Who We Are

The Redwood Interfaith Gospel Choir (RIGC) sings inspiring and uplifting Black gospel and spiritual music. This community choir has been serving the North Coast region by performing at community events, benefits, memorials, churches, and for inmates at the Humboldt County jail. See the Events page for a list of upcoming events.

RIGC rehearsals are on Mondays from 6 to 8 PM at the Arcata Playhouse. Go to the Artistic Staff page to learn more about the choir directors, assistant directors, accompanists, and band.

The mission of the AIGC is to inspire faith, hope, love, unity, and joy through Gospel music. The choir exemplifies the principles of equality, unity, and cooperation through multi-faith and multiracial choir membership.

For funding, the non-profit RIGC relies on choir member dues, proceeds from RIGC-produced events, donations from the community, various fundraisers, and grant funds. The RICC is now part of the Humboldt Area Foundation with an Organizational Fund. Go to the Donate page to make a donation to the RIGC.

RIGC Board

The RIGC Board of Directors oversees the RIGC organization to ensure it follows its bylaws and mission and is fiscally responsible. The Board supports the work of those who do the day-to-day work of the RIGC and ensures through its work that the RIGC has sufficient operating funds. The RIGC Board oversees the RIGC Strategic Plan and coordinates key fundraising activities.

RIGC Steering Committee

The choir directors and the Steering Committee do the day-to-day work of the RIGC. The Steering Committee meets regularly to plan the RIGC season and organize all RIGC events. To support the choir, members take on numerous jobs including choir management, publicity, webmaster, graphic design, ticket sales, music transcription, leading vocal exercises, and set-up for rehearsals and events.

Learning Music

The RIGC Director chooses, arranges, and teaches the music, directs the choir and the band, and chooses soloists. The Director relies on the help of the Assistant Director, Accompanist, and the Section Leaders to teach and perfect the music. The Vocal Exercise Leader works with the choir to warm up and train their voices. Music is taught by ear and members are invited to bring notebooks and recording devices to capture the lyric and music. Lyrics and part recordings will be available on the Members Area of the RIGC website.

Black Gospel Music

Black gospel music developed from spirituals and work songs of African-American slaves. These songs testified to the joy and hope of life and dedication to God, even through the experiences of humiliation, pain, suffering, and death. Traditional gospel developed from a fusion of spirituals and the blues; contemporary gospel has been influenced by jazz, funk, rock, hip-hop, world, and other modern music.

The RIGC adapts and performs many different types of songs, including spirituals, freedom songs, traditional gospel, contemporary gospel, and other “gospelized” songs.

History of RIGC (AIGC)

The Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir was founded in May 1992 during a series of multicultural events in Arcata organized by HSU and Center Arts. Connie Stewart, who had recently attended a ministers’ wives Prayer Breakfast in Florida with her grandmother Henryne Good, came up with the idea to have a Prayer Breakfast in Arcata. This event was held at the Arcata Community Center. The prior evening had seen the acquittal verdict of the police in the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, and there was a widespread feeling of anger and powerlessness in those attending.

The Arcata Prayer Breakfast featured the impassioned speaking of Professors Nathan Smith and Caleb Rosado, along with local singer Karen Dumont, HSU’s Black Student Union Men’s Ensemble, and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. The event moved many participants to tears, but also to action. A group of attendees came up with the idea of forming an interfaith gospel choir in Arcata to help heal the wounds and focus on hope, joy, and community.

The AIGC began with a small group singing at the Arcata Presbyterian Church with Professor Lourin Plant, who directed the Black Student Union Men’s Ensemble, as their director. After Lourin moved away in 1993, Karen Dumont took over as choir director. AIGC grew and thrived and has had a total of seven directors since 1992. In 1999, choir member Ken Collins wrote the AIGC bylaws and registered the AIGC as a non-profit corporation.

In 1995, Karen Dumont founded the AIGC Youth Choir, and in 1996, Assistant Director Seanna Willett founded the AIGC Teen Choir.

After a two-year pause during the global coronavirus pandemic, the Redwood Interfaith Community Choir has emerged and is looking forward to spreading hope, joy, and peace to our community for many years to come!

See the Artistic Staff page for a complete listing of past choir directors. Click the link to watch or download the documentary film, "Total Praise: A History of the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir".

Performances 1992 to Present

What follows is a list of the performances of the AIGC since the choir formed in 1992