Voices singing “Hallelujah” and “Amen” rang out as choirs sang gospel music at Disney California Adventure.
“We put our hearts, our minds, our souls and our spirits into it,” said Kenneth Curry, pastor at the Friendship Baptist Church in Yorba Linda. The church had its choir at the eighth annual “Celebrate Gospel” event at the Disneyland Resort on Saturday as part of Black History Month.
There were 14 other choirs or singing groups taking part in the one-day event inside Stage 17.
“Gospel music talks about our shared collective experience,” Curry said.
One of the soloists in the Friendship Baptist Church Mass Choir was Danyelle Cerillo, 26, a severely visually impaired woman from La Mirada. At birth, she weighed only 1 pound, 12 ounces.
“Doctors said I wasn’t going to make it and here I am,” Cerillo said.
She started singing at the age of 8, and added gospel music to her repertoire at 14. Besides gospel, she also sings R&B and pop music. But said her favorite gospel song is “Never would have made it.”
“It speaks to my soul because I should not be here today, but God was so gracious and kind to allow me to have life. I might not be able to see physically, but God’s given me something greater, spiritual sight.”
Along with the various choirs from around Los Angeles, Orange and other nearby counties, one group – Lawyer Turner and the Lawyerettes – came from Dallas to sing.
During an afternoon break, Keya Vance, a senior at Cal State Fullerton, was called to the stage, where she received a $1,500 scholarship that will help her finish her degree. Vance is studying theater and African-American studies.
“I want to write and direct films and be a professor in African-American studies,” she said.
Vance, who lives in Placentia, has already written several plays while at CSUF, including one about the issues behind generational differences in gospel music. She plans to use her studies in her career when she graduates.
Contact the writer: meades@scng.com or follow on twitter @markaeades
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