by Kimberly Daum Gospel Gets a Lift from a Local Circle of Voices ness has its rewards: the Circle has b e e n getting the Black A m e r i c a n gospel sound out there. W h e n the C i r c l e , and t h e i r sister g r o u p C l o u d N i n e , the G o s p e l E x p e r i e n c e , began, they w e r e virtually a l o n e in the i d i o m . " P e o p l e d i d n ' t r e a l ize t h e r e was the n e e d and the d e s i r e f o r this music until w e began gospel b r u n c h e s w i t h the original C i r c l e of V o i c e s at the f o r m e r C a f e Django o n D e n m a n and D a v i e Streets." says Churchill.Today, several gospel g r o u p s and c h o i r s d o t the local scene, a fact of w h i c h this g r o u p is v e r y p r o u d , but they are n o t d o n e yet. W h e n they get an o p p o r t u n i t y t o hit the r o a d t o p e r f o r m jazz and folk music festival dates across the c o u n t r y , they will a c c o m p l i s h the mission, w h i c h is " s e e i n g g o s p e l music c o m e o f age in C a n a d a the way it is in t h e US." " G o s p e l grosses millions and m i l lions of dollars in the States, but h e r e it is still a novelty, w h i c h is t o o bad because of w h a t it d o e s f o r p e o p l e , " says Sanders. " F o l k needs t o o p e n up t o gospel as an i d i o m , " says C a s h e , " b e c a u s e e v e r y thing y o u hear today is b o r n f r o m Black A m e r i c a n g o s p e l groups." Navy, C a s h e herself o p e n e d up a few years ago, c o m ing o u t o f the s h o w e r and o u t of a c h u r c h c h o i r w h e r e she was always t o l d h e r v o i c e s t u c k out. " B u t I was shy. O f t h e group. I'm the late b l o o m e r . I didn't really p u r s u e my singing until I was 20, my singing a u d i t o r i u m was my shower," she says. Today, it's all a b o u t gospel and musical t h e atre f o r t h e s e performers. Well-known p r o d u c t i o n s such as t h e 8/ock a n d Gold Review, The Tribute to Motown Show, r~~ Kimberly Daum is a Vancouver freelance writer and journalist Look for festive North performances Shore in The Circle choir. of f o r m e r s ' biographies. Sanders even e a r n e d himself a Jesse A w a r d n o m i n a t i o n his first t i m e out. Like t h e different religious and musical b a c k g r o u n d s f r o m w h i c h they c o m e , Sanders, C h u r c h i l l , C a s h e , and C h a p p e l each b r i n g s o m e t h i n g special of t h e i r o w n t o the C i r c l e . W h e n they sing it is n o t in o n e v o i c e . T h e i r s is a circle of voices c a r r y i n g i n s p i r a t i o n a l m e s sages, C a s h e says, w i t h " t h i s jubilant music." U p o n his r e t u r n , C h a p p e l n o t e d , " T h e C i r c l e remains unbroken.They I h e r e was a v o i c e missing w h e n the B l a c k - A m e r i c a n - s t y l e gospel e n s e m b l e . C i r c l e o f Voices, c a m e n o i s ily t h r o u g h my office d o o r f o r an i n t e r v i e w . W i l Sanders. C a n d u s C h u r c h i l l , and L e o r a C a s h e had t o d o w i t h o u t singer Joe C h a p p e l , w h o was o u t of t o w n , perhaps visiting o n e his famous relatives such as E d w i n Hawkins, w h o w r o t e " O h Happy Day," o r James C l e v e l a n d , t h e r e s p e c t e d w r i t e r , g o s p e l singer, and preacher. T h e C i r c l e , made up of t h r e e A m e r i c a n e x p a t r i a t e s and a C a n a d i a n flatlander. have b e e n t o g e t h e r so long they have t r o u b l e r e m e m b e r i n g w h e n it all began. A f t e r s o m e debate, they agree it must have b e e n in t h e early 1990s, s o m e t i m e after C h u r c h i l l , a founder, c h o s e t h e group's name f r o m = ¡5 < 14 a b o o k she had seen in c h u r c h . Each c h a p t e r of the b o o k was a b o u t a diff e r e n t religion; the b o o k ' s message w a s that all religions s h o u l d r e s p e c t each o t h e r s ' beliefs and just get a l o n g . T h a t is w h a t C i r c l e o f V o i c e s has d o n e w i t h this n o n d e n o m i n a tional ensemble. Louisiana-raised Sanders g r e w up singing in a Baptist c h u r c h as did C h a p p e l . A f t e r a stint in t h e U S did just fine w h i l e I was traveling." T h e C i r c l e a c k n o w l e d g e s Jaye K r e b s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e g r o u p in his capacity as musical d i r e c t o r w h e n e v e r t h e g r o u p needs o n e . by Circle ofVoices Voices gospel Clockwise Leora Candus from top: Wil Sanders, Cashe, Chappel. Photo by James Loewen. concert with Cloud Nine and Mosely on December Marcus 16 and 17, 7:30 Church, p m at West Vancouver Baptist 450 Mathers ave. 922-091 /.Tickets $15 at the door. 0 Churchill, & Joe Sanders m o v e d w i t h his w i f e f r o m H a w a i i t o N o r t h V a n c o u v e r , w h e r e he has lived since 1988. " H e s h o u l d have b e e n a preacher," says C h u r c h i l l , w h o is C a t h o l i c and first sang w i t h a c h u r c h c h o i r in Latin, " b e c a u s e w h e n he gets up t h e r e , he gets going and he gets happy and the w o r d s just c o m e s p e w i n g o u t of h i m , and I t h i n k he has a l o t of messages t o give t o p e o p l e . " C a s h e . t h e daughter of an A l b e r t a n A n g l i c a n m i n i s t e r agrees: " H e can even d o that w h e n he's singing, and it's like he's in this m a j o r t r a n c e that is s u p e r e x c i t i n g , just like gospel music." C h u r c h i l l is t h e g r o u p ' s business c o o r d i n a t o r , a l u c k y c i r c u m stance, a c c o r d i n g C a s h e , because " i f anything goes w r o n g , w e b l a m e it o n Candy. It's easier that way." B u t busi- Anne of Green Gobies, and W h e n the fioins C o m e stand o u t o n t h e p e r -