SEQUIM — Fill-a me up, come holy spirit
fill-a me up to the top of my soul . . .
fill-a my heart, come spirit
fill-a-me up, come spirit, come
So begins the new album from the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers — and a flock of their friends who also love to sing.
“Fill-a Me Up!,” the choir’s seventh CD, is cause for a celebration with a public concert at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., this Friday evening.
Admission to the 7:30 p.m. event is by donation, with proceeds to benefit the nonprofit ensemble, founded in 2001 by Michael Rivers, who continues to lead the singers today.
At the Gospel Singers’ Spring Show this year, Rivers was inspired to produce a CD — it was “the beautiful music that we were making,” he said.
This recording would not only showcase the 19-voice men’s choir and their pianist, Penny Hall, but also the Crabfest Revival Choir and cellist Marlene Moore, who were all part of the Spring Show.
At Jeremy Cays Productions in Carlsborg, Rivers served as executive producer of the CD, which has 10 tracks, from “Fill-a Me Up!” to “I’ll Walk with God” and “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah.”
Members of the Crabfest Revival Choir are featured on “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and other tracks.
This choir, originally formed for the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival’s Sunday revival a few years back, includes Scott Anders, Dave Meyer, Patrick McCarter, Sarah Almond, Clare Wiswell, Victoria Helwick, Beth Ann Brackett, Kare White and Jolene Dalton Gailey, the choir director at Port Angeles High School.
Sing-along
Friday’s CD release celebration promises a chance to sing with the choirs. As is traditional, Rivers will lead everybody in sing-alongs of a couple of numbers including “This Little Light of Mine,” and as always Karen Coles will provide sign-language interpretation throughout the concert.
It’s been four years since the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers put out a CD, Rivers noted.
“The time seemed right,” he said.
For more about the choir, which includes 19 singers from about eight churches in the Port Angeles-Sequim area, visit www.pmgospelsingers.com.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
