I am aware that I have a limited viewpoint from which to survey the scope of gospel music in Luton. Beyond my notice there are further examples of excellent practice - churches and individuals serving God in their church, making the most of their God-inspired talents. However, at the end of 2007 I am prompted to pull a few threads together and suggest that it would be worthwhile considering an overall strategy to develop the gospel music in this town. So in this short document, pulled together to promote discussion, I pull together some observations of current activity, suggest where collaboration might have its benefits and put forward a few proposals for further debate.
Audit of Current Opportunities and Expertise
Luton Gospel Community Choir has celebrated its five-year anniversary this year and in the past 18 months have expanded their repertoire beyond the annual "Gospel Week" concert to include weddings and one-off performances for charities and local organisations. They have benefited from Home Office funding and received a large sum to put on the five-year anniversary concert with Roger Ryan in autumn 2007. LGCC has its roots in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, but in recent years has included individuals from a wider selection of churches.
Schools Work – Sandra Morris regularly visits a number of local Schools - Challney Girls, Denbigh and Luton Sixth Form – on a weekly basis to coach students. They perform within their schools as well as collaborating to form a town-wide choir. In the past couple of years they have put on 2 concerts at the Hat Factory and performed at the Grove Theatre, St George’s School and a number of townwide church events.
COGIC have in recent years promoted a gospel musical and have a number of gifted gospel artists within their congregation.
Breath of Life Ministries have pioneered the "Friday Night Gospel Party" concept with considerable success.
Gospel in the Sun is another initiative from Patrick George and the Breath of Life team. This free, outdoor event has run for several years in August and in 2007 attracted a strong line-up of artists from the town and beyond.
Church of God of Prophecy has a strong choir and their worship team has visited a number of smaller churches to provide variety in the style of music offered in their services.
Focus on Jazz is a secular town-wide organisation with a base at the Hat Factory. They have collaborated with many local gospel musicians in the past couple of years to promote sell-out events headlined by London-based acts Mike Parlett and Donna Gardier.
Gospel musicians in the town maintain productive links with other Luton church organisations such as Transforming Luton and regularly contributes to worship events promoted by this townwide body.
There are informal regional links with groups / churches and organisations in Hitchin, Milton Keynes, Bedford and St Albans.
BBC 3-Counties Radio features a weekly gospel radio show – G-Focus – with presenters Howard McCalla and Ibe Otah. Ibe is a prominent figure on the UK gospel scene in his capacity as a producer.
In 2007 Beverley Trottman reached the national finals of X-Factor, emulating the achievement of Voices of Soul.
Why a "Collective" ?
People could question the need for a new initiative for gospel music in the town when these excellent activities have been achieved with individuals and organisations taking their own independent initiative.
I would suggest there are a number of reasons why a more co-ordinated approach would be beneficial :
There are times when we need to stand together as a group of Christian musicians, for example when the BBC recently tried to cut Howard and Ibe’s show from the schedule. There are times when we need to stand together with one voice.
In order to expand activities it might be prudent to apply for grant funding. In this case it makes sense to make that application as a group, which broadens the range of projects that could be undertaken in such a bid.
It would be useful at the start of the year to co-ordinate dates for proposed events so that rehearsal dates do not clash. This might be particularly useful from a musician’s perspective.
Christian unity is a persistent theme in the Bible and the concept of a town-wide fellowship of artists and musicians is a powerful expression of that.
I would suggest we need a structure that permits each group to act independently for much of the time, but with a degree of co-ordination that maximises opportunities for the gospel across the town. I have a in-built instinct that suggests anything too bureaucratic will die on its feet.
Most groups I suggest, would not mind co-ordinating dates, pooling resources and expertise, but within that framework want freedom to carry on work as before.
So – the "Collective" could be a quarterly meeting, a website, a newsletter, a blog, an annual concert, musicians workshop. I detect no appetite for another committee with elected posts, minutes, AGMs etc.
Issues to Address
I would suggest that the concept of a Collective would be a good vehicle to address some of the issues raised below. The issues remain whichever way we organise ourselves, however !
Greater co-ordination – how do we avoid events clashing so that musicians, promoters and vocalists don’t trip over each other. There should not be the need to decide between church event and "choir event" if we put our plans on the table at the start of the year.
Breaking Barriers – where is the distinction between "gospel" music and "Christian" music ?
Musician Development – how can we support our current generation of musicians and aid them in their development? Would an annual masterclass be of use or maybe the establishment of a gospel music school during school holidays? Where will the next generation of players come from ?
Vocalist Development – as above to some extent, but maybe there are some distinctive issues for solo vocalists. What are we going to do about the current lack of male vocalists for example ?
Supporting Individuals – when one of our colleagues shows promise and breaks through to regional or national prominence, it brings credit and opportunities for us all. How could be develop the talent of the most gifted in our community and give them shoulders to stand on ?
Stage Administration – perhaps a neglected area – but we all know the tremendous benefits of a good sound ! There are those who cannot sing or play, but there are other important ministries such as sound, light, administration that are vital to a good promotion.
Evangelism – simple question, but how, through our activity, do we help to win lost souls ?
Generation of Funds – clearly we can only achieve some of our goals through successful application for funds. The National Carnival Centre on our doorstep possibly gives us an immediate route for such an application. Where else can we look to provide the capacity for expansion ?
Supporting the Church – there are dozens of small churches in our town that might love the occasional visit of a keyboard player and ten singers to provide variety in their worship or for a special event. How might we more systematically serve the body of Christ in this way ?
Finally .....
After the Donna Gardier event it struck me how we carried on jamming, chatting and enjoying fellowship for so long afterwards that we had literally to be asked to leave the venue so they could lock up.
We already have a great fellowship, a great collective pool of expertise, gifting and goodwill between us – the point of this paper is to ask how it might be shaped to bring the greatest glory to God.
This coming year I am committed to taking some time out to think through these issues. A few less events will be organised, but if we can respond positively to some of the issues raised above, perhaps we can set ourselves up for a rich harvest in the decade to come.
