Amen to a Bit of Gospel, Built on Love

Did you know the Shaw Festival has not one, but two Gospel Choirs this year? The first will be prominently featured in the 2023 production of The Amen Corner, directed by Kimberley Rampersad, and comprised of actors in the play. The second, called The Company Gospel Choir is a hidden gem, directed and led by Ensemble Member Jeremiah Sparks.

By Heather Sargeson-Callara

The Company Gospel Choir – now in its third year – includes a vast array of talents, all of whom volunteer their time and voices out of a pure love for singing. Performers include members of our Ensemble, Wardrobe, Creative Management and Administrative Teams, as well as members of the Shaw Guild. It’s an inclusive space inspired by Jeremiah’s love of LOVE!

I recently interviewed three company members to talk about their ties to gospel music and The Shaw’s Gospel Choirs: Jeremiah Sparks, Gospel Choir Director and Brother Davis in this season’s production of The Amen Corner; Kimberley Rampersad, Shaw’s Associate Artistic Director and Director of The Amen Corner; and Suzin Schiff, Company choir member and The Shaw’s Ensemble and Housing Liaison.

Heather: What’s your connection to gospel music?

Jeremiah: I was first introduced to Gospel at the age of five at Cherrybrook United Baptist Church in Preston, Nova Scotia where my father and mother were Deacon and Deaconess. I was instantly moved – it’s been moving me ever since! I was their church organist and choir director for more than 20 years. I also directed the Nova Scotia Mass Choir, comprised of both believers and non-believers.

Kimberley: Mine began as a child in the basement of my parents’ home on Hathway Road. They had a great record collection and it included Mahalia Jackson, who was one of my mother’s favourite gospel singers.

Suzin: I’ve been singing since I was a kid. Music moves me and connects me to the greater world. I did a workshop with the Ontario Music Educators where I attended a gospel lesson, and I loved the music and loved the connection one has to it.

I love the cadence – everything about it, and I’ve always wanted to see what it would be like to sing in a gospel choir.

H: Jeremiah, what inspired you to first start a Gospel Choir at The Shaw back in 2017?

J: When I began the choir, my only plan was to bring people together. I’m fascinated by what happens to the energies of individuals when brought together in a choir. Every time I revive the choir, I feel more blessed than the time before! I love bringing people’s hearts together in the spirit of love. It’s a blessing that’s unworldly.

H: What was your motivation for opening the choir to everyone in the company, instead of only professional performers?

J: It brings in people who are really enthusiastic and happy to sing with everyone else – an opportunity they may not have otherwise. And of course, the more the merrier!

H: Suzin, what was it like being one of many non-actors in the Gospel Choir last year?

S: Joining the choir was a no-brainer. I felt like it was meant for me, so I jumped in. Like so many places, I know that people think their ‘role’ defines them. The choir helped to bridge that gap between the Ensemble and Administration.

H: Kimberley, you’re directing The Amen Corner this year, which features a Gospel Choir. What is the role of the choir in this play?

K: The gospel music provides liturgical context for either the preceding or proceeding scenes in The Amen Corner. The choir itself functions as a Greek chorus at times and can be the portal through which some members of the audience may choose to see the play. Characters David and Margaret each find liberation in their own music and find the other person’s music challenging, if not problematic.

H: How has The Company Gospel Choir evolved since its inception?

J: It’s evolved because I evolve – every time I do this. New ideas come to me according to the people in the choir. I have some ideas, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do until that first rehearsal. Then everything happens and love takes over!

H: Where do you see the choir moving this year?

J: I’m not sure what’s about to happen this year, but I know it’s going to be fabulous! A real blessing from above. I’m super excited for this choir and those who attend. This year I’ll also let people into my life a little. A personal touch.

H: A choir requires a special connection amongst its members: a collective blending of voices, rhythmic syncopation, call and response. How does this affect your role in the Gospel Choir?

J: I believe I have a way of bringing minds together through the beautiful power of love! Before each rehearsal I ask us to embrace our spirit of love and begin with prayer. Love must be engaged the whole time and when this happens, everything else is easy and beauty sets in. I love love and what it does to us. For God is simply that: LOVE! What I feel from those lovers of love on that first rehearsal inspires my song choices.

S: I don’t have a lot of choral experience. It invited a lot of letting go – a release of self-consciousness and more immersion into the experience. You’re falling into something bigger than just you. I think it requires a lot of vigilance and circumventing any perfectionism or fear of failure into just a joy of the experience and the sharing of that joy.

H: Will there be any intersection between the choir in The Amen Corner and The Company Gospel Choir?

K: The intersection is singularly embodied in the person of Jeremiah Sparks, who leads our Company Gospel Choir and leads the choir in The Amen Corner – as well as appearing as an actor in the production!

J: I am the choir director for The Amen Corner. The only intersection I believe will be with the singers. My work with the choir in the play will be a bit more formal – there’s a difference in the freedom I’ll have with The Company Gospel Choir. But of course, my influences still have to come through. I’ll call it: The Amen Corner with a dash of Jeremiah and a cup of Sparks!

H: Any favourite choir songs?

S: Patty Jamieson did a song last year: “Lord I will lift mine eyes to the hills?” That’s the one that comes to mind because it goes from explosive passion back to quiet introspection, beginning with a solo and then passing the baton to the choir. It gave me goosebumps every time. I think it runs the gamut of what I think the genre can bring.

J: My mind can’t come to terms with “favourite song” for some reason. Choir directing is one of the favourite things in my existence. It feeds my soul so much. More importantly, when I am responsible for having a choir of beautiful souls affect people, that is my all time favourite! That fills my heart with love beyond explaining.

H: Any final thoughts? Words of wisdom?

S: If you’ve always wanted to sing with a choir, then just come. What’s the worst that can happen? It will help you to connect to the bigger purpose and the bigger philosophy and existence of this beautiful place.

J: Love is everything. God is Love!