Arts & Entertainment

Lavender Light Gospel Choir

  This Is The Day (Rejoice) Lead Vocal: L. Wolfe
      K. Howard, S. Elio/ Music By The Bay Music, Inc.

Founded in 1985, Lavender Light is a mixed chorus (women and men) with 45 members. Although the group encompasses many ethnic and spiritual backgrounds, the choir provides a special ministry to black lesbians and gays, who have historically been pressured by their communities to choose between their blackness and their gayness. Our repertoire includes gospel (old and new), spirituals, and anthems. We produce two full concerts a year and frequently appear as guests at community functions from church services to Gay Pride rallies.

Past appearances have included Urban Bush Women's "Praise House"; the pilot episode of "In the Life"; the People of Color Joint Kwanzaa Ceremony; Mayor David N. Dinkins' Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at City Hall; and Empire State Pride Agenda's 1999 annual fundraiser with keynote speakers President Bill Clinton and Senator Chuck Schumer.

Lavender Light Gospel Choir is dedicated to keeping alive the Black gospel music tradition in an environment supportive to Lesbian and Gay people, with a special ministry to Black Lesbians and Gays. Through our performances and recordings, we seek to uplift, entertain and educate. We strive to be a visible force in this world, offering strength, peace and hope to our members and to our audiences.

Artistic Director:  Ray Gordon

Introduced to piano at age six, our latest addition to Lavender Light's staff brings with him a lifetime of musicianship of the highest caliber. Mr. Gordon honed his skill in classical piano at the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music, while organizing the school's first interracial gospel choir in his spare time. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin, majoring in Voice with a minor in Piano. He has also studied Music Theatre at the Herbert Berkoff School and Voice with such prominent cantors as Arthur Alexander and Joseph Williams.

For 15 years, Mr. Gordon has directed the first and third Sunday gospel brunches at Copeland's, the world-renowned Harlem soul food eatery. Since 1999, he has served as Musical Director of the McDonald's Gospel Fest, conducting the resident choir for some of the biggest names in contemporary Gospel music. Since 2000, Mr. Gordon has been considered America's unofficial Ambassador of Gospel Music to Japan, conducting voice workshops and individualized musical training, as well as teaching Gospel music history classes, for Tokyo's burgeoning base of Gospel music students. He has performed with such world famous artists as Melba Moore, Cissy Houston, Gerald Austin, BJ Crosby, Jennifer Holiday, Tremaine Hawkins and Lillias White, to name a few.

A broad-based musician skilled in choral, classical, theatrical and popular music; a seasoned performer, director and vocal teacher; a respected and well-known figure in the Gospel music industry -- Ray Gordon is the beacon that will guide Lavender Light to its next career summit. According to Mr. Gordon, "Gospel music means 'good news' and singing from the soul, spirit and heart gets that 'good news' out into the world to inspire people."