Awakening Souls have performed in a variety of locations, including the R.K. MacDonald Nursing Home in Antigonish. (File photo)

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Awakening Souls continue to deliver music with a message to appreciative audiences.
The African Nova Scotian youth choir, which is based in Upper Big Tracadie, formed in 2007 for what was supposed to be a one-time performance as part of Tracadie United Baptist Church’s 185th anniversary celebration.
“Usually, the church would bring in a guest choir to perform at such a celebration. I made the suggestion that we use some of the local children and so we formed a choir in the community,” Mary Desmond, Awakening Souls’ choir director, said.
Because that nameless group was so well received, Desmond said she and Jamie Sparks, music director, decided the youth choir should become a more permanent fixture in the community.
The first step was finding a name for the group. After a contest within the choir, Ariel Gerro, one of the members, came up with the name Awakening Souls.
“That’s how we got off the ground,” Desmond said.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Awakening Souls, which has 18 members, range in age from four to 27. They have taken their message to audiences everywhere, including the Coady International Institute and R.K. MacDonald Nursing Home, with a mission “to provide a Christian and healthy environment for young people to sing and praise the Lord.”
“Up here, in Upper Big Tracadie, there is no playground. There was actually nothing here for the children. The only positive thing they have had, especially for afterschool in their community, has been the choir,” Desmond said of its effect on the youth participating.
“They have grabbed on to it,” she added.
Sparks said the choir members have benefited in many ways.
“Most notably, they have had the opportunity to travel around the province, meet new people and increase their self esteem,” he added, noting Awakening Souls has also made television appearances.
“I think that is a pretty big deal for them, too,” Sparks added.
He said the youth choir has also meant a great deal to the community.
“To see the children getting together for a good cause, doing something positive, in this community, or any community, is a good thing. It’s encouraging to see the positivity,” Sparks said.
“Young people these days don’t get much credit for the good they do. They’re faced with a lot of challenges, and not all are able to rise above, so the ones who are able to participate, despite the pressure to do otherwise, should be commended,” he added.
Desmond said the response has been heart-warming wherever the group has performed.
“Everybody seems to support the children so much,” she added, noting the choir members enjoy the experience as well.
“It builds their self esteem. The positive feedback that they receive is really good for them. It enriches them.”
Even if the choir does not have its best performance, Sparks said the reaction has been pleasing.
“The crowd cheered anyway. I can remember at least one occasion, we were in Halifax, and they even got a standing ovation, so clearly I was wrong,” he quipped.
Desmond added the choir provides the children with an opportunity to learn about and deliver messages regarding their rich culture and heritage.
“We don’t go out singing rock n’ roll and pop – we stay within the gospel and the old Negro spirituals,” she said.
“We are starting to branch out a little, but we are staying within the gospel music,” Desmond added.
This year, she noted the choir, under the direction of Sparks, has started writing songs.
“We are planning a new album, and I have had some ideas from kids in the choir, so I won’t be writing the whole thing myself. It’s encouraging to see them get so involved,” Sparks said, noting he has never wanted Awakening Souls to be a “Jamie Sparks project.”
“I will make the music, but after that’s done, I want to get out of the way and let them deliver the message in their own voice – the Awakening Souls way,” he added.
That ‘way’ recently brought the youth choir some attention from their peers – an East Coast Music Award (ECMA) nomination in the African-Canadian Recording of the Year category for God is Love.
“With the ECMA nomination, this helps to re-affirm the choir is moving in the right direction,” Sparks said.
Along with work on the new CD, Awakening Souls continues a busy concert schedule, including several appearances this month as part of African Heritage Month celebrations.
“We keep quite busy,” Desmond said.
She noted she cautions the group about taking on too many performances, with missing time from school serving as a last resort.
“The first thing I beat into their heads is that school and education is #1. It comes before everything, even the choir,” Desmond said.
For more about Awakening Souls, including their schedule, visit www.awakeningsouls.ca