After a nationwide competition, The Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir was named the 2011 How Sweet the Sound National Choir! EURweb.com reports Verizon Wireless traveled to nine cities holding competitions for church choirs and the winning choirs from nine cities were then flown to Los Angeles to compete in the national finals.
Regional choirs from across the country were on hand to win up to $50,000. Grammy award winning artists CeCe Winans and Donald Lawrence served as mistress and master of ceremonies while award winners Marvin Sapp, Shirley Caesar and Israel Houghton served as judges for the competition.
“We’re looking for tone, pitch, the ability to blend and soulful voices,” said Sapp. “Great choirs have the ability to articulate songs with conviction.”
Each choir was unique, incorporating breathtaking choreography, perfect harmonies, and commanding stage presence during the three-hour event.
The Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir was named the 2011 How Sweet the Sound National Choir and took home a total of $40,000 in cash and prizes. The choir has been invited to perform at the Stellar Awards and the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.
The judges were impressed by all of the choirs in competition, but it was the high energy Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir singing Handel’s “Hallelujah” with their stellar singing and explosive stage performance that impressed the judges. The choir threw off their robes to reveal grey cardigans and bow ties, then wasted no time executing a dizzying array of vocal styles, and even delivered fragments of their song in Italian and German.
“You all are unbelievable,” said Sapp, who was blown away. “You function at a level of excellence. You have classical AND church harmonies. You took off your robes and were speaking in different languages.”
“I have never seen or heard anything like what I’ve seen tonight,” said Caesar. “This choir is from North Carolina, but I wouldn’t care if they were from diddy wa diddy.”
Houghton was also obviously impressed, but deadpanned, “I feel you could have had more energy.” Shaking his head, he added, “That (performance) was amazing.”
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