Western All-State Youth (WAY) Choir Is Back

WAY Choir is back after several years of no action but, this time, under new leadership.  You can find out more about the choir at http://www.wdyouth.org/way-choir/.  The new director is Luis Lenzi who was a former member of WAY Choir.  He is now the Minister of Music at East Valley Pentecostal Church in San Jose, California and comes with excellent qualifications.  God bless Luis and team as they begin a new journey.  WAY Choir 2016.

WAY Choir 2009 Is HERE!!!!!!!!!

Be sure and go to the website

www.waychoir.org

for new songs and 2009 tour info.

New Comment Posted

Check out Sarah's recent comment on her post.
http://waychoir.blogspot.com/2008/06/sarah-simmons-speaks.html

To All WAY Choir Members

Sis. Buxton left a nice comment to you and I thought I would put it in a post to make sure you all see it. Please visit her blog at www.writenow.wordpress.com and see her pictures and reviews of Camp Meeting. I feel so honored to have an esteemed elder pay all of you such a high compliment. You can leave comments on her blog and thank her for her kind words. Below is the comment she posted to this blog.

Shirley Buxton has left a new comment on your post "Coming Soon!!!":

On Thursday evening, I sat in the camp meeting tent, and as you sang, I was completely overwhelmed by the presence of God. On one of my blog posts, I wrote this: "WAY choir (comprised of young, unmarried people from around the district) effected such grand and magnificent music as should be heard in the finest of concert halls, except that their singing was accompanied by such deep and sincere worship that only in chambers of the sacred should such performance occur."In another column, I posted from YouTube your singing the moving conclusion: Grace, Grace. Already it has profoundly touched people who read at my site.Thank you, Brother and Sister Fitzpatrick, Brother and Sister Allard, every choir member and anyone else who have participated in the formation and continuation of this ministry. It is a personal blessing to me, and I am confident to the wider Church of Jesus Christ.Observing such talented young people coupled with such worship and dedication prompts me to again understand that The Church is in good hands. In no way is God in trouble.From my heart--thank you.

Coming Soon!!!

Next event:

Western District Camp Meeting

Santa Maria Fairgrounds

August 4 - 8, 2008

WAY Choir will be singing Thursday, August 7

in the evening pre-service and main service.

Directing D'Andre Dignifies

Hi! It's D'Andre! I had the time of my life on WAY Choir Tour 2008. I've never been around so many youth that could sing like this! I mean everywhere I turned I could hear somebody hummin' or singin'. Some of my best memories of this year were in practices. Bro. Fitzpatrick is so full of passion for ministry and every time he spoke to us, it was like hearing preaching. We were constantly fed with WORD and constantly pushed to concentrate. Sis. Fitz was such a nice person and always full of encouraging words. As the week went on, I found myself getting more and more attached to these folks and was like, "How am I gonna say goodbye?? What am I gonna do without the Allards!!??" They made this tour sooooo much fun and taught me so much. Everyone in the choir was in such good hands and everyday was a new experience with new challenges. I had not directed a choir in years! I learned techniques and signals and was so honored to tag-team with my buddy Keith this year. The view of the choir singing under the anointing of the Holy Ghost was overwhelming. I hope to stay in touch with everyone and I love you all as my family. Thanks for embracing the WAY rookie :)
God Bless,
D'Andre

Getting Ready to Hit the Road

Lesson On Singing High Tones

Sogogospelnews.com features articles by Bill Baize and I thought I would share some with you. Here's a current lesson on singing high tones - - -


1. You must have confidence that you will be able to hit the note that you are reaching for. Much of the battle to sing good high notes is lost in this area. I remember before I ever studied how to sing, I was singing with The Smitty Gatlin Trio in Ft. Worth Texas. I had a high C to hit on one of the songs and I had been hitting it very well in practice. Time came for us to sing the song on the stage at the Will Roger’s Auditorium one night. There were several big name groups there and I really wanted to do well. At the time I was just starting to sing professionally. Opened up and went for the high C, it splattered all over the place (my voice cracked). I lost all my confidence that evening. It took me quite a while before I wanted to try a high C again. I finally gained my confidence back after I studied voice for a couple of years. Once I learned about posture, breathing, tone placement, and word pronunciation ,in my vocal studies, I was able to sing over and over consistent high C’s, and while singing with the Stamps Quartet I got to where I could sing an E flat above high C, which I did every night for sometime, when we were singing either “Rainbow of Love” or “When It’s My Time”. What was the difference? The difference was that I had studied and worked at making myself better by singing correctly. My voice still would crack at times if I didn’t sing correctly now. That’s why learning how to sing correctly, not only protects your voice for your old age, but it can give you the tools to know how to correct anything that doesn’t seem to work right. I know now that when I sing correctly I don’t crack. If I ever cracked, I would know what to do to correct it. What would I do? I think about my posture first, am I standing straight and are my vocal cords relaxed? Then I think about am I supporting the tone enough with the proper amount of air? Then I think about where I am placing the tone in my resonation chambers. When I do all of that correctly, my tone always comes out well with no quivers or cracks. Because I know how to do these things, I have confidence that when I do them correctly, that my notes will come out clear and not crack.

2. In singing higher tones, it is best to concentrate on vowel sounds more than the consonant sounds. Opera singers do this and that is why they can all sing well when they are young and during their later years in life. Vowel sounds are the foundations of the words that you will be singing. Therefore, if you learn how to sing them and their modifications, it will help you sing high notes better. Vowel sounds should take precedence over consonant sounds, in your pronunciation of words, while you are singing. There are certain consonants that seem especially hard to pronounce and still keep your singing mechanism in a relaxed state. One of those consonants is the letter R. Many great singers modify the R sound until it only really comes in on the very last of the pronunciation. For instance in the word “Art” in the song “How Great Thou Art” many of the great singers sing it like AAArT . Many ordinary singers sing it like ARRT. When you put to much emphasis on the R sound it throws your singing mechanism out of whack, and can cause problems, causing your voice to rasp out or crack when you least expect it. This is just one example of this phenomenon. This area of singing is part of what I call the fine tuning area. It helps you to fine tune your singing to a point that you are able to do good things with your voice that you previously couldn’t do. It is a real challenge and often it is better accomplished by having a good voice instructor listen to you and guide you in the direction that it takes to fix whatever problem you might have.

3. In singing higher tones, the most effective thing you can do is to remember to breathe correctly. Sometimes you have to really think, while you are singing, about your breathing. In singing higher tones, it is imperative to keep excellent breath support under your tones.

4. Remember to open your mouth widely, and remember the lessons of posture that I have written about previously, like holding your head straight. Do not turn your head to either side, tilt it back or forward too much. Keep your head on straight. Relax your lips, jaw and tongue and most of all your neck where your vocal cords are. For easier singing of high notes, push from your diaphragm and place your tone forward in your mask . You can even, most of the time, sing the higher tones to where they sound to you as extremely nasal tones. Most of the time, when we think that they are nasal to us, they are only then beginning to have the amount of mask tone that makes the tone, being sung, sound clear and understandable to the listener.

5. The best way to work on most of these things is with a vocal coach in person. You may try them yourself and put your singing on a tape or CD to listen back to. Then when you listen back, and let someone listen with you, you can critique yourself about whether you sound better or not.

My best advice is to go to a vocal coach and have him or her listen to you and help you with these things.

There is so much more that needs to be said about singing high tones. I can not possibly cover it all here in a column or two. It is time for me to close this month’s column.

Remember Psalm 118:6 says “The Lord is on My Side, I will not fear, what can man do unto me?” The Lord is on your side. Keep working for him and ministering to those that he gives to you to minister to. Don’t be discouraged, just keep on keeping on. God loves you and wants you to be all that he created you to be. Keep on the sunny side.

In His Service,
Bill Baize

S.A.T.

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Play It, Guys

Meet some of the musicians (not pictured-keyboards: Ken Fitzpatrick, organ: Michael Hernandez)...

Percussion: Jonathan "Peto" Moreno

Guitar: James Langston

Drums: C.J. Caragan

Bass: Aaron Gomes

More Pics from Tour 2008

Appreciation from Abigail

WAY Choir Tour 2008. Wow! It was something amazing. Just like almost everyone said on the bus, I, too, almost didn't come this year because of certain situations in my life, and certain doubts I had. But I really am glad that I decided to come because I know that my life did change during the week, and I know that it's going to stay changed. People always say their lives are changed after a certain service, or event, but this time I KNOW that I KNOW my life will never be the same. Just like the song we did, "I"m not going back, I'm moving ahead, I'm here to declare to you my past is over IN YOU!" That song sums up how I feel about what God did for me this past week.

Now I know that no matter what happens in my life, no matter how many times the devil attacks me, I will keep fighting back because I'm not going back to the person I was before the tour. I know that we only spent a week together but a lot of you made a big impact on my life and I am so grateful for it. The friendships that were made stronger this week were lifelong friendships and I love each of you.

My favorite night was in Dinuba. I don't even know if I should be admitting this or not, but as some of you know, the devil has been fighting me a lot lately, more so than usual, and I have felt like I just couldn't fight back anymore, so when I was praying at the end of service, I was able to finally get to the place in the spirit that I told the devil he couldn't have me, he couldn't have my family, and that no matter what, I was going to fight for them! I know that one day I will see my dad come back to church. I know that the things that I am praying for, I will see happen, in my life, in my family's and friends lives, in my church.

Because no matter what happens, I know in the long run, it's all going to be worth it. I thank God that I was given the opportunity to go on the tour this year. A special thank you to Bro. and Sis. Fitzpatrick for all your hard work and dedication to us. Thank you also to Bro. & Sis. Allard, you are awesome! (Sis. Allard, you are my hero! Thanks for being there for me)

To Sheramy, Kendra, Lacy, and Kadee, you'll be happy to know that I finally ate when I got home, so no worries! lol. Sorry this was soo lengthy. I love you guys and miss you all soo much already! I'll see you all at camp meeting.

Love Abigail

WAY Choir Ministers

WAY Choir sings beautifully but their purpose is much more than beautiful music.

WAY Tour 2008

part of the choir in Woodland, California
Tulare, California

Dinuba, California

Merced, California

It was a whirlwind week of practice, travel, and performance and it has now come to an end. The finale was in Merced, California at Apostolic Tabernacle which happened to be a "Friends and Family Day" complete with a huge bar-be-que. Of course, the highlight was the opportunity to hear the talented Merced Choir, their brass band, sign team, and the incredible ministry of Pastor Sam Emory. Everything they do in Merced is "WOW!" More reports to come!

P.S. Choir members - If you have pictures or memories you would like to share, please e-mail them to me and I will get them posted as soon as possible.

A Mother Speaks

I was so thrilled to hear what took place during the 2007 WAY Choir tour. Many awesome and amazing things took place that week. I am so glad my daughter was able to be a part of it. God's timing is perfect. I would like to share something with you. A few days before the tour started a situation happened to my daughter that caused her a lot of brokenness, heartache and pain. It really hurt me to see her go through it. I was glad she was going on the choir tour because I knew it would take her mind off of things and cause her to focus her mind on God's work. I spent most of the week fasting and praying for her and the WAY Choir tour. WOW! I can tell you my daughter came back changed, she came back healed, she came back with a new direction, she came back more excited than she ever has been. Something very special happened to her that week. She enjoyed the times of prayer and the times of devotion on the bus. She was excited about all the things that happened during the altar services. She had so many stories to share. She said she felt such unity among the choir members and she has made many new friends. Even though she was tired and it was hard transporting her suitcase everywhere, she said she would do over again a million times. She loved it!!!. Thank you so much for making this opportinuty availiable to our youth. This was a life changing experience for her and for many others. Thank you for your prayers, hardwork and dedication to the tour.

Comment From Pastor McDonald

Bro. Fitzpatrick and WAY Choir:

Just wanted to tell you how much we appreciate you. Your leadership, your talent, your anointing, the giving of yourself and on and on....we were blessed by your efforts. Thank you!

Love and prayers,
Bro Jonathan McDonald

Thoughts From Bryce

Making new friends, singing new songs, laughing till tears spilled, and reaching new spiritual heights describes WAY Choir 2007. Having been part of WAY Choir since its inception, I learned early that it requires giving 100% of my ability and effort. However, this year proved to be extraordinaire. The entire choir and musicians were truly in one mind and one accord and the Lord was there. Each service was anointed and inspiring. At the service in Eureka, a mother with her small daughter approached me and said she felt impressed to have me pray for her daughter and she proceeded to tell me how sick her little girl had been. I felt overwhelmed that she would ask me to pray. I looked at the little girl and asked her if she believed Jesus could heal her and she quickly responded, "Yes!" After praying for her, I then asked her if she felt Jesus had healed her. Again, her fast reply was, "YES!" This scenario impressed upon me the thought of "child-like faith." I felt very moved in the Spirit that this kind of faith would bring miracles and blessings we never imagined could happen. What a great God we serve and I am so happy to be in His service.

Bryce Allard

Words From Josiah

This tour was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had, and I will cherish the memories forever. I was incredibly blessed by this tour, and I feel like I am a changed person, having a new spiritual boldness, a stronger, more intimate relationship with God, much-improved musical abilities, and awesome inspiration that will help me work to be a strong music leader and man of God. This trip has strengthened every WAY Choir member's desire to serve Jesus will all our hearts by being obedient to His will and His Word. I am excited and in eager anticipation of our next tour together; if we trust in God and obey Him, we will move forward into greater heights spiritually and musically. I also will enjoy seeing all of the Way Choir members again; I didn't talk very much, but still had fun and was inspired by many of them.

I thank God for the powerful services we experienced every night, and the wonderful experiences in choir practice on Monday night and on the bus throughout the tour. Can you believe that we had tongues of interpretation on a bus full of young people? That's just incredible! I enjoyed listening and being blessed by everyone's testimonies of what God did for them, and I am so excited about my Grandpa coming to church and being so touched by what we did. I think it is so awesome that God allowed us the opportunity to be used in such a powerful way. My consecration to God and to His will has been greatly deepened and I will pray everyday for the WAY Choir, its future, and its leaders. I love Bro. Fitzpatrick's amazing sensitivity to the Holy Ghost and am glad that I have the privilege of working with him. I also love Bro. and Sis. Allard, and I thank them for their many words of encouragement and inspiration. I believe we will go incredible distances if we stay humble and allow God to use each and every one of us.

In God's Service,
Josiah Aston

Sweet Jesus Helps Brian Speak

WoW !!! I am so blessed to have been able to go on WAY Tour. This has been the best experience in my entire life. When I first tried out, I was very nervous and thought that I did horrible. So I said that if it is the Lord's will, then I will be accepted. Then, once I found out that I made it in the choir, I was overwhelmed with joy. Many of my friends helped me raise the money to go on tour and I pray that the Lord will bless them for their works. I was scared about going because the only person I knew was Kayla O'Bryan. I didn't want to be a loner. I prayed for the Lord's will about me going or not, and everything just seemed to fall right into place as far as money and everything else.
When the tour began and I felt the spirit of the Lord so strongly, I was amazed and couldn't wait any longer to sing, minister, and help seekers receive the Holy Ghost. By the fourth day, I had met everyone and knew everyones name and face. I was excited and finally got comfortable, which is always hard because as soon as you get comfortable that's about the time you have to leave. So I exchanged numbers and emails with alot of people so that we can keep in touch.
I feel that because of going on tour, I have been strengthened and look at living for God in a new light. I definitely think that not one person who went on tour went home the same individual. Due to this experience, I will strive to live for God even more than before, and fall in love with Jesus over and over again. I personally want to thank the Lord for allowing me to go on WAY Choir Tour 2007. I will pray for the Lord's blessing on you.

Yours Truly,
Brian Pelham

Open Letter to Bro. Fitzpatrick

BRO. FITZPATRICK-



FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND WONDERFUL EXAMPLE. YOU LED BY EXAMPLE, AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THIS TOUR WAS SUCH A BLESSING AND SO POWERFUL BECAUSE OF YOUR LEADERSHIP!!! THE BIBLE SAYS TO GIVE HONOR WHERE HONOR IS DUE...YOU DESERVE HONOR!! I HAVE ONLY MET A FEW PEOPLE IN MY LIFE AS SINCERE AND SENSITIVE AS U ARE TO THE HOLY GHOST. I COULD TELL U HAD A PASSION AND LOVE FOR THIS CHOIR, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR GOD TO USE US AS A TOOL FOR HIM!!! I PRAY MANY BLESSINGS ON YOUR LIFE!!! I'M PRAYING FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY...THAT GOD WOULD OPEN THOSE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN AND POUR YOU OUT A BLESSING YOU CANNOT CONTAIN!!! AND I KNOW IT WILL HAPPEN BECAUSE IT'S HIS WORD AND PROMISE TO HIS FAITHFUL SAINTS!! I HONESTLY CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOUR SACRIFICE AND HARD WORK!!! "U GET WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT" IS THE OLD SAYING, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT GOD HONORED YOUR SACRIFICE TO THIS MINISTRY!!!!! LOOK WHAT CAME OUT OF WAY CHOIR 2007!!! LIKE U SAID, WE WONT KNOW EVERYTHING THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM UNTIL HEAVEN REVEALS IT TO US!!!! I KNOW STRONG-HOLDS WERE BROKEN, AND SPIRITS WERE BOUND!!! I KNOW WE LOOSED GOD'S WONDERFUL SPIRIT, AND SHED LIGHT ON SOME VERY DARK AREAS!!! I'M SOOO THANKFUL THAT WHERE SIN DOTH ABOUND, GRACE DOES MUCH MORE ABOUND!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!! HE USED US IN A MIGHTY WAY!!! I'M SOOOO GRATEFUL TO GOD FOR HIS MIGHTY AND SOVEREIGN WORK!!! AND JUST TO THINK: GOD ORDAINED US TO DO HIS WORK!!! THAT'S SOO AMAZING!!! ANYWAYS... I WILL HONESTLY SAY THAT WAY CHOIR MADE AN INCREDIBLE IMPACT ON MY LIFE!!! GOD SHOWED ME MANY THINGS AND IT FEELS LIKE HE BLOSSOMED ME RIGHT IT THE MIDST OF IT ALL!!! I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!! THIS MADE AN IMPACT ON ME THAT I COULDN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE!!!! I'M IN COMPLETE AWE AT GOD AND HIS MATCHLESS WORKS!! I FEEL LIKE ITS ALMOST NOT REAL, BUT I KNOW IT IS!!! LOL! I'M BEING A LITTLE SILLY, BUT THAT'S JUST HOW AMAZED I AM AT WHAT JUST TOOK PLACE IN MY LIFE AND ON TOUR!!!!! I MADE FRIENDS THAT WILL ABSOLUTELY LAST A LIFE TIME, BECAUSE THEY WERE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE CENTERED AROUND GOD!!! EVERYTHING GOOD AND PERFECT COMETH FROM ABOVE, AND HE COMPLETELY BLESSED MY LIFE!!!! I HAD SOOO MANY CONFIRMATIONS THIS PAST WEEK, AND I BELIEVE HE LED ME TO A HIGHER CALLING AND BURDENED ME IN MANY DIFFERENT MINISTRIES!!!! NOW IT'S KINDA LIKE..."GOD...WHERE DO I START??" LOL! HE WILL MAKE A WAY, HE ALWAYS DOES!!! ANYWAYS, I CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH, AND I CANT PUT INTO WORDS HOW I FEEL AND HOW MUCH I HAVE CHANGED TRULY BECAUSE OF WAY CHOIR!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE PUT IN TO THIS, FOR YOUR PRAYERS, FOR NOT GETTING WEARY IN WELL DOING, JUST EVERYTHING! YOUR ARE INCREDIBLE AND YOU HAVE A MIGHTY CALLING AND ANNOINTING ON YOUR LIFE!!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY, I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK!!!!!!

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!

NICOLE VITALE !!!!