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InSpirit men’s chorus will perform a concert Nov. 8 to raise funds for its June tour of Wales.
Chorus founder and music director Gerald Peel, a resident of Ooltewah, said the trip will be a great opportunity for local choir members to connect with a country where choral music reigns in popular culture, springing from the coal mining history in Wales.
“It’s a huge tradition in that country,” said Peel, explaining that every town there has its own chorus, a big part of rugby and football games.
InSpirit men’s chorus will perform a dinner concert at the Delta Queen Hotel Nov. 8 to benefit a concert tour of Wales in June 2010. The group practices weekly at Southern Adventist University.
InSpirit will perform with some town choruses in their home churches, including a Morriston chorus in Swansea, Wales. The choir will learn a few Welsh pieces to sing together, and Peel said he’s researched pronunciation for hours to get it right.
In turn, the Morriston chorus will travel to Tennessee in 2011.
“This is an exchange tour,” Peel said.
InSpirit, a non-profit corporation, currently consists of 44 singers, from firefighters to physicians, Peel said. New singers are accepted to the chorus by audition in the summer.
Peel said the group chose its name because men’s singing is often described as encouraging, enlivening and inspiring — words that define the word “spirit,” too.
“It’s an optimistic sort of sound,” said Peel.
The four-part chorus’ repertoire includes African-American spirituals, patriotic songs and some sacred music, like “No Man Is an Island,” based on the text by John Donne.
“It’s my job to make sure my choir is secure with what I’ve asked them to do,” said Peel, who chooses the music.
Peel began his conducting career at 16 when his high school choir director left and he was asked to run rehearsals. He earned a bachelor’s of music from Southern Adventist University and is currently studying to earn a master’s in choral conducting from UTC.
“My passion is music and (it) continues to be,” Peel said. “Now I’m willing to risk it being my job.”
Peel is the minister of music at Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church in Rossville, Ga. He also conducts the choir at McDonald Road Seventh-day Adventist Church and founded an ancient-music choir for home-school girls, The Kinge’s Quire.
For more information about inSpirit or to order a compact disc, visit www.inspiritmenschorus.com.
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