019m doing homework or when I need strength. I\u2019ll put some gospel music on in the background and hope that it motivates me. It\u2019s 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\u2019s kind of like my way of showing him that I\u2019m always thinking of him and it\u2019s also comforting for me as well.
\nSD: 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?<\/strong>
\nQ: Umm\u2026can you rephrase that?
\nSD: Sure\u2026like I guess for me, when I\u2019m like in my gospel zone or in the middle of one of my praise sessions verses when I\u2019m like teaching the choir or singing with the choir\u2026it sometimes just feels different for me, not necessarily in a good way or a bad way\u2026just different. Does it feel different for you and how?<\/strong>
\nQ: Hmm I don\u2019t know\u2026like I said before\u2026for 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\u2019t know when I listen to it alone\u2026at 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\u2019m 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\u2026like I have more perspective when I\u2019m singing it with the choir than when I listen to it alone.
\nSD: Do you like performing gospel music with GC?<\/strong>
\nQ: Yes\u2026
\nSD: How do you think it is read here at Williams, like the performance of it?<\/strong>
\nQ: Hmmm I don\u2019t know. That\u2019s a good question. It\u2019s always interesting to know how people connect with it. Because gospel music, especially modern gospel music, is just so catchy and upbeat\u2026it\u2019s hard not to like it, whether you\u2019re like an atheist or whatever branch of religion you fall under. It\u2019s just pleasant to the ear\u2026so 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\u2026like if I was to go watch that\u2026what\u2019s that dance group? They dance to Spanish music?
\nSD: Ritmo? Ritmo Latino?<\/strong>
\nQ: 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\u2019t believe in it, they\u2019re experiencing a different type of culture.
\nSD: Nice, um\u2026what role do you think gospel music has played throughout history within the black community?<\/strong>
\nQ: I think it\u2019s just been a really big integral part of a lot of people\u2019s upbringing, like upbringing throughout generations. With our concert, it was Gospel Through The Times, before gospel used to be like simple Negro spirituals\u2026it was a means of communication while still showing your faith in God. I feel like that\u2019s carried out throughout the black community. You know maybe not as intensely as trying to escape from slavery but I think it\u2019s 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.
\nSD: I guess you already kind of answered this but if you want to speak more to it\u2026do you still think it plays that same role today? Do you think gospel music impacts the black community in the same way?<\/strong>
\nQ: I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s hard to say because now\u2026since so much has changed\u2014well a good amount of things have changed\u2014people have like this choice of whether they want to be a part of that culture or not. Where as before it wasn\u2019t a choice but like a means of survival. So I think it\u2019s changed in that way and in that way it also becomes more fun and enjoyable and it doesn\u2019t always have to be so intense, even though it\u2019s still very intense in some churches. I think there\u2019s 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.
\nSD: 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\u2026so do you think gospel music speaks to people outside the religious black community?<\/strong>
\nQ: I\u2019m not really sure. It\u2019s hard to say\u2026like gospel music down south in black churches is a huge thing and it\u2019s a huge thing that I think is very contained. Like I don\u2019t think many people from other cultures are that affected by it. And I don\u2019t know if it been assimilated into like cultural appropriation like rap music or any of the stuff we\u2019re dealing with now. I don\u2019t think gospel music has gotten to that point yet but it\u2019s hard to say because, again, I have a very limited view of gospel myself.
\nSD: 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\u2026so how was that, the response of the audience and everything?<\/strong>
\nQ: Like how it is with the choir in general\u2026I think, it\u2019s very interesting\u2026the kind of people who are in the choir. We\u2019re the most diverse singing groups, I\u2019d 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 \u201cX\u201d type of person but I feel like you can\u2019t do that when people say \u201cWilliams Gospel Choir,\u201d you can\u2019t distinct like \u201cblack girl\u201d or \u201cblack man\u201d because that\u2019s not the only people who are in it. You have TAs from around the world; you have people who\u2019ve graduated who are still a part of it and then different people on the spectrum who are at Williams now so I don\u2019t 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\u2019re like \u201cyou guys definitely look like you have the most fun on stage than any other group\u201d and stuff like that and I couldn\u2019t really not agree because we obviously do [laughs]. So the concert yeah\u2026it 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\u2019t there for whatever reason. So you focus so much on the crowd in the beginning, like who came and who didn\u2019t come, but the deeper you get into it the more it\u2019s like about you and your experience with the music than it is about who came and who didn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n