Above: An acclaimed gospel choir will give a “spirited performance” in a public concert at Pilgrim Church in ten days. (image of cropped flyer)
A week from Sunday, Southborough’s Pilgrim Church will be “Celebrating Gospel Music”. The public is invited to join them for another concert featuring “an internationally acclaimed Gospel Choir”.
For the second year, the choir Joyful Voices of Inspiration (JVOI) will perform at Pilgrim. And, again, the church’s own choir will join them for several of the songs.
The concert is free to attend, but a $10 donation is encouraged.
Pilgrim’s announcement includes JVOI’s promotion of its music and mission:
Gospel music is both a powerful inspirational medium and a uniquely American art form. The choir’s mission as a traveling choir is to share their inspiring gospel music with others.
Pilgrim promises “a spirited concert”. And, this year, they are spotlighting a specific member of the visiting choir — Southborough resident David Joyner will be a soloist:
We are fortunate to have him performing in his hometown when normally you must travel to Boston for the MFA Millenium Choir Holiday Concert or to Symphony Hall for the Boston Pops Gospel Concert. You can check out last year’s Community Advocate article on David’s singing career. A Southborough man found his passion for singing at 61. Now, he’s with the Boston Pops Gospel Choir.
The CA article covers Joyner’s mid-life, first time decision to audition for a choir. The successful audition for the Boston Pops Gospel Choir changed his life:
Now, the Southborough resident is an active member of several choirs, including the Joyful Voices of Inspiration (JVOI) and the Millennium Gospel Choir. He’s performed at Symphony Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts, and historic churches in Portugal. He will travel to Peru to sing in July.
“It feels like home when I sing with these choirs and sing this music,” Joyner said.
He rehearses several times a week, on top of working full-time at Bank of America, and also practices with a vocal coach.
Read the full story here.
In 2024, JVOI shared a clip on Facebook of a solo by Joyner:
After last year’s concert, church member Freddie Gillespie described the “soul-moving experience” on Pilgrim’s website. You can read that here.
JVOI’s return to Pilgrim is scheduled for Sunday April 12th, at 3:00 pm in the church at 15 Common Street. (No registration is required to attend.)
Light refreshments will be offered following the concert (with a chance to mingle with the choir).
In addition to performing throughout New England, the chorus has toured New Orleans, Puerto Rico, and countries including Italy, France, Ireland, Holland, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Argentina, Barcelona, Germany, Greece, Portugal, and (most recently) Brazil.
The announcement includes bios for JVOI’s Director Donnell Patterson and the church’s choir director Monica Corey:
Donell Patterson is well known throughout the Boston music community, and world renowned as a dynamic choral leader. He serves as the Music Director at Belmont Hill School, is Co-Founder of the New England Conservatory Millennium Gospel Choir, and Director of SANS (Sharing a New Song) Chorus. He has also served as the Chair of the Gospel Music Department at New England Conservatory (NEC), Director of the NEC Gospel Choir, Program Director of the Roland Hayes School of Music in the Boston Public Schools, Music Educator in the Cambridge MA Public Schools, and as Minister of Music at St. Paul’s AME Church in Cambridge MA for over 30 years.
Moni a Corey, a collaborative pianist from Bolton, MA, serves as the Director of Music at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Southborough and is also a bell ringer with the Pilgrim Church Bell Choir. She is also the program manager at Joy of Music in Worcester.
She has a Graduate Performance Diploma in Vocal Accompanying at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, a Masters in Collaborative Piano from the Longy School of Music of Bard College and a Bachelors in Piano Performance from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
You can learn more about JVOI here and Pilgrim here.
No tickets or reservations are required to attend the upcoming concert.
