East Salinas church choir wins regional Gospel Choir competition

By MELISSAE FELLET • mfellet(a)thecalifornian.com • October
12, 2010

Last year, Salinas’s Apostolic Community Life Center choir
“A.C.L.C” was named best small choir in Northern California.

This year, it went even further.

In the Verizon Wireless “How Sweet the Sound” regional contest
held last Saturday in Oakland, Salinas again won the top
small-choir spot.

The group was then chosen over a Hayward choir and a “People’s
Choice” category winner to advance to next month’s national
finals.

The 30-member group sang “The Presence of the Lord is Here” by
Byron Cage to a sold-out crowd — about 15,000 at the Oracle Arena’s
convention center.

The choir will join 13 others from across the country Nov. 13 in
Washington, D.C., to compete in the grand finale.

“Immediately, when we won the overall competition, I thought of
all the hard work and sacrifice of all the choir members,” said
Karen Mathews, a soprano who has sung with the Salinas group for 11
years. “I was more overwhelmed with joy, excitement and tears than
I thought I would have been.”

Gospel artists Cage, Marvin Sapp and Hezekiah Walker judged the
contest. The choir had not known Cage would be a judge when they
chose one of his songs for their piece.

Faith Lopez-Ortiz, director of the group, said that “added a
little bit of pressure” — but the judges were impressed.

According to Assistant Pastor Adam Ortiz, a member of the choir
for 10 years, Walker praised their performance, saying it was
“incredible for the choir to sing Byron’s song like that and just
kill it — I mean kill it.”

A.C.L.C member Drew Garcia, who grew up in the church, sang a
solo. He said the experience was unforgettable.

“It was the fastest five minutes and the longest five minutes
that I’ve ever been in,” he said.

Garcia said he grew up listening to music written by the
judges.

“To me, being with them is like a dream come true,” he said. “I
was in awe the whole day.”