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For the past six years, Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound gospel music competition has brought together some of the most unique and unforgettable choirs from around the nation, including Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir, “America’s Best Gospel Choir” in 2011.
Things have changed for the North Carolina-based choir since winning the competition. According to director Kristian Herring, the choir has become known throughout the gospel community as the choir that sang in several languages, including German and Latin, and took off their robes during the competition. They have also shared their talents with national audiences by singing on Fox and Friends, at the Stellar Awards and at Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.
More importantly, Salvation and Deliverance used their victory to address the issue of obesity in its hometown of Tarboro, N.C. Herring says the choir chose to tackle the issue because it is something that impacts many of the people in their church and community. They used part of their prize money to develop “Weight…on the Lord,” a program that promotes healthy living and includes community health clinics and wellness fairs.
Herring says that participating in How Sweet the Sound has opened many doors for the choir and he would encourage other choirs to take a leap of faith and register for the competition. “What Verizon is doing for gospel music is amazing. How Sweet the Sound truly helped change our lives,” he said.
Interested choirs can learn more and register through June 14 to participate in this year’s competition on the How Sweet the Sound website.