Chicago Mass Choir

James C. Chambers established the Chicago Mass Choir in 1988, seventeen years after he had launched the renowned Ecclesiastes Community Choir. Its debut release, Right Now If You Believe, appeared in 1991 and earned the ensemble Best New Artist honors at the Gospel Music Excellence awards. The following year, "I Can Go to the Rock," drawn from the second album Call Him Up, was named Song of the Year. In 1994 the choir issued two projects, I'm So Grafeful and Please Don't Leave Me, during one of its most active periods; at the same time Feranda Williamson, a co-founder of ECC who had also served as one of its soloists, stepped into the leadership role. Later releases in the decade comprised Hold On, Don't Give Up (1996) and Keep Your Mind on Jesus (1998). Live recordings marked much of the 2000s output, most notably Calling on You: Live (2001). XV: Live followed in 2011, marking the choir’s thirteenth project to appear on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart.