VOCALIST AUDITIONS

Multi-award winning American gospel singer Israel Houghton, will be auditioning throughout South Africa to find vocalists to join his dream-come-true New Breed Africa project.

Auditions will be held in Durban on June 8 at Coastlands in Umhlanga starting at 09h00 and ending at 20h00.

Houghton – a four times Grammy winner – will be joined on the auditioning panel by Neville D, Louis du Plessis, Loyiso Bala, Ernie Smith, Nurden Cross, Khaya Mthethwa and Natalie Rungan.

The organisers hope to identify 24 vocalists nationally to join the New Breed Africa initiative which will be nurtured by Houghton. This hands-on mentorship programme will provide experience of live performance, live and studio recordings, and the possibility of an international platform including a chance of future international tours.

“This is the first time that something like this is happening,” enthuses Preya Chetty from Life Events. “Israel has been dreaming about this since 2005, and we are delighted that his dreams are now coming true!” she says. “Our goal in holding auditions is to choose 24 vocalists representing regions within South Africa. The successful auditionees will then rotate depending on logistics concerning need and location of events. We will hear all vocalists and Israel Houghton will be a part of the audition and interview process for all finalists.”

In his vision statement, Houghton explains: “Ideally, we are asking that these individuals be a part of a church and preferably active in serving in that church in some capacity. We believe this group will simply be the outworking of a heart for service that already exists. Our basic core values consist of a love for God and a heart to serve others in need. Therefore, we want the type of people who possess a matched quality and passion for this. In doing so, it will reflect in our music presentation. We want to empower, educate, train, challenge, and encourage musicians and singers alike to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, both in music and ministry development, in life and leadership development.”

Houghton is an internationally acclaimed Christian singer and worship leader, best known for his hybrid style of music which embraces gospel, jazz and rock. He has two gold-selling albums, six Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award, and four Grammy® Awards—for "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album" for The Power of One, “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for A Deeper Level, “Best Traditional Gospel Album” for Alive In South Africa, and “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for Love God, Love People.

Auditionees can come through at any time from08h00 until 14h00 with final auditions taking place from 15h00 until 20h00.

They should sing a song of their own choice, either acappella or they can bring backing tracks, or if they play guitar or keyboards, they can provide and sing to their own accompaniment. Registration forms can be completed on-line or at the registration table at the venue on the day of auditions. Auditionees are invited to attach CV, photograph or endorsements to their registration form should they want to furnish additional information.

For more information, or to register go to www.newbreedafrica.co.za or call LIFE EVENTS on 082 589 5411.