The sweet harmonies of live gospel music are the efforts of hours of practice and hard work by the performing musicians and singers. Preparing for a gospel concert may seem like a daunting task, but with dedication and focus your group will be ready to "wow" the audiences. Make it a team effort as you work with singers, musicians and everyone involved in the event.
Instructions
Musical Preparation
1. Set specific goals for the group. Once the specific date and venue for the concert is set in stone, you'll have a time limit for achieving the goals. Choose the repertoire and work on learning and perfecting the pieces during set rehearsal times each week.
2. Assign any solo work early on in the rehearsal process. This gives the soloists advanced notification and time to prepare for their moments in the spotlight.
3. Choose the specific order of the gospel music pieces and hold extra rehearsals in the two weeks leading up to the concert. Make the last rehearsal before the concert a dress rehearsal where everything is performed in the exact order without stopping. At the very end, discuss any problem areas and go over those specific places in the music.
4. Set an arrival time for your stage set-up staff and musicians prior to the concert that allows adequate time to get ready. If possible, run through the musical pieces before the audience arrives. Allow plenty of time for set-up or decoration of the stage or hall.
Promotional Preparation
5. Let all musicians in the gospel group know as soon as the concert date and venue are set. This allows for word-of-mouth promotion from the performers to friends and family.
6. Contact local churches, community newspapers and Christian radio stations along with any other potential target audience for the performance. Ask for the groups to post the concert date and time in a community calendar or church bulletin. Send out promotional posters to hang on bulletin boards. Write press releases. Arrange for promotional interviews with the musical director of the concert if appropriate.
7. Have CDs or other gospel group merchandise ready to sell at the concert venue if this is within your group's budget.
8. Create an event page on social networking websites such as Facebook where musicians can invite friends in their network and people can RSVP. Send out e-mail invitations to church members, other gospel groups in the area and noteworthy community members.
Tags: concert date, date venue, gospel group, gospel music, other gospel