Gospel music expert will energize Catholics

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

A world-renowned church musician and lecturer will visit the Albany Diocese this month to teach about the history and intricacies of gospel music.

Rev. Dr. Raymond Wise, a scholar of spirituals, folk forms and traditional and contemporary gospel music, will share his passion for the genre with people in parish music ministries - and anyone else with an interest.

"People don't need to have experience," he urged. "All they have to do is come."

While in the area, Dr. Wise will lead workshops at St. Vincent de Paul parish and Macedonia Baptist Church, both in Albany. He teaches and directs the African American Choral Ensemble at Indiana University and lives in Ohio. v
Although Catholic parishes constitute a small fraction of the audiences at Dr. Wise's presentations, he said they can benefit from exposure to a musical form largely unfamiliar to their members.

Even fans of gospel music don't necessarily receive formal training or learn about its roots, he added: "There has really not been a purposeful way to train and mentor [gospel singers]. There really is a hunger. People want to do more; they just need somebody to teach them."

Impressive background
Dr. Wise, an interdenominational Christian minister and a native of Baltimore, began singing and acting as a child. He has degrees in music and music education with extra training in opera, art, dance and African American history. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on African American gospel music.

He's directed more than 30 choirs; recorded 22 albums and composed more than 500 pieces for other recording artists; released a sheet music series; choreographed theatrical productions; and toured the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia.

Dr. Wise founded a gospel music production company in the 1980s and a center for preservation and promotion of the gospel arts in the '90s. He's devoted the past four years to running workshops for churches, schools and groups.

"So many churches are looking to energize their worship," he said. "It kind of liberates them."

Catholic parishes could use gospel music as an evangelization tool, he added, because it's all about energy - and parishes that adopt new styles of music show openness to diversity and build bridges to minority populations.

No borders
"The demographics [in many regions] are changing," Dr. Wise said. "Now, many churches are saying, 'How do we reach out to people in our communities who may not look like us?'

"There's something about music that breaks down the walls," he noted. "When you're singing, people sing together. It allows people to literally come together and accomplish something as a group."

In agreement is Cylon George, a member of the music subcommittee of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and the coordinator of Dr. Wise's presentation.

"Music is a language and gospel is the musical language used in a lot of black Catholic churches," said Mr. George, who's also music minister at Holy Spirit parish in East Greenbush and a campus minister at two area colleges.

He was raised in Trinidad and Tobago, where gospel music was less prominent than Afro-Caribbean calypso music, but still important to him.

Mr. George said Catholics often bypass gospel music because of its technically challenging rhythms and harmonies, but it's important to expose them to "a genre of music that's very important to the history of this country."

Mr. George is enthused about Dr. Wise's visit. He met the speaker at a gospel festival at Hartwick College in Oneonta and was immediately impressed: "He is just so dynamic and gifted."[[In-content Ad]]