Gospel Music

The lively, joyous and euphonic sounds of gospel music will reverberate through the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center on Saturday. The event is an early evening concert featuring the St. John Baptist Church Gospel Choir. The performance will begin at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.The choir will be directed by Valeria Foster, who is no stranger to Columbia. Ms. Foster taught at Owen Brown Middle School for two years and was the first choral director at Hammond High School. She was also active in area summer theater groups.

Sunday, July 22 'Zumba Under the Stars' The Columbia Association's fitness dance class will held at 7 p.m. at Swansfield Mini-WaterPark, 5659 Cedar Lane in Columbia. It begins with a 45-minute Zumba class on the grass, followed by a 35-minute Aqua Zumba class in the pool. There will also be light refreshments and door prizes. Tickets are $12; $10 for Package Plan members; $8 for Package Plan Plus Members. Information: columbiaassociation.com . Music by the lake The St. John Baptist Church Choir presents gospel music as part of the Columbia Lakefront Summer Festival from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 10275 Wincopin Circle.

What is the Winans family's secret?In less than a decade, these Detroit natives have become the unquestioned first family of gospel music. It isn't just the way these folks have won Grammy after Grammy (the family has taken home 10 in all) that amazes, but the volume and variety of their output. After all, it isn't just the Winans (which features five of the Winans brothers) we're talking about, but also BeBe & CeCe, and Daniel -- the only solo Winans.Add in Mom and Pop Winans and the newly-formed duo of Angie & Debbie, and the Winans clan -- whose first full-family tour plays the Baltimore Arena Sunday -- seems quite a musical dynasty.

Of all the city's neighborhoods, Upton/Druid Heights ranks lowest in life expectancy, with AIDS as the fourth-leading cause of death. The Rev. Frank M. Reid III, pastor of Bethel AME Church in the heart of the neighborhood, is well aware of the alarming statistics and is resolved to combat them. He is launching a three-night conference for singles, starting Monday, that will focus on sexual healing and health. No subject is off-limits, he said. "It is time to begin a conversation about sex, a conversation in a church, in a sanctuary that is a safe place," he said.

Though it accounts for less than 5 percent of the recorded-music market, gospel has been rediscovered by major labels in the last few years. Huge corporations, such as Epic and Warner Bros., known for their hit-makers, are quietly working to satisfy demand for both new projects and reissued classics. And mighty independents, such as Malaco, which dominates the gospel charts, are transferring older titles to compact disc.This abundance of choices makes it possible to build a widely varied gospel library, one that reaches back to Mahalia Jackson and also covers the funky, souped-up contemporary choirs.

IT'S A FOOT-STOMPIN', hand-clappin' celebration when the gospel music group The Fourth performs in concert at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church.There is no admission fee to the concert, but a free-will offering will benefit the North County Emergency Outreach Network. Proceeds will be matched by the Aid Association for Lutherans Branch 1915. Donations of nonperishable food also are welcome.This will be the first time the Baltimore-based singers have performed at St. Paul's.

Dru Hill, the enormously popular R&B harmony group from Baltimore, will hold a press conference in New York today to announce its tour and to say goodbye to one of its members.As of now, Dru Hill consists of Sisqo, Nokio and Jazz. Woody is leaving the group to pursue a career in gospel music. There are no plans at present to replace him. Dru Hill will tour as a trio, and its members stress that the split is entirely amicable."We honor and respect Woody's decision to sing for the Lord," the remaining members said in a statement released by the group's publicists.

In the eyes of Robert Bowers, it is no accident that a white, middle-class certified public accountant from Ellicott City has gone into the business of producing gospel concerts."

Like many inquisitive, motivated teen-agers, Marquis Boone has been mulling over career opportunities. Architecture has intrigued him, but musical production has captured his attention of late. "Every time I'd go to a concert, I'd find myself wondering what it took to put the whole thing together," says the 15-year-old sophomore who studies in the Technology Magnet program at Columbia's Long Reach High School. "So I decided to undertake a project where I could find out for myself what concert promotion was like."

Gwendolyn Lightner, 73, who as a pianist and musical director for church choirs in Los Angeles was a dynamic and pioneering figure in the evolution of gospel music on the West Coast, died in southern California on Aug. 22 after a two-year battle with cancer.Born in Brookport, Ill., Ms. Lightner began playing piano when she was 8. After finishing her classical training, she became interested in gospel music through contacts with gospel giants such as Kenneth Morris, Roberta Martin and Emma Jackson.

Just before the Ravens face the Houston Texans Sunday, they will hear a familiar voice - other than John Harbaugh's, that is. It will be the smooth, vibrant baritone of Mishael Miller, who has sung the national anthem for Ravens home games since the first one in 1996. "It has definitely been a blessing," Miller, 41, said. "I meet people weekly who recognize me. I never thought it would have been the anthem that people would know me for, or that I would become a staple in this area as a result of singing it. " With an octave-and-a-half range, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has defeated many an amateur and professional singer.

The Rev. William Smith Jr., a well-known Baltimore church organist who established the Christian record label Ice Music Group and founded two choirs and a church, died March 1 of cancer at Seasons Hospice at Northwest Hospital Center. The Windsor Mill resident was 53. Mr. Smith was born in Baltimore and raised in the city's Park Heights neighborhood. He was a 1974 City College graduate and attended Towson University and the Peabody Conservatory. He was a graduate of the Living Word Bible College.

Looking for a little spiritual inspiration? Why not check out Gospelrama, my new daily blog about gospel music news? Each day, I'll highlight local and national artists who, through their music, touch our souls and renew our spirits. Join the conversation at baltimoresun.com/gospelrama.

When it comes to gospel-music pioneers in the city of Baltimore, most everyone will know of Pauline Wells Lewis, or "Aunt Pauline," as she was known. Tens of thousands of Baltimoreans grew up listening to her gospel ministry on the radio. "She was like the Mother Theresa of gospel," says Tommy Roberts, a friend of and driver for Lewis for more than 50 years. "Some people saw her as a mother or an aunt. She was an example, and you can't teach people how to be an example."

Standing before a new director, the midshipmen in the Naval Academy Gospel Choir seemed a little nervous. The music was lethargic, as though everyone was holding back. The harmonies didn't quite gel, didn't quite come together to reach that glorious depth of sound that can shake the ground and make the skin tingle. At one point, Karla Scott, who recently replaced 17-year director Joyce Garrett, stopped and ask the Mids to raise their hands if they "don't like change." Many complied. Still, she introduced a new song, "Amen, Siakudimisa," a popular spiritual sung in Xhosa - the language of one of the largest ethnic groups in South Africa.

More than just a place to get funnel cake, ride a Ferris wheel or listen to music, the African American Heritage Festival is a place to learn about African and African-American culture, promote local arts and to build community, those who attended the festival said yesterday. "We're all family here," Olu Butterfly told a gathering crowd as she played host and emcee at the festival's B-stage. She later added: "It's a wonderful place to be exposed to culture and to each other. It's like a reunion."

Just before the Ravens face the Houston Texans Sunday, they will hear a familiar voice - other than John Harbaugh's, that is. It will be the smooth, vibrant baritone of Mishael Miller, who has sung the national anthem for Ravens home games since the first one in 1996. "It has definitely been a blessing," Miller, 41, said. "I meet people weekly who recognize me. I never thought it would have been the anthem that people would know me for, or that I would become a staple in this area as a result of singing it. " With an octave-and-a-half range, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has defeated many an amateur and professional singer.

An erroneous item appeared in the Black History Month calendar published Monday. "The Contributions of African-American Women to American Society" will be discussed from noon to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in the VIP lounge at Loyola College. The event is free. There will be no lecture on gospel music.The Sun regrets the errors.

The way Dee Jones sees it, music is good for the body as well as the soul. "There's physiological data to back up how music helps in healing," said Jones, a nurse from Havre de Grace who has read about how music aids in endorphin production, muscle relaxation and other areas. But when Jones lifts her voice in song, she isn't thinking about stimulating enzymes. "There are all kind of theories out there, but for me, it's a part of my faith as a Christian artist," said Jones, an accomplished vocalist who recorded a compact disc of Gospel music in 2003.