Praise and worship are about to be taken to a whole new level this weekend. Grammy-nominated gospel quartet Ernie Haase + Signature Sound will be performing in the city on Saturday. They won’t be staying in the city beyond a day, given that their next show is at Bangalore on Sunday. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, so we can’t wait,” says founding member and tenor vocalist Ernie Haase. He adds, “We hope to take in as much of the Indian culture as we can when we get there.”
The performance is organised by the Madras Musical Association in aid of Help a Child of India. The group has been receiving quite a bunch of fan mails from India, requesting some of their hit songs off YouTube. The rest of the quartet comprises Devin McGlamery (lead), Doug Anderson (baritone) and Ian Owens (bass).
When asked how the quartet came together, Ernie responds, “After the retirement of the group I previously sang with (The Cathedral Quartet), I had a vision to find like-minded men who loved this music and loved people.” He contines, “So the dream of singing in harmony continued for me through Signature Sound.”
With close to 20 albums out since they got together almost a decade ago, one has to wonder, what projects have they got planned for 2012. “Oh, we’re always working on something,” smiles Ernie. He goes on, “At this point in time, we are spending our time writing music and touring.” This year alone, they have tour dates all over Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
So what sort of gospel experience can Chennai look forward to this weekend? “Lots of fun, lots of energy,” promises Ernie. He adds quickly, “We can’t stand still,” he says with a laugh. Well they aren’t nicknamed ‘ambassadors of joy’ for nothing!
(Ernie Haase + Signature Sound will be performing at The Music Academy on August 11 at 7pm. For details, contact 65451234)
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