Gospel music is the most soul-stirring music created and SOV Ministries and its founder, genre trailblazer and label owner, Phillip Carter, are providing two projects just for the choir music lover. The holidays are just around the corner and so are the sounds of the season. Carter provides something melodic to ring in the holidays with a brand new Christmas project entitledChristmas with Phillip Carter & SOV. Created with the choir director in mind, Carter provides new sacred music for Christmas. In addition to the seasonal release, he is also releasing another CD entitled Brandon J. Felder Presents The Largo High School Choir: Rejoice: A Celebration of Music. Delivering Christmas favorites along with great Gospel music for every season, the CD showcases the award-winning choir from Prince George’s County, Maryland, under the direction of Brandon J. Felder. Both releases are currently available on digital music outlets.
Christmas with Phillip Carter & SOV is a 14-track project featuring songs like “Christmas Is A Special Time of Year”, “The Angels Sing Hallelujah” and “El Shaddai”. Carter says he wanted to record the project to introduce new sounds during a very familiar season. He says, “The new CD is full of Christmas music that churches can sing for their Christmas cantatas and other holiday programs. I specifically targeted this release to choir directors and church musicians looking for Christmas music to bring to their congregations. In addition to familiar songs, there are a few that I wrote and Gospel Artist and Songwriter Kendall King’s song, ‘Holy God’ is included as well. There is also one instrumental track called ‘Christmas In The Summertime’ featuring saxophonist, Phil French”.
Many will recognize tracks like “O Come Let Us Adore Him” and “Hark The Herald Angels Sing”, but Carter added a splash of “churchiness” to every tune. Songs like “Christ Was Born This Way”, which features a chorus of Richard Smallwood’s classic, “Total Praise”, “and “We Will Glorify”, are fresh additions to the Christmas repertoire. “And The Glory”, pulled from Handel’s Messiah, receives a makeover and “Merry Christmas” takes us to the islands to celebrate with its reggae flavor. Those who love uplifting Christmas tunes will find that Christmas with Phillip Carter & SOV is the perfect addition to the holiday collection. The project can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and other online distributors. Fans of Carter and his ensemble SOV can experience the songs live on The Word Network on Friday, November 17, 2017 on Greg Davis Live at 1PM.
SOV Ministries, Inc. has been busy this year. In addition to Christmas with Phillip Carter & SOV, they just released a second project, Brandon J. Felder Presents The Largo High School Choir: Rejoice: A Celebration of Music. The 15-track collection spans of the gamut of genres including classical, inspirational, Gospel, Jazz and others. Cuts like the uplifting title tune, “Rejoice”, “A Child Is Born” and “The Christmas Medley” feature songs celebrating the birth of the Savior, but other tracks can be enjoyed year-round. Gospel fans will like “Bless the Name of Jesus”, “Jesus Be Exalted” and “Receive Our Praise”. The project is available digitally on iTunes, Amazon and other music outlets. A portion of the proceeds will fund the music program at Largo High School. Physical copies of the project are available for purchase at the school. The project’s official CD release will take place at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC, on Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 6PM. The event is free and will feature current students and alumni of the Largo High School Choir.
The project’s visionary, Brandon J. Felder, is a native of Buffalo, NY, and learned the piano at the age of 6. He honed his skills as a classical pianist and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Howard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with Piano Emphasis. He also obtained a Masters of Music Degree with Emphasis in Jazz Studies from University of Maryland. The Associate Minister of Music at Reid AME Church North located in Silver Spring, MD, took on the role of Director of Choral Activities and Piano Studies at Largo High School in Largo, MD, filling the role that the renowned Jeremiah Murphy had for 24 years prior to retiring. The celebrated Largo High School Choir has performed at prominent events and venues in the Washington, DC area including the Howard Theater, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The National Cathedral, the University of Maryland Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. They also were named a GRAMMY® Signature School Enterprise Award Semifinalist.
Phillip Carter, the producer and executive producer of Brandon J. Felder Presents The Largo High School Choir: Rejoice: A Celebration of Music, is known as the co-founder of the Independent Gospel Artists Alliance Conference, now in its 7th year. Recognized as the premiere conference for indie artists in Gospel Music, he launched the annual event with co-founder and fellow Gospel Artist Earl Bynum. Carter got his start in the Gospel music industry penning songs for the Gospel Music Workshop of America Mass Choir and Men’s Choir. Since that time, he’s seen two of his projects hit the top of the Billboard Gospel Albums Charts and the Billboard Top Christian Charts, Maranatha Music’s Top 25 Gospel Praise Songs and the DMV Top 25 Gospel Classics. He is the President of the GMWA DMV Alliance (formerly known as the Gospel Announcers Guild) and is the organizer of events such as Bring Back The Choir and the Musicians & Singers Fellowship. He was just tapped as the Director of Music of the DC Baptist Ministers Conference & Vicinity. He has toured internationally in Denmark and Poland and through his record label, he’s produced several projects for his group and other artists. Connect with Phillip Carter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, connect with Brandon J. Felder on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well.
