Biography
The Wilmington Chester Mass Choir from Delaware functions as a vocal ensemble that has earned Grammy Award nominations as well as Stellar Award victories, recognized for its lively and elaborately structured gospel harmonies. Reverend Ernest Davis, Jr. established the group in 1978, selecting its name to reflect the cities of Wilmington, Delaware and Chester, Pennsylvania, while drawing participants from congregations throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Victory Shall Be Mine marked the ensemble’s first recording in 1988 and featured the widely embraced song “Ride on King Jesus” with vocalist Daryl Coley. The 1990 release He’s Preparing Me brought further recognition, remaining on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart for more than a year and securing the choir’s initial Stellar Award for Song of the Year. Shortly afterward the ensemble collaborated with Patti LaBelle on her 1991 album Burnin’. Following Davis’s death in 1991, Reverend Christopher D. Squire assumed leadership and oversaw the third album, Stand Still (Until His Will Is Clear). Subsequent projects included the 1994 recording Change Will Come, the 1995 set Live, and the 1997 album Fear Not.
Hosanna: And They Sing the Word arrived in 2000 and incorporated performances by Maurette Brown Clark, A. Jeffrey LaValley, and additional contributors, earning the choir its first Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album. Later releases comprised 2001’s Live in Concert and 2007’s It’s Not Over. In 2010 the ensemble issued He’s Been Good, which received Stellar Awards for Traditional Choir of the Year and Choir of the Year.
Victory Shall Be Mine marked the ensemble’s first recording in 1988 and featured the widely embraced song “Ride on King Jesus” with vocalist Daryl Coley. The 1990 release He’s Preparing Me brought further recognition, remaining on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart for more than a year and securing the choir’s initial Stellar Award for Song of the Year. Shortly afterward the ensemble collaborated with Patti LaBelle on her 1991 album Burnin’. Following Davis’s death in 1991, Reverend Christopher D. Squire assumed leadership and oversaw the third album, Stand Still (Until His Will Is Clear). Subsequent projects included the 1994 recording Change Will Come, the 1995 set Live, and the 1997 album Fear Not.
Hosanna: And They Sing the Word arrived in 2000 and incorporated performances by Maurette Brown Clark, A. Jeffrey LaValley, and additional contributors, earning the choir its first Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album. Later releases comprised 2001’s Live in Concert and 2007’s It’s Not Over. In 2010 the ensemble issued He’s Been Good, which received Stellar Awards for Traditional Choir of the Year and Choir of the Year.
Albums
