Two years ago the choir started looking for resources to record the album, which they planned to release themselves. However, upon hearing the tape of the live recording, Malaco Records said they wanted to sign the group to their label. Now, the choir's dream is being realized above and beyond anything we could have hoped for.
The recording success of "Send Up the Praise," which features 10 original songs, was aided by the collaboration of some of the best young gospel musicians and songwriters in Memphis today: producer and songwriter Jason Clark (Tennessee Mass Choir); co-producer and songwriter Chris Morris (The Kurt Carr Singers); songwriter Kevin Davidson (Kevin Davidson and the Voices); songwriter Donald Smith and songwriter Donte' Everhart (University of Memphis Gospel Choir). All the voices on the CD are members of the Gospel Choir and students at the University, and musicians from the Grammy Award-winning O'landa Draper's Associates provided accompaniment.
The University can celebrate the unique contribution of African American music and spirituality to the life and sounds of this school. From its foundation as the Black Student Choir in 1974, the group has always taken its role as ambassadors for the University seriously, singing for churches all over the region. Now these ambassadors will be heard on radio stations and in homes across the nation, and even further afield.
As we celebrate the release of "Send Up the Praise," we give thanks to God for bringing this choir thus far. We don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.