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December 18, 2015
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December 18, 2015
The Bayou Region is in store for a powerful, musical event celebrating the Christmas season.
The performance, called “Soulful Christmas,” takes place at the Courtyard by Marriott in Houma and features talent from New Vision Baptist Church in Raceland. The Rev. David Rhodes and his gospel family choir are set to perform in the event.
Co-producer Lorna Gianelloni tapped Rhodes to sing in her last production, “God Bless America-Letters From the Front Line.” Lorna said that when she went to Rhodes’s church to recruit him she learned just how much talent is at New Vision.
“I walked into his church one day to talk to him about the show we were doing, ‘God Bless America,’ and his choir was singing gospel. And I was speechless, because their voices were so phenomenal,” Gianelloni said.
“Soulful Christmas” will feature eight singers total, according to Rhodes. Those performing with the preacher include his wife, Shannon, his son and daughter, two of his sisters, and two of his nieces. Rhodes said that the music tradition in his family runs deep, starting with his parents’ love for music.
“Well we’ve been singing since we were children. Our parents, especially my mother, have always been singers. My dad has always been a great singer but he never did much public singing, but my mom did a lot of singing,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes and his wife have toured internationally performing gospel and jazz together, while many of his siblings and his two children perform as well. He said that growing up in such a musical family was never competitive, as he and his siblings all performed as a group. That tradition hasn’t slowed down as they’ve grown up.
“We’re going to meet for Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s house. Songs are going to break out somewhere in the midst of that. Happy birthday breaks out in four-part harmony whenever it’s one of our birthdays,” Rhodes said.
Gianelloni and her production partner Bernadette Dugas have been putting on shows together for 35 years. According to her, this is the first year they have staged a Christmas performance featuring gospel singing. She said that she and Bernadette have to hear the choir perform the songs and decide what works together, a process they are still working on.
“It’s trial and error with songs when you have so many voices. [We have to find] what works with the talent and what works with us. It’s got to hit us emotionally,” Gianelloni said.
The event includes a meal served by the Courtyard by Marriott staff for the first hour before the show, which will last around 90 minutes and feature about 21 songs, according to the show’s co-producer. While it features a gospel choir, there will also be rock and traditional Christmas elements in it. Rhodes said he and his family would have to step outside of their normal range for “Soulful Christmas.”
“This is going to be a lot different because this is going to involve several different genres of music that we’re going to do, so this is going to be a lot broader than just the spiritual aspect of Christmas music,” he said.
Rhodes said the crowd is due for a spiritual event that they won’t soon forget.
“It’s going to be fantastic. It’s going to be uplifting, it’s going to be very soul-stirring. It’s going to be joyful. It’s going to be enlightening. People are going to be happy from the moment they get there ’til a long time after they leave,” he said.
Gianelloni hopes that the audience can find a peaceful reprieve while listening to Rhodes and his family.
“At this time of year, I can’t think of a better time of year to bring people together, when the world is in such chaos. So for 90 minutes you just experience sheer joy,” she said.
“Soulful Christmas” has two evening performances scheduled for Dec. 18 and 19, with dinner starting at 7 p.m. There will be a matinee performance on Dec. 20 with lunch starting at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $65 each. Call 985-860-2940 to make reservations.
