Elgoibar will be captivated tonight by the sounds of gospel music

Gospel fans have an appointment at Kalegoen today at 10:30 p.m. The Elgoibar Music Band and the Goizargi Gospel Choir will offer a very special concert that will have the spiritual music that the faithful Afro-Americans of the United States sing in their religious services as its axis. The concert consists of eight pieces performed jointly by Goizargi and the Music Band, to which must be added one that the Elgoibar musicians will play alone. The pieces that they will perform together are ‘Satán we’re gonna tear your kingdom down’, by Shirley Caesar; ‘Take it to the lord and prayer’, by Nolan Williams; ‘Yes Lord yes’, by Shirley Caesar; ‘More than I can bear’, by Kirk Franklin; ‘Ain’t a good news’, by William L. Dawson; Donald Lawrence’s ‘Healed’; ‘When you praise’, by Fred Hammond: and ‘I believe’, by John P. Kee. The piece that the Elgoibar Music Band will perform is entitled ‘Gospel train’ and is the work of the composer Norman Taylor.

Goizargi Góspel Choir has its origin in a gospel master-class directed by Ramón Escalé in Bilbao in 2018. That meeting was the embryo of an idea that, little by little, took shape until giving rise to the creation of the group, as as Ainara Ziskar, a member of the Goizargi Gospel Choir, recalls. «At that time Bilbao was practically virgin territory as far as gospel music is concerned. There are many people who like this type of music, but the truth is that there are hardly any groups dedicated to interpreting it. As far as I remember, in Bilbao there was only one at that time. The truth is that Escalé’s master-class was a success and encouraged by this, we proposed the possibility of taking advantage of his experience to create a gospel group in the Basque Country. Escalé, who is passionate about this music, thought about the idea several times and a few days later he told us that he accepted the challenge, thus embarking on the adventure of shaping the group».

After the first rehearsals, it was time to act and so the first concerts arrived. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing them to a break that, despite everything, did not stop his progress. In fact, having overcome the worst of the pandemic, Goizargi Góspel Choir resumed activity and thus had the opportunity to perform in theaters and at parties in different locations, where they proved the level they have reached with Escalé.

The truth is that having Ramón Escalé at the head of the project is a guarantee of success. Director of the Barcelona Gospel Messengers, the Esclat Gospel Singers (Manresa) and the gospel choirs of the Liceo Conservatory (Barcelona), he is the founder and director of Messengers Gospel College, one of the first schools dedicated to this musical genre, and coordinates the Xarxa Gospel of Catalonia. He is also the pedagogical and artistic director of the Góspel Rajadell International Campus since 2005, and has a career as a pianist, arranger and director of the Barcelona Big Latin Band that has led him to collaborate with Chucho Valdés, Omara Portuondo, Paquito de Rivera and Jerry González. .

stimulating combination

The group is made up of a choir of 15 voices accompanied by Ramón Escalé on piano, a bass and a drummer.

Tonight’s concert with the Elgoibar Music Band is not the first of its kind that Goizargi Góspel Choir stars in.

In fact, his career includes performances with the Bilbao Municipal Music Band, the Barcelona Municipal Band and the Getxo Music Band.