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Famous people who sang in church choirDate: January 28, 2012 by Claire Klein  Views: 10974
I'm making the introduction to a children's church choir festival next week, and I thought it might be inspiring to mention the names of famous people/singers who started in church choir. My internet search has turned up Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Katy Perry, and Avril Lavigne, but there's got to be so many more.
If you can point me to a source or provide more names, that would be a great help. Many thanks!
Replies (19): Threaded | Chronological
Allen H Simon on January 28, 2012 11:44am
Yes, I can.
Also this.
Claire Klein on January 28, 2012 12:14pm
Thanks for responding Allen. That's a help.
Does anyone have a list that is specifically about church choir? That would really be on-point for my audience.
Thanks again!
on January 29, 2012 6:27am
Definitely mention Whitney Houston and her mother. Her mother directed a church choir I believe, which Whitney later took over.
Double check online but I'm fairly certain that's correct.
--Wes
on January 29, 2012 6:53am
When I began my career in NYC, my first church job was at All Souls Unitarian Church at 80th and Lexington. The soprano section leader was Renee Fleming. When I sang my first Bach St. John Passion, she was the soprano soloist. Can you imagine, as a 23-year-old, singing a tough part like the Evangelist, getting up to sing after she sang "Zerfliesse, mein Herze?" That was the year she won the Met competition. Though a decade older than me, she was just as marvelous a colleague as she is/was a singer.
The choir director, Walter Klauss, mentioned also that some years previous his bass section leader was none other than Samuel Ramey. By the time I had the job there, Ramey's career as an opera star was well established.
on May 3, 2012 5:44am
Thom, I thak you so very much for this post. My girl's choir, Manhattan Girls Chorus, will have their inaugural concert at 3:00 this Satuurday at All Souls Church. I will share your story with them. I know it will deeply inspire them to sing their very best with knowledge of those who came before them in that very space. All the best ..... Michelle Oesterle
on January 29, 2012 2:29pm
American baritone Thomas Hampson was interviewed in a 1996 Choral Journal article by Randi von Ellefson on his choral upbringing and the impact it has had on his singing career. Another famous soprano, Swede Elizabeth Söderstrom, was a member of Eric Ericson's chamber choir in Stockholm before striking out on her operatic career.
on January 29, 2012 9:36pm
Here's a link to a newspaper article that lists famous people that sang in church choirs. Among the famous names on the list: Kevin Costner, Aretha Franklin, Dudley Moore, Bobby McFerrin, Tina Turner.
N Curry
on February 15, 2012 9:52am
Claire
You will find that the majority of the best African American singers in pop music, all had a connection to the church in their youths. The same can be said for most classical singers. It was often the only place that could accommodate those huge voices.
M. Parry
on February 16, 2012 7:35am
To this list you can add J. K. Simmons, a veteran character actor who is currently starring as the “professor” in the Farmers Insurance ads on TV. Ron Dzwonkowski, Associate Editor of the Detroit Free Press, devoted his column in that paper on February 12, 2012 to Mr. Simmons, whose father was a music teacher. The following excerpt is taken from that column (with permission):
As someone who shifted from baseball to music to acting, Simmons said it bothers him to know that many public schools are cutting back on arts and culture programs now because of financial issues.
"I hate to see kids being denied opportunities to discover something they might love to do," he said. "Singing in a choir was one of the great joys of my life. You don't just learn music. You learn confidence."
Applauded by an audience of 1
on February 17, 2012 8:27am
Ethel Merman (real name: Ethel Zimmermann) sang in a Dutch Reform Church choir as a youngster in Queens, NY.
on February 17, 2012 8:43am
Don't forget, a good portion of "Country-Western" music stars got their start in church choir.
on May 2, 2012 10:51pm
Though he did not necessarily begin in a traditional church choir, Elvis Presley grew up singing in the church and had strong ties to gospel music throughout his life.
on May 4, 2012 7:54pm
Claire,
Andy Griffith sang with the Moravians in North Carolina as a youth. He tried to enter the Moravian ministry and was rejected for being "too Hollywood". After he became "too Hollywood', he sang the Faure Requiem with us at the Moravian Church in Downey California, and also played in the Moravian Trombone Choir at the Easter sunrise service. A talented guy who in real life is exactly the way he seems on the tube.
Jeff Reynolds
Applauded by an audience of 1
on September 18, 2012 6:07am
Jessye Norman.
Audra McDonald (pretty sure...)
I imagine most renowned singers have started in a church choir. There are not a great many other ways they would have been discovered.. :)
on September 19, 2012 6:48am
Duran Duran lead singer Simon LeBon is another example. It's in his bio and he has mentioned his "choir boy training" in interviews.
on September 20, 2012 8:11am
It seems that the current published list of "famous" individuals is limited to singers/actors/ performers, both past and present, which is fine in and of itself. I'm surpised that Dianna DeGette, Congresswoman (D) from Denver, CO, has not yet been mentioned. She has been and continues to be a proud alto member and regular chorister at Denver's Montview Presbyterian Church. As devoted to her music-making as she is to her day job, she often spends her transit time between Denver and DC practicing her part and reviewing her score.
Wouldn't it be grand if we knew of other law-makers who do the same!
Carol Kozak Ward, Founder and Music Director
Colorado Hebrew Chorale
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