Sounds of Joy Choir is an Alabama Bright Light shining through music
Sounds of Joy Choir brings happiness when it performs. (Karim Shamsi-Basha / Alabama NewsCenter)
Meeting members of the Sounds of Joy Choir makes you feel … Blessed? Grateful? Happy? Ecstatic about life?
All of the above and more.
Vickie Brown knows the sound of joy. She hears it every time her choir sings. She feels it in their voices, their smiles, their hearts and their faces.
Welcome to the Sounds of Joy Choir, the group known for transforming music into joy.
“We just had our 20th year celebration for the Sounds of Joy Choir,” Brown said at a recent performance in Tuscaloosa. “We average 60 to 65 performances every year, so we sing somewhere every week. We love giving joy to the people we sing for.”
Sounds of Joy Choir is an Alabama Bright Light bringing delight through music from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
The group lined up and began singing and playing their instruments like they owned the stage. Brown watched from behind with pride on her face.
“The Sounds of Joy Choir actually started back in 1998,” she said. “I retired from Tuscaloosa City Schools in 2014 and that’s when my daughter and I began running the choir. The world we live in today has so much negativity, everywhere you look there is something negative. We try to lift people up and to spread joy.”
Spreading joy is what the Sounds of Joy Choir does so well. When choir members started singing, you couldn’t help but smile.
That’s what the Sounds of Joy Choir does – it inspires.
“Personally, I do this because my background has always been in special education. It’s something I’ve always been very passionate about. It gives me so much joy to work with them, I feel like I get as much out of it as they do,” Brown said.
All members of the Sounds of Joy Choir are affiliated with the Arc of Tuscaloosa County, which works with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families. Brown considers it a blessing to be around the Sounds of Joy Choir members.
“I think people who watch the Sounds of Joy Choir end up with very full hearts,” she said. “They will feel they have been blessed and leave feeling better than when they started.”
Robbie Lewis is one of the members of the Sounds of Joy Choir.
“I come from a family of singers,” he said. “We all used to sing at church and I’m currently on the worship team at my church.”
Deloris Ivy is another member.
“I love singing and I love to dance,” she said. “It makes me feel very happy to give others joy with my singing.”
Alabama Bright Lights captures the stories, through words, pictures and video, of some of our state’s brightest lights who are working to make Alabama an even better place to live, work and play. Award-winning journalist Karim Shamsi-Basha tells their inspiring stories. Email him comments, as well as suggestions on people to profile, at karimshamsibasha@gmail.com.
