Birmingham Gospel music champion awarded top international honour

A Birmingham music teacher, who has encouraged hundreds of young people to take up singing and performing in Gospel music, has been made a Fellow of the Gospel Music Industry Alliance (GMIA) that honours the most notable performers, artists, educators and contributors to the international music industry.

Ray Prince MMus (pictured), PgDip, a music teacher with Birmingham charity Services For Education – which each week teaches music to 32,000 Birmingham children – is the founder and driving force behind the Gospel Revisited Project that was created in 2017 as a grass-roots project.

The project is designed to celebrate the history and heritage of Gospel music through reinterpretation of masterpieces, in ways that would excite existing lovers of the genre, as well as engage new, diverse audiences.

Now Ray, who is first-generation Windrush and who for 20-years has been an instrumental, percussion and world music teacher in Birmingham schools for Services For Education, has been honoured by RSL Awards, the leading international awarding organisation known for its qualifications in music, performing arts and creative industries, and GMIA, the governing body for the Gospel Music Community across the UK and Ireland.

Ray is one of a handful of fellows honoured for their grassroot initiatives that have had an incomparable impact on up-and-coming performers today.

He has been awarded with an Honorary Level 7 RSL & GMIA Fellowship – a formal accolade in recognition of the remarkable impact he has had on the industry and his work in shedding more light on the talent found within the Gospel community.

Ray, who lives in Birmingham and whose Windrush generation parents inspired his love of Gospel music, has been involved with Gospel music from an early age, playing drums and percussion for many Gospel ensembles.

He is known for his work in making music inviting and accessible to all and sharing his expertise and enthusiasm with young people through a busy teaching career. He has taught in Birmingham schools with Services For Education, and Birmingham Music Service before that, since 2004.

When he was first notified of the award, Ray confessed to thinking it was a hoax.

“I’m truly humbled,” he said.

“I just didn’t expect this. To be recognised in this way – for doing something that I love – is quite amazing.

“The great thing too is that this is international recognition of the importance and role of Gospel music in Birmingham and the Midlands.

“It is a celebration of the way Birmingham and the region is not only keeping Gospel music alive but flourishing. It’s really important we don’t forget the heritage and the contribution that Gospel music has made.

“I’m very passionate about music and just want more people to enjoy being a part of it. As a music educator, I regularly use Gospel to inspire and demonstrate the value of music. It’s a joyous thing that improves lives, brings people together and creates a legacy.”