VY HIGGINSEN’S GOSPEL FOR TEENS Announces Upcoming Auditions

Vy Higginsen'S GOSPEL FOR TEENS, recently profiled on CBS' "60 Minutes," will be holding auditions for new students next month at The Mama Foundation for the Arts, located at 149 West 126^th Street in Manhattan. Auditions for this acclaimed, no-cost music program will take place on Saturday, February 18^th from 1 - 3 p.m. and Friday, February 24^th from 6 - 8 p.m.

"Teens should expect the audition to be fun. This is not 'American Idol.' We want to say 'yes.' If teens know a traditional gospel song, they might come prepared to sing it. Traditional gospel songs include 'His Eye is On the Sparrow,' 'Amazing Grace,' 'Yes, Jesus Loves Me,' or 'This Little Light of Mine.' A warm, genuine smile is always welcomed," says Ms. Higginsen. 

Vy Higginsen formed Gospel for Teens in 2006 as a program of The Mama Foundation for the Arts, a not-for-profit organization. Gospel for Teens' mission is to teach youth between the ages of 13 and 19 the art of gospel, jazz and R&B, as well as to acknowledge the contributions that African-American music and gospel make to American culture.  Auditions are held twice a year and selected teens attend at no cost.  Gospel For Teens helps replace the music programs taken out of many inner city schools, acknowledging and supporting the city's musically gifted children. 

Accepted teens start in the freshman class, proceed to an advanced class, and then go on to the performance class.  Students in the Performing Class – welcome to stay for as long as they want - have the opportunity to perform with Gospel for Teens in competitions, concerts and appearances, as well as in Ms. Higginsen's acclaimed musical Mama, I Want To Sing: The Next Generation, which resumes weekly performances at Harlem's Dempsey Theater (located at 127 West 127^th Street) on Saturday, February 25^th.

Gospel for Teens took the grand prize in their very first competition - the open division at The Pathmark Gospel Choir Competition of Harlem, held at The Apollo Theater in February 2011.  They also had the privilege to perform with Madonna at the Hope For Haiti Now Benefit in 2010.

Gospel for Teens will perform at the 27th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, which will be taped before a live audience at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN on Saturday, January 14, 2012. The show will air in national syndication from January 21 to February 26, 2012 on the GMC Network and in local markets around the country. During this year's ceremony, Ms. Higginsen will be recognized with the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award. 

For more information, visit www.MamaFoundation.org.

Photo Credit: G.N. Miller