History

The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto

Soweto

Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...

, South Africa by David Mulovhedzi (†) and Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30+ member ensemble blends elements of African gospel

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

, Negro spirituals, reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, and American popular music

American popular music

American popular music had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, R&B, doo wop, gospel, soul, funk, heavy metal, punk, disco, house, techno,...

. The group performed at the first of the 46664 concerts for Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, and has since toured internationally several times.

Their albums Blessed and African Spirit won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album

Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album

The Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists between 2004 and 2011 for quality traditional world music albums...

 in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

On 7 July 2007 they performed at South African leg

Live Earth concert, Johannesburg

The Live Earth concert in South Africa was held at the Coca-Cola Dome, South Africa on 7 July 2007.-Running order:*South African Drum Cafe Team - unknown title...

 of Live Earth

Live Earth

-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...

. Also in 2007, they joined Robert Plant

Robert Plant

Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...

 in contributing to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino

Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino

Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino is a 2007 tribute album by various artists to Fats Domino, issued by Vanguard Records.-History:In contrast to an earlier tribute album, That's Fats: A Tribute to Fats Domino , which mostly contained previously released cover versions, Goin' Home: A Tribute to...

(Vanguard

Vanguard Records

Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...

), performing their version of Domino's "Valley of Tears".

At the 81st Academy Awards

81st Academy Awards

The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...

 in 2009, the group backed up John Legend

John Legend

John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...

 with the song Down To Earth

Down to Earth (Peter Gabriel song)

"Down to Earth" is a song, sung and produced by Peter Gabriel featuring the Soweto Gospel Choir. The lyrics were written by Peter Gabriel. The music was composed by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman...

, a song from WALL-E nominated for "Best Song"

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 that year.

The group performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010 FIFA World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

 final draw on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.

In 2010 composer Christopher Tin

Christopher Tin

Christopher Tin is an American composer of Chinese descent whose work is primarily classical, with a world music influence. He won two Grammy Awards for his classical crossover album, Calling All Dawns. He is also a composer for films, video games and commercials...

's song "Baba Yetu

Baba Yetu

"Baba Yetu" is a song by composer Christopher Tin.While 'Baba Yetu' is the opening track on Tin's debut album, "Calling All Dawns", the song was originally created to serve as the theme song for the video game Civilization IV...

," which featured the group, won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...

. The song had originally been produced for Firaxis Games

Firaxis Games

Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....

's 2005 PC title Civilization IV

Civilization IV

Sid Meier's Civilization IV is a turn-based strategy, 4X computer game released in 2005 and developed by lead designer Soren Johnson under the direction of Sid Meier and Meier's studio Firaxis Games. It is the fourth installment of the Civilization series...

, but Tin enlisted the Soweto Gospel Choir to re-record the song for inclusion on his debut album "Calling All Dawns

Calling All Dawns

Calling All Dawns is a classical crossover album by Christopher Tin released in 2009. The album won two Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for the song, "Baba Yetu"...

," leading to the song's nomination and award. This marked the first time a video game composition had won or been nominated for the category.

Discography

• Voices from Heaven (Shanachie Records
  Shanachie Records
  Shanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic...
  
  , 2005)
• Blessed (Shanachie, 2006)
• African Spirit (Shanachie, 2007)
• Grace (Shanachie 2010)

Other contributions

• Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
  Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
  Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino is a 2007 tribute album by various artists to Fats Domino, issued by Vanguard Records.-History:In contrast to an earlier tribute album, That's Fats: A Tribute to Fats Domino , which mostly contained previously released cover versions, Goin' Home: A Tribute to...
  
  (Vanguard Records
  Vanguard Records
  Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
  
  , 2007)

External links

• Official website
• SowetoGospelFans.com
• Soweto Gospel Choir 2011 Interview at Soulinterviews.com
• Songs and interview from NPR's All Things Considered Soweto Gospel Choir: 'Voices from Heaven', February 4, 2005.