Minnie Gracie Gadson, Rosa Mae Chisolm Murray and Deacon Joseph Murray have been awarded the Jean Laney Folk Heritage Award from the SC Arts Commission for 2019. They join fellow soloist Deacon James Garfield Smalls, who won the award in 2018.
From the press release on the SC Arts Hub:
Each singer has a long and distinguished performing career, with deep roots in the praise house tradition. As a trio over the past 5 years, Voices of Gullah have performed at many events including Penn Center’s annual Heritage Days, The Original Gullah Festival, and local praise house services. Recently, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina presented the trio to seven schools in Beaufort and Jasper counties as part of their program, Reach: A Gullah Musical Journey. The singers truly enjoy singing for students and teaching the next generation their rich legacy of Gullah-Geechee spirituals. The Voices of Gullah Singers are based in St. Helena Island, S.C.
The three soloists, alongside Deacon Smalls, were featured in the Athenaeum Press CD project, Gullah: The Voice of an Island (2014). Dr. Eric Crawford spurred the nomination to garner recognition of the important work this group is doing in keeping the “old songs” alive.
See a clip of their performance below from the CD launch in 2014: