This Christmas season my little a ‘cappella group, The Harmony Jewels, sang for 12 shows in 3 weeks and could have done more if I could have fit it in! I am grateful to God, Gig Salad and my team of singers! But something more happening here than gigs?
And how can we expand this beyond Christmas? (More on that later)
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (NIV)
I am always looking for ways to share my heart/ faith through music- and to make a living; often these two ideas seem at odds. But something amazing happens at Christmas! The secular world (Or at least a good chunk of it) opens the doors to let the light in for a few weeks! They may be afraid to say “Merry Christmas” in some places (thought I distinctly felt it was better this year!), and schools can still be a hostile place for Christians wanting to celebrate the birth of Christ (Which is so contrary to the intentions of the framers of our constitution- but don’t get me started!), but there are / were lots of generally “religious neutral” folks, towns and companies that thirsted for the gospel this Christmas through music! And we joyfully met that need!
So the next year I expanded the group a bit and shuffled as people were available to include Gabe Paradis or Jim Cafarella on tenor, Diana Botello or Jennifer Evans on Alto and James Joutras on Bass and we did some more shows… We added 2 town events for Milbury and Quincy and a nursing home and 2 more private parties!
We returned to Coco’s for more great food and sing-a-long fun!
We strolled the streets of Quincy and Millbury singing at various locations. My favorite was singing on the horse drawn carriage!
Finally this third year was the best yet! I had 2 members for each part (James Jones became available again between tours with his other a cappella projects) and we started rehearsing. As it turned out, our talented tenor Gabe got sick which took him our the whole season (sorry brother! glad you are better now) but we got Rich Evans to fill in for a bunch of shows with a great response (thanks Rich!)! It was fun having a husband -wife team on board!
We returned to Coco’s party (With a very talented one time sub on tenor: Monty Hill- thanks Monty), we returned to Cary’s FABULOUS event, we returned to Millbury for an extra 2 hours, we played for Manor on the Hill (Elderly residence) in Leominster, Companies Twenty20 Leasing and We Work in Boston (where we got to be on Channel 7 NEWS for 15 seconds!) and even a marvelous gala for the Boston Plumber’s Association at the famous Hampshire House above Cheers Pub!
Rich Evans had a good idea: Patriotic music! There can be a demand for music for July 4th, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, 911 remembrance events…
And we all come from churches, (Most of us from our own praise team at the BCC) why not share our light at weddings and memorials and benefits with hymns, spirituals, gospel and worship songs?
Shall we have some swing Tunes and “American Standards” available for corporate functions and nursing homes? Can’t forget the group does have the Queen of SCAT on soprano… who me?
We will be recording a demo in February so you all can better hear what we are doing!
In this current climate of political/ social fear I am grateful to be part of the solution… we are an ethnically diverse, white black, Hispanic group with one vision to shine God’s light of love brightly through the music we share!
You can hire The Harmony Jewels by contacting me directly at 617-686-7075 or email: [email protected]
You a can also see/ hear audio/ video of this and other musical projects I am leading/ offering at my Gig Salad profile