MUSE/IQUE Presents GOSPEL AND THE KING ELVIS First Congregational Church LA, October 19 and 21

MUSE/IQUE concludes its yearlong concert series MUSIC = POWER with GOSPEL AND THE KING: Elvis Presley and the Music of Salvation on Thursday, October 19 at 7:30pm and Saturday, October 21 at 7:30pm at The First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90020.
 
Joining Artistic and Music Director Rachael Worby and the MUSE/IQUE orchestra onstage as guest performers for these concerts are vocalists Angie Fisher, Ashley Faatoalia, The DC6 Singers Collective, Pasadena Chorale, and special guests Urban Voices Project Choir.
 
Gospel and The King simultaneously tells the story of the development of the gospel musical genre and the reach gospel music has had on rock and roll by examining the significance of gospel on twentieth-century music giant Elvis Presley. 
 
From his youth to his formative years living in the musical incubator of Memphis, Tennessee, to the end of his life, gospel was ever-present to Presley, personally and artistically. 
 
Born in 1935, Presley was born during a pivotal moment in the development of gospel music. As Elvis sang traditional rural gospel in the churches of Tupelo, Mississippi, a new form of gospel music pioneered by the Father of Gospel, Thomas A. Dorsey, was being carried into the mainstream secular American audiences by the Queen of Gospel music, Mahalia Jackson.  
 
In addition to the deep-rooted presence of gospel in Elvis' life, the musical influences of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Fats Domino played heavily in the maturation of Elvis' artistic style. Guitar trailblazer and lifelong gospel singer, the Godmother of Rock and Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, blended the spiritual and the secular, laying the groundwork for Elvis Presley. In tandem with Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Father of Rock and Roll, Elvis' contemporary, and the man Elvis considered the true King of Rock and Roll, Fats Domino, was an artist Elvis openly credited as a musical influence and was the only artist who could truly rival Elvis in the 1950s.
 
By understanding Elvis' life, his musical influences, and his idols, we can not only trace Presley's musical legacy, the birth of rock and roll, its development, and global spread, but the influence gospel music continues to have in popular music.
 
For more information, please visit muse-ique.com.
  
By understanding Elvis' life, his musical influences, and his idols, we can not only trace Presley's musical legacy, the birth of rock and roll, its development, and global spread, but the influence gospel music continues to have in popular music.

The King of Rock and Roll owes his crown to a life-saving musical tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Gospel music empowered people long before Elvis Presley introduced millions to its sound.  We trace the deepest roots of rock and roll and discover the history of American music that you never knew.

What is most famous about Elvis Presley's third and final performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 6, 1957, was that censors at the time would not allow Presley to be shown below the waist.  However, to close his seven song set he sang the gentle spiritual “Peace in the Valley.” Joe Moscheo in his book The Gospel of Elvis, wrote, ““Peace in the Valley” was one of [Elvis's] Mother's favorite songs. For his last performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the network didn't want a gospel song. However, Elvis said, “No, I told my mother that I was going to do ‘Peace in the Valley' for her, and I'm going to do it.”  At the end of the show, Sullivan declared Presley "a real decent, fine boy" – and two days later it was announced that he was to be drafted.
 
Memphis, Tennessee, where Presley was born and raised, was a major American hub for gospel music in the 1950s. As a result, he was really exposed to gospel music while growing up.
 
Elvis was influenced by gospel music, he had gospel groups as his backup singers, and they toured with him when he gave concerts.  When Elvis wanted to relax or when he wanted to warm up for recording sessions, he used gospel music to get him in the mood.
 
USA Today reported that Presley told a friend late in life, “All I want is to know the truth, to know and experience God. I'm a searcher, that's what I'm all about.”
 
Rock critic and historian Dave Marsh said Presley was "arguably the greatest white gospel singer of his time [and] really the last rock & roll artist to make gospel as vital a component of his musical personality as his secular songs.”
 
Ernst Jorgensen, who chronicled Presley's recording career in A Life in Music – The Complete Recording Sessions, calls the 1966 recording of “How Great Thou Art” “an extraordinary fulfillment of his vocal ambitions," as Presley "crafted for himself an ad-hoc arrangement in which he took every part of the four-part vocal, from [the] bass intro to the soaring heights of the song's operatic climax," becoming "a kind of one-man quartet."   In Careless Love, Presley's most known biographer Peter Guralnick finds “Stand by Me” from the same gospel sessions "a beautifully articulated, almost nakedly yearning performance.”
 
Thurber continues, “Presley was especially successful with inspirational songs that were on the borderline between pop and gospel [such as] “Crying The Chapel” and in the 70s “An American Trilogy,” “If I Can Dream” and “My Way.”  These were songs with personal statements. He sang them with an emotional impact … he had a quality of sincerity and intimacy in his voice that has been matched by few performers.”
 
One of Presley's idols, Jake Hess – who sang backup to Presley and at Presley's funeral -  thought that while others might have voices that were the equal of Presley's, "he had that certain something that everyone searches for all during their lifetime.”  Guralnick attempts to pinpoint that something: "The warmth of his voice, his controlled use of both vibrato technique and natural falsetto range, the subtlety and deeply felt conviction of his singing were all qualities recognizably belonging to his talent but just as recognizably not to be achieved without sustained dedication and effort."
 
For all of Elvis' success as a rock ‘n' roll and pop song singer, he received his only GRAMMYâ awards for his gospel recordings (1967s Best Sacred Performance for “How Great Thou Art;” 1972s Best Inspirational Performance “He Touched Me;” and 1974s Best Inspirational Performance for “How Great Thou Art” live recording from “Elvis Recorded Live On Stage in Memphis.“)
 
Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Ashley has been singing for as long as he can remember. Faatoalia studied voice at Chapman University with Dr. Peter Atherton and since then he has been performing around the world.
 
In these first few years of his professional career Ashley has become a sought-after vocalist for new works and experimental projects working closely with composers from across the country including, Lewis Pesacov, Rand Steiger, Bruno Louchouarn, Christopher Cerrone, Anne LeBaron and many more.
 
Often noted for his soaring tenor and warm stage presence, Ashley's recent engagements include: the role of Antron's father in the premiere of the Pulitzer-prize-winning Central Park Five with Long Beach Opera, The role of The Crab Man in Porgy & Bess with Seattle Opera, EUROPERAS with The Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Industry, Albert Hoffman in LSD: The Opera, with The Industry, his debut as Marco Polo in the premiere of the Emmy-Award-winning, Pulitzer-Prize-nominated, Invisible Cities with The Industry, Charles Edward in Candide with The Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many more.  Ashley has also had the honor of singing The Star Spangled Banner to sold-out audiences at both Dodger Stadium and The Staples Center.
 
Upcoming work includes Remus in Treemonisha with Volcano Theatre of Toronto, Recitals for LA Opera and more. Ashley also currently works with LA Opera Connects as a teaching artist. Faatoalia is featured on multiple professional recordings including “Invisible Cities” Original Cast Recording (CD/DVD/Digital Release), “The Edge of Forever” Original Cast Recording (Vinyl/Digital Release), “Porgy & Bess,” San Francisco Opera (BluRay-DVD).
  
One song. That's all it took to launch the solo career of recording artist Angie Fisher, the next game changing voice. Music fans first heard Fisher's spellbinding voice for themselves on that song, the now Grammy-nominated “I.R.S.,” when it was played on Stevie Wonder's KJLH radio in Los Angeles in June of 2014. “I.R.S.” embodies a subject everyone can relate to, struggling to make ends meet.

But in Fisher's hands, the topic takes on a whole new meaning as her gritty, throbbing vocals wrenchingly etch the challenges many of us face on a daily basis. “2000 bucks would save my life,” Fisher belts out against a spare, bluesy R&B track written by B. Slade and produced by Ro and Sauce from the hit-making R&B group Something For The People. Then: “200 bucks would ease the pain / The I.R.S. is on my case / But I refuse to let them make me go insane.”
 
Calling to mind such signature voices as Etta James and Janis Joplin, Fisher saves the best for last when she effortlessly sustains a high note at song's end that must be heard to be believed. It's like catching lightning in a bottle. 
 
Like the background singers spotlighted in the Academy Award-winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom,” Fisher (“I cried in the back of the theater watching that film”) has built a sterling reputation as an in-demand session and background vocalist. The versatile singer has done studio sessions and toured with an industry who's who, including Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, David Foster, Chaka Khan, Jamie Foxx, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Clay Aiken, Lionel Richie, Lalah Hathaway, Ella Henderson, Michael Bublé, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Lionel Richie, Missy Elliott, Robin Thicke, Josh Groban and Kirk Franklin. 
 
“I don't know anyone who sounds like me,” says the straightforward Fisher. “And I don't look like everyone else in the music industry. I'm a dark-skinned sister who loves to sing. What you definitely hear in the studio, you will definitely hear live. It's always about the delivery.” 
 
Fisher honed her skillful delivery at an early age. The Pasadena, Calif. native's natural talent first came to light at the tender age of four, when she was found in the closet singing a song while trying on her mother's shoes. During a childhood influenced by such icons as Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Daryl Coley, Ella Fitzgerald, Clark Sisters and a host of others. Fisher began singing professionally at 14. That's when she was chosen to join All God's Children, the touring children's choir created by renowned producer Lou Adler (Carole King, Sam Cooke). 
 
But it wasn't until a Bank of America supervisor threatened to fire Fisher from her accounts manager day job that she became serious about pursuing a singing career. “After performing at a company outing,” she recalls, “my boss told me, ‘You have an amazing voice. If you don't give your
two-week notice and leave, I'm going to fire you.' That made me decide, ‘OK, let me try it and see.'” 
 
Fisher's three-year stint with All God's Children helped open the door to studio and backing vocal gigs. And word spread from there, sparking invitations as well to accompany performers on such television shows as “Good Morning America,” "Good Day LA", “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” “The View,” “American Idol” and “Saturday Night Live.”
 
There's no higher praise than when fellow singers co-sign your talent. And over the years, Fisher has garnered the respect of many of her peers. “Angie Fisher is exceptional,” says GRAMMYÒ-winning singer Lalah Hathaway. “Not only because she's such a great singer but also because her work ethic and disposition set her apart from most.” 
 
Now it's Fisher's turn to step up twenty feet from the background and take center stage. “I have a unique sound that makes people pay attention,” declares Fisher. “And I have a story to tell.” 
 
The DC6 Singers Collective are a Los Angeles-based ensemble of dynamic and energetic a cappella, gospel, and Motown singers. Together, the DC6 Singers Collective have brought their shared passion for music as well as their uplifting and charismatic performances to audiences across the country via film (Jordan Peele's “Get Out”), national television (The Ellen Degeneres Show, Hallmark's Home & Family, Hollywood Game Night, etc.) and live events across the country. In harmony, the DC6 Singers Collective deliver a unique approach to gospel and Motown standards and breathe new life into classic and current pop standards ranging from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to Adele. Catch the DC6 Singers Collective on all things social media @dc6singers.
  
Founded by Jeffrey Bernstein in 2009, the Pasadena Chorale is an auditioned community chorus presenting affordable high-quality choral concerts and educational programs to the greater Pasadena Community. During its fifteen years of service to the community, the Chorale has presented over one hundred performances and enjoyed collaborations with The Pasadena Playhouse, MUSE/IQUE, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In 2017, the Pasadena Chorale was awarded second place in the American Prize in Choral Performance. The Chorale also offers a robust education program at no cost to participating students. The Chorale's newest choir, The High Notes, founded in 2023, offers musical training and performance experience to Pasadena area middle school students. And each year, through its unique Listening To The Future program, the Chorale pairs local high school composers with a professional composer mentor for a year of study. At the end of the year the Chorale presents a concert of the music composed by these students. The Pasadena Chorale is the proud recipient of support from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, The Pasadena Community Foundation, the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, and the City of Pasadena Department of Cultural Affairs. All of the Pasadena Chorale's regular concerts are offered on a “Listen First, Then Give” basis, ensuring that all are able to attend, and encouraging the generous support of those who are able to give. The mission of the Pasadena Chorale is to create choral music that educates, uplifts and inspires as many people as possible. 
  
Rooted in Skid Row through music, community, and openhearted inclusion of the most marginalized members of society, Urban Voices Project amplifies artistic expression to improve wellbeing, strengthen social networks, and inspire individuals to be their own best advocates.  They partner with social, civic and healthcare organizations to engage individuals and families across the greater Los Angeles area in music workshops that inspire and empower. Urban Voices Project's outreach choir performances shift the narrative and perception of homelessness in today's society.
 

MUSE/IQUE 2023  MUSIC = POWER
 
GOSPEL AND THE KING

Elvis Presley and the Music of Salvation
Led by Artistic and Music Director Rachael Worby
 
Thursday, October 19 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 21 at 7:30 pm
The First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
540 S Commonwealth Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020
 
To learn more about membership and attendance, please visit  muse-ique.com/membership

• MUSE/IQUE membership begins at $225 and MUSE/IQUE members receive complimentary admission to all MUSE/IQUE events. 

• Admission for non-members starts with a trial membership of $100, which includes three consecutives performances.

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