Choral music lovers on Sunday, 2nd April, 2023 thronged the auditorium of the Saint Thomas cathedral in Obuasi to mark the 2nd edition of Lent to Easter concert.
The event seeks to talk about the passion of Jesus Christ and also teaches about why Jesus Christ died for mankind.
It was held on the theme “He is risen.”. It had the St. Thomas Youth choir in attendance. The two choral groups and other choral groups entertained the gathering with their soothing, rich and carefully crafted hymns to praise the Lord.
The Executive Director of the Catholic Voices GH Joseph Owusu-Addo who interacted with the media said the group made of the youth between the ages of 12-50 years, exists to add their voices to the clarion call that it is time to raise the name of the Lord high and see the goodness in worshipping the Lord.
He said the purpose of the Lent to Easter concert was to create awareness about the death of Jesus Christ through music. He said ” we believe that Easter should not only be celebrated with crusades and rallies alone but also through music concerts like this, to preach about the relevance of Christ’s death to mankind”.
He bemoaned the lack of recognition for choral groups outside the main cities in Ghana. He said it was important for organisers of choral shows to give opportunities for groups outside the main cities to also showcase their talents to the rest of the world.
” The renaissance of choral music with the emergence of Harmonious chorale and other groups lends credence to the fact that choir music is still relevant hence there is need to throw more light on those in other towns to showcase our talents”.
Mr. Owusu-Addo admonished other churches to form choral groups in other to boost the industry which he said is not bereft of talent.
USE TIKTOK TO PROMOTE CHORAL MUSIC
Most Rev. John Yaw Afoakwa, Catholic Bishop of Obuasi Diocese lauded the Catholic Voice Gh and other choral groups for praising God through their genre.
He however admonished them to take advantage of social media especially tik tok to promote their music. TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create, watch, and share 15-second videos shot on mobile devices or webcams.
Most Rev. Afoakwa believed that the use of the social media app will enable their music reach the larger population for their arts to be appreciated.
He seized the opportunity to advise Christians to look back and reflect on the essence of the death of Jesus Christ during the Easter festivities. ” I am speaking to everybody including the youth, let’s see Easter as an opportunity to move away from wrong doings and accept Christ and not rather see Easter as an occasion to make merry and commit more sin”