The Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir has been around since 1991. Based at SUNY Plattsburgh, the organization aims to bring unity through gospel music. Gospel music has its roots in Christianity and African-American history. “The standard definition of gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ,” Dexter Criss said. “But more specifically, within a certain style. So that gospel style, that gospel genre really become cultural for many of us.”Criss has been the artistic director of the choir since 1999. He and his family moved from Mississippi after he accepted a teaching job at SUNY Plattsburgh in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “My wife, Barbara, at the time, Danielle, was like 1. Dalton hadn’t been born yet, and we moved here with the biggest U-Haul truck you could have,” Criss said. Dexter’s daughter, Danielle, said she has grown up in the choir and officially joined the organization when she turned 12. “Growing up in the choir has been my second family. Growing up in the North Country, I didn’t see many people that looked like me,” Danielle Criss said, “So, getting to be in choir, where it’s a variety of various people, was very eye-opening for me and a safe place for me to be.” The Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir also includes a praise dance team and step team. The organization is made up of members from both Vermont and northern New York. “It’s awesome being able to sing with the students,” said Angelina Pearson of Winooski, “And it’s really a community. More like a family.”Members of the group also say that their community helps uplift them when they need it. “The songs that we sing are, like, very uplifting. And the people around you comfort you in your lowest hour. And, they’re there for you,” said Bel Morley, a SUNY Plattsburgh student and soprano in the choir. Dexter Criss said the choir also helped him after his son, Dalton, died in 2019. “When I lost my son, Dalton, this choir, more than anything, probably kept me sane,” Criss said. This year, the organization is naming the Adirondack Gospel Honors Festival after Dalton.From April 19-20, the gospel festival will feature the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir and high school choirs from Vermont and northern New York. It will culminate with a concert at the Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh on April 20. Tickets go on sale on Friday, March 1. More information about the event is available online at the choir’s website.
The Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir has been around since 1991. Based at SUNY Plattsburgh, the organization aims to bring unity through gospel music.
Gospel music has its roots in Christianity and African-American history.
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“The standard definition of gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ,” Dexter Criss said. “But more specifically, within a certain style. So that gospel style, that gospel genre really become cultural for many of us.”
Criss has been the artistic director of the choir since 1999. He and his family moved from Mississippi after he accepted a teaching job at SUNY Plattsburgh in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
“My wife, Barbara, at the time, Danielle, was like 1. Dalton hadn’t been born yet, and we moved here with the biggest U-Haul truck you could have,” Criss said.
Dexter’s daughter, Danielle, said she has grown up in the choir and officially joined the organization when she turned 12.
“Growing up in the choir has been my second family. Growing up in the North Country, I didn’t see many people that looked like me,” Danielle Criss said, “So, getting to be in choir, where it’s a variety of various people, was very eye-opening for me and a safe place for me to be.”
The Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir also includes a praise dance team and step team. The organization is made up of members from both Vermont and northern New York.
“It’s awesome being able to sing with the students,” said Angelina Pearson of Winooski, “And it’s really a community. More like a family.”
Members of the group also say that their community helps uplift them when they need it.
“The songs that we sing are, like, very uplifting. And the people around you comfort you in your lowest hour. And, they’re there for you,” said Bel Morley, a SUNY Plattsburgh student and soprano in the choir.
Dexter Criss said the choir also helped him after his son, Dalton, died in 2019.
“When I lost my son, Dalton, this choir, more than anything, probably kept me sane,” Criss said.
This year, the organization is naming the Adirondack Gospel Honors Festival after Dalton.
From April 19-20, the gospel festival will feature the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir and high school choirs from Vermont and northern New York. It will culminate with a concert at the Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh on April 20.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, March 1. More information about the event is available online at the choir’s website.
