Hannah Collisson speaks to the woman behind Lewes Sings Gospel Karen Gibson

Karen Gibson has been working with choirs and vocal groups for 25 years, work that has taken her all over the world.
She has received both Gospel Music Award and Wise Woman Award nominations, and performed for the likes of the Queen, the Pope, and Nelson Mandela.
Her most recent achievement has been to lead community choir Lewes Sings Gospel to victory in the BBC Songs Of Praise Gospel Choir Of The Year competition earlier this month, at the Hackney Empire in London, a contest watched by millions.
“It was a surprise for several reasons; we entered at the last minute, we are a non-auditioning choir, and many of the singers are not from a gospel background,” says Karen, who is based in London but travels down to Sussex weekly to conduct the choir.
“I think, what is very special about Lewes Sings Gospel is that they are a real family; the connection is great. I travel down each week, and it is always a wonderful welcome.”
The Songs Of Praise competition final, presented by David Grant and Josie d’Arby, was by far the choir’s biggest gig
to date, with a full house of 5,000 audience members.
Previously the 300-capacity Southover Church, which is also the rehearsal venue, was the only place they had performed.
The six finalists from across the country each gave two performances before the winner was announced on the programme broadcast on October 5.
Lewes Sings Gospel took to the stage with Lord I Know I’ve Been Changed and The Reason Why I Sing.
The panel of judges including soul singer Mica Paris, vocal coach Carrie Grant, and gospel artist Muyiwa Olarewaju, were full of praise for the Lewes choir, which is non-auditioning, and open to all.
“The choir were over the moon with the judges’ comments. They did not seem to have any criticism at all,” says Karen.
“We were overwhelmed by the response of the audience, especially to our first song, where we got a standing ovation.
“After that first song, some of the choir members were in tears. To win was just amazing; it was the icing on the cake.
“We have been invited by the BBC to sing at the Royal Albert Hall on Songs of Praise, which we are very excited about.”
The choir has also received several other offers to perform, which are at the negotiation stage, adds Karen.
Karen has been conducting the choir since it formed in 2009. The majority of the singers are not from a gospel background, and the choir is open to those from any or no religion.
“My ambitions were to get people singing gospel, and to understand the heart of it, but mainly for people to be touched by the music.
“The nature of gospel is that it’s inclusive,” says Karen.
Karen currently conducts four other choirs in London, and is known for being the founder and director of the award-winning Kingdom Choir, as well as being featured in the first book on British gospel music, Black British Gospel, published in 2009.
In 2010 she led the Maria Fidelis Gospel School Choir to victory in the BBC Songs Of Praise Senior Schools Choir Competition
“That was an incredible event because again, we had no experience of competitions,” says Karen.
Karen’s background is in the Pentecostal church, though she did not plan for her life to take this path.
“I fell into it; it was not an ambition at all. I remember thinking when I was nine or ten, I was not going to sing.”
Highlights of her career include singing inside Buckingham Palace, conducting a 3,000 voice congregation in front of Pope Benedict, when he visited the UK, and meeting Nelson Mandela and singing a song especially penned for him by Joan Armatrading.
“Nelson Mandela was coming to speak at the London School of Economics, and she wanted to surprise him with this song,” says Karen.
Along with the Kingdom Choir, Karen took to the stage and provided backing vocals to The Messenger, while Mandela took to the stage to dance.
Over the years she has worked with schools, community choirs, and on various ad hoc projects all over the UK and Europe, and beyond, including a forthcoming mini tour of Italy, leading workshops for gospel conductors.
Lewes Sings Gospel, under Karen’s guidance, is working towards their January concert, with the competition having given them a real boost.
This was the second year of the Songs Of Praise competition, which had been on the radar of Lewes Sings Gospel last year, but the timing had not been right, explains Karen.
“It has been an amazing time for me and the choir,” says Karen. “They have definitely become more confident now that they see they can sing to people outside of their own community.”