JGC Song list

The history:

The Joy Gospel Choir stems from the earlier White Gospel Group, founded in Bologna in 1996 by Fabrizio Turchi, which performed on may 3, 1999 in the live concert “Chains” at the Teatro delle Celebrazioni in Bologna.

After a short period for re-organizing, in September 1999 the Joy Gospel Choir was founded. Thanks to his strong will and his passion, Fabrizio Turchi was able to invite from the USA Anthony Bennett, the famous director, musician and gospel singer who already toured Italy with the Harlem Gospel Singers in 1999 and with the Golden Gospel Singers in 2000 and 2001. After two months of intense rehearsals together with this precious guest, a big show of voices, sounds and lights was set up in July 2000 at the Europauditorium: Friends, the best side of my life, with live music and Rossella Graziani, a well-known singer in the Bologna area, as special guest.

In the winter of 2000 Fabrizio Turchi leaves the JGC, and the choir starts a period of technical vocal improvement at the Arcanto Voice Academy, which lasts until the summer of 2002.

The JGC went on performing in theatres, churches, public and private parties. One of these performances was organized by the Traders’ Association ASCOM together with the Cultural Association "Musica Per", while lighting up all Christmas lights in "Città della luce", in November 2002 in the central "Re Enzo" square in Bologna.

The JGC actively worked together with the Golden Gospel Singers (Harlem NY – USA) and with the Alma Music Project for organizing in Bologna, from the 10th to the 12th of October 2003, the Music Workshop and Conference "Gospel Connection 2003".

The JGC met Bob Singleton and the Golden Gospel Singers in December 2001, when they were invited on stage by the Golden Gospel Singers, who were touring Italy with Anthony Bennett, during their show at the Teatro delle Celebrazioni in Bologna for singing together the two final songs of the show.

This cooperation, but mainly its participation in the Gospel Connection 2003, strongly influenced the growth of the JGC not only on its artistic and musical side, but mostly in sharing with the American teachers their “gospel spirit”. This event, which started as a workshop for technical and artistic improvement, became day by day more a witnessing of the faith and the mission which fill the soul of the American and Italian singers. Living God's message and glorifying Him through His music became more and more the crucial point.

In line with this new conscience which was growing inside our way of being a gospel choir, the JGC recorded in November 2003 its first CD: He Is the music, He is the music of my song, on which along with “historical” songs performed by the choir, like Oh Happy Day, Seasons of Love and Love Train, new songs like Richard Smallwood’s I will sing praises were recorded.

In the last years greater value was added to the JGC performances through songs written by top artists like Richard Smallwood and Kirk Franklin.

Il JGC è iscritto all'AERCO  Associazione Emiliano-Romagnola Cori.