All Nations Life and Praise performing at How Sweet the Sound

This weekend a small church choir with a big church sound will represent Georgia in a national contest to determine the best choir in the country. With just three practices and three musicians, “All Nations Life and Praise Church” of Stockbidge, Georgia, walked away with $10,000 and top honors at the 2010 How Sweet the Sound competition in Atlanta, GA. This allowed the small choir to be selected to represent the Atlanta area in the finale of the national contest that will take place on November 13, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

“We just want people to get a sense of healing and praise from our music,” said Rev. Keith Brooks, pastor of All Nations.

All Nations beat out several large choirs including Elizabeth Baptist Church for regional honors. No worries for Elizabeth, who according to its director did well in their first competition. Even though Elizabeth Baptist was not named the regional winner they did win the Best Large Choir category after their rousing performance of “Oh How Precious”. The lead singer moved Donald Lawrence so much that he pulled her toward the judges table instead of the director. He told her she was “phenomenal and anointed.” She stated it was an honor for her to receive such praise from Lawrence one of Gospel music biggest legends.

However it was the small choir with a big anointing that really won over the judges. Their powerful performance of “Awesome God” catapulted them to the top. “It feels absolutely amazing to win” said Brooks. “The (the choir) worked really hard and kept up with everything in addition to what we do every Sunday at church” he added.

Now the choir moves on to the final competition in Washington and they are excited to represent Atlanta. “We just want people to get that whole experience of worship and praise when they hear our music” said Brooks.
The last prize of the night went to Anointed Voices Choir who picked up the VCast People Choice Award after their spirited rendition of “I Know What Prayer Can Do.”

The finale of How Sweet the Sound should be an event for all. Gospel legends CeCe Winans, Donald Lawrence, Marvin Sapp and Fred Hammond will headline the affair. Winning choirs representing 14 cities around the country will come together for an unforgettable night of joy and praise as they vie for the title of “The Best Church Choir in America” at Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound grand finale.

The event will be held at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. More than 120,000 people attended the regional competitions across the country, enjoying incredible testimonies of music and community spirit.

“Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound is a wonderful event for the whole family and is just one example of Verizon’s commitment to give back to the community,” said Richard Williams, executive director, multicultural marketing, Verizon in a recent press release. “We are proud of the tremendous positive
effect the program has had on those who have been involved and look forward to the finale.”

Details about Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound, including videos of competing choirs, judging criteria, and the official rules, are available online at www.HowSweetTheSound.com.