O, Man, Class of 2019
\nInterview Transcription
\n(Filler words have been omitted)<\/p>\n
Sharldine Desire: When did you start singing gospel music and why?<\/strong> Word Count: 1382<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" O, Man, Class of 2019 Interview Transcription (Filler words have been omitted) Sharldine Desire: When did you start singing gospel music and why? O: I\u2019ve been singing gospel music for as long as I can remember. I was born in … Continue reading
\nO: I\u2019ve been singing gospel music for as long as I can remember. I was born in the church, my family sings\u2026so that\u2019s all I know. I was born singing.
\nSD: So did you like it right away\u2014?<\/strong>
\nO: Yes.
\nSD: \u2014and what about it kept your interest?<\/strong>
\nO: Well I grew up in the church, my father is a pastor, my uncles are pastors, my mother\u2019s the first lady, my uncle was a Chaplin so gospel music has always been a part of my life. And for me, not only is it the music itself but the message that the music portrays and I can relate to it like if I\u2019m going through something, I can listen to the music and know that they understand my struggle.
\nSD: Why did you join gospel choir here at Williams?<\/strong>
\nO: So back home I was in gospel choir and coming to Williams I knew that I wanted to find an environment where I could grow spiritually and still listen to the music I was accustomed to at home and be myself. I\u2019m very goofy, I like to sing and play around I knew I wanted to find an outlet where that could be expressed.
\nSD: How do you think being in gospel choir has impacted your life here so far?<\/strong>
\nO: For me it\u2019s a great help. For me, I want to make sure I am living a life that is pleasing to God and since I\u2019m in gospel choir that means I am at the forefront of the school so I would not want to bring somebody down from my actions. For example, let\u2019s say if I\u2019m doing something I know I\u2019m not supposed to be doing, if someone sees that and says \u201cHey, you\u2019re in gospel choir! You\u2019re up there singing this but you\u2019re living a different life.\u201d And I don\u2019t want to be a hypocrite or live a double life so being in gospel choir helps me stay on the straight and narrow.
\nSD: How do you, or do you, interact with gospel music outside of the choir?<\/strong>
\nO: Oh, that\u2019s all I listen to. I also\u2014I write gospel music. I\u2019ve written probably about over twenty songs\u2014
\nSD: What?<\/strong>
\nO: Yeah, so I listen to, I\u2019ve written, back home I directed gospel choir so\u2026it\u2019s part of my life.
\nSD: Okay, so what do you think is the difference between you sitting there writing songs, listening to songs, being all up in it and then learning and performing gospel music with the choir?<\/strong>
\nO: When I listen to it or write a song, it\u2019s more personal. Like when I\u2019m writing a song it\u2019s either about something I\u2019m going through or something that I have experienced, it\u2019s me pouring my heart and soul into that song. Same for when I listen to it. If I\u2019m feeling down or slightly depressed, I listen to the songs and it boosts me up. Whereas when you\u2019re performing it, it\u2019s still that same aspect but it\u2019s a performance, which means you have to learn the songs. Your mind has to be focused on the song and making sure you learn your part because you can put all your heart and soul in it but if you\u2019re singing the wrong note, it\u2019s not going to sound right.
\nSD: So do you like the performance aspect of gospel choir?<\/strong>
\nO: Overall, I would say yes. Back home we didn\u2019t call it a \u201cperformance,\u201d we just sang in church but here I do like it\u2026it\u2019s different, but I like it.
\nSD: It\u2019s different, how\u2019s it different?<\/strong>
\nO: Well, back home it was more of a spiritual \u201cperformance\u201d because we would say that we\u2019ve done this but we\u2019ll just let the Lord have his way [with the performance] and that was your mindset whereas here in our performance, the Lord can still have his way but this is our set agenda and we have to follow it.
\nSD: How do you think the students here read our performance of gospel music?<\/strong>
\nO: I think it\u2019s a blessing. They may not realize it but it\u2019s keeping them. Because you can see people\u2019s faces light up, they\u2019re happier, some say they were depressed but it has lifted their spirits up and that\u2019s what gospel music is supposed to do. So if that\u2019s what people say they are feeling based on our performance than we\u2019re doing our job.
\nSD: So just take us back into black history, what role do you think gospel music has played in the past?<\/strong>
\nO: Gospel music was a way for African-Americans to tell their story and exemplify their struggle. For example, during slavery times we had the negro spirituals, it was a way for them to send messages to each other and also away to let others know \u201cHey, I know what you\u2019re going through.\u201d And throughout history, gospel music is supposed to spread the good news of Jesus Christ so I feel like in that aspect as well, it\u2019s always portrayed the message.
\nSD: Do you think it still plays that same role in the black community today?<\/strong>
\nO: I think it does, overall. I mean not as many people are as \u201cspiritual and religious\u201d as they were in the past but gospel music is consistent. We might have all these trends here and there, you might have these music artists but gospel music is the one thing that\u2019s going to be there, it\u2019s like your foundation, you may not think about it but you know when you\u2019re down and out, it\u2019s that one thing you can go to. So I think it\u2019s still in the black community like that\u2026yeah.
\nSD: What role do you think it plays outside of the black community?<\/strong>
\nO: I feel it is a way for people who are not black to understand the struggle of people who are black and it\u2019s also a way for them to hear the message of Jesus Christ, so it\u2019s like a two-fold process.
\nSD: So tell me about your first concert, what was that like for you? Singing with the choir and then alone as a soloist\u2026and what was it like seeing the audience\u2019s reaction or if you were paying attention\u2026kind of just that dynamic, tell me about it.<\/strong>
\nO: I loved it, when it was over I was like \u201cIt went by so quickly!\u201d For me though, the very beginning when we were singing the Negro spirituals, I felt that the people who were not black in the choir truly put all their emotion and passion into the songs we were singing like \u201cAin\u2019t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around\u2026\u201d
\nSD: The people who weren\u2019t black did?<\/strong>
\nO: Yes, I feel, as a whole\u2014
\nSD: So they did or they didn\u2019t?<\/strong>
\nO: They did not. Because I feel like that song, as an African-American, we know the struggle. We\u2019ve seen it, we\u2019ve heard it, and we\u2019ve felt it, whereas for them it was like \u201cOh this is just a nice song with a nice stomping beat.\u201d Same for \u201cOh Freedom.\u201d If you listen to the words \u201cbefore I be a slave, I\u2019ll be buried in my grave and go home\u2026\u201d Like, as I was singing it, I was thinking to myself like \u201cNo, oh freedom. I want this freedom.\u201d And same throughout the whole concert, for me, my goal was to make sure I put all my passion so that when people heard me sing they could tell that I believed what I was singing and that through my singing, they realize that I am being blessed as I am blessing them. So, when I sang my solo that was my mindset.
\nSD: So is there anything else you\u2019d like to say about your experience here so far, with GC? What you\u2019ve learned from being a part of it\u2026anything?<\/strong>
\nO: Oh I love it; I just wish the choir were bigger because people do not know what they are missing. You have a family, you\u2019re learning, it\u2019s exciting, it\u2019s fun\u2026and you can\u2019t beat that. Like for me, whenever I leave gospel choir, I\u2019m always happy\u2026so I\u2019m grateful for it.<\/p>\n