It is surely true that praises go up and blessing come down when it comes to the Higher Praise Gospel choir here at Oklahoma State University. The choir was started year ago but Cherril Orange, Paige Davis and Terrence Williams restarted the ‘Burnin’ Black Gospel’ choir under the new name Higher Praise Gospel choir in the fall semester of 2015.They saw the need for the choir and the hype for the ‘Burnin’ Black Gospel’ choir had died off so it was time for a revamped version. Of course the choir sings a lot songs but I still had to ask which one was their favorite and they said “Our favorite song is Amazing which is originally sung by Livre. The song is lead by two of our members, Michaela & Nia, and we all get so excited when we sing it.” Honestly, watching them perform is great I always feel the presence of the Lord and the annointment through their voices. Like anything that requires time and leading others it takes patience, so I asked what was one positive and negative aspect of running a choir. They replied “Running the choir is a great time but also a lot of work. One positive would definitely be watching the progression of the choir and all that they have achieved. One negative is that anything that doesn’t work out the best is placed on our shoulders.”
Since the choir is new and they have had few performances, I asked what was their favorite performance so far. “Our favorite performance would have to have been the concert we just had on the 14th. Being able to minister to the people was amazing.” Doing great things like this shows other people that they can touch the community in different ways and for Higher Praise it definitely shows. On the night of Higher Praise Experience concert they honored one of the founders Cherril Orange because she helped start the choir and has been instrumental in the growth of the choir by holding her position as Vice President and Alto section leader. This year she graduates so they made sure she was honored for all of her hard work and dedication.
Have you all had the chance to perform for any celebrities? Terrence replied “Actually, not including the choir, Paige and I have had the opportunity to sing backup for Stevie Wonder last semester in November. There is no experience in my life that I can compare to that night it was unbelievable”.
If you’re interested in joining this great choir, “There is never a time that we do not accept new members. We encourage anyone with a passion to sing to join us.” All three of the Higher Praise gospel choir founders have been singing for as long as they can remember. “We all have some sort of choir experience. Whether it be singing in one, directing one or having family members in one.” Of course, church was the first place they ever sang, a place where a lot of famous singers today got their start.
The choir sung several selections in the course of the night, and they also had two guest performances. One was a praise dance from Myleah Brewer and the other one was a mime from Isaac Nolan. Being on stage can make anyone nervous but for Terrence he was “the most nervous when they sang the first song but as the director he was proud of the professionalism shown by the choir that night.”
Their rehearsal times are at 5:30-7pm on Mondays and Thursdays at 5-7:30pm. They pray first, then do vocal warmups and jump right into the music. They listen to the track and then it gets broken down into parts.
With all they’ve done so far the question becomes what’s next for the Higher Praise gospel choir? “We hope to continue singing for the glory of God for semesters and years to come, and as he opens doors for us to do more we’ll thank him for it!” Interviewing the founders of Higher Praise Gospel choir has solidified how I feel about them. They have revamped something that has brought light to this campus and has brought the presence of the Lord and I thank them for that. To keep up with this choir follow them on instagram @Higherpraise_okstate !