at How Sweet The Sound Grand Finale
8 Time Grammy Winner Cece Winans and Grammy Winning Composer, Producer And Artist Donald Lawrence
Often referred to as the American Idol for church choirs, with a strong focus on celebrating the Gospel community, the program features exceptional talent with both the church choirs who compete and perform as well as the acclaimed Gospel giants who serve as hosts, judges and performers.
Winning choirs representing 14 cities around the country will come together for an unforgettable night of joy and praise as they vie for the title of The Best Church Choir in America, at Verizons How Sweet the Sound grand finale. The event will be held at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. on November 13. The evening will be hosted by GRAMMY Award-winning artists CeCe Winans and Donald Lawrence along with award-winning artists Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark Sheard and Fred Hammond who will serve as judges.
More than 101,548 people attended the regional competitions across the country, enjoying incredible testimonies of music and community spirit.
Throughout the program Verizon Wireless collected 11,250 used phones to refurbish and uses all proceeds to benefit victims of domestic violence. A check for $50,000 will be presented to the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community at the November 13th finale.
The regional finalists who will compete in the Washington D.C. finale include:
Houston: Royalwood Sanctuary Choir of The Pentecostals of Royalwood (Houston, TX)
Jacksonville: Love and Faith Community Church Mass Choir of Love and Faith Community Outreach Development Corporation (Tallahassee, FL)
Memphis: St. Mark Sanctuary Choir of St. Mark Baptist Church (Little Rock, AR)
Philadelphia: The Sounds of Life of Life Giving Word Family Worship Center (Willingboro, NJ)
Washington D.C.: Greater Mount Calvary Men of Valor of Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church (Washington D.C.)
Newark: Marble Community Gospel Choir of Marble Collegiate Church (New York, NY)
Cleveland: Calvary Sanctuary Choir of United Pentecostal Church International (Cincinnati, OH)
Detroit: Burning Bush International Ministries Mass Choir of Burning Bush International Ministries (Ypsilanti, MI)
Chicago: GFC Chorale of Greater First Church (East Chicago, IN)
Charlotte: Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir (Tarboro, NC)
Atlanta: All Nations Life and Praise Church Choir (Stockbridge, GA)
St. Louis: New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church of New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church (St. Louis, MO)
Oakland: Apostolic Community Life Choir A.C.L.C. of Apostolic Community Life Center (Salinas, CA)
Los Angeles: Voices of Destiny of Greater Zion Church Family (Compton, CA)
Details about Verizons How Sweet the Sound, including videos of competing choirs, judging criteria, and the official rules, are available online at www.HowSweetTheSound.com
