Voices were lifted and hands rose in the air as songs of praise and glory floated through the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union on Sunday night.

The EIUnity Gospel Choir performed its 2008 Fall Concert in front of a crowd of about 75 students and area residents.

At times the crowd could be heard all the way from the Bridge Lounge.

“We had a lot of fun,” said EIUnity adviser Ashley Davis. “One of the goals of Unity is as long as you reach one person through ministry, your job is done. And I think we did that.”

The choir, comprised of about 25 Eastern students, offered songs of scripture and prayer for about two hours Sunday evening.

“Everyone did a wonderful job,” said Caretta Hughes, an audience member.

Davis said a lot of the members are new and most of them are freshmen.

She said normally the group practices twice a week, but for the past three weeks the group has added an extra rehearsal to its schedule.

Davis said the extra practice paid off. Throughout the concert, audience members stood on their feet, clapped and even sang along with the choir.

But EIUnity was not the only group that had people standing. The Illinois State University gospel choir made the trip from Normal to perform.

“We got to know all these other schools through a workshop and they asked us to come. We were excited about their concert, so we decided to come,” said Matt Harper, an ISU gospel choir adviser.

“That’s how we met our special guest choir, through workshops,” Davis said. “Now groups are starting to come out and do fellowship (events) with us.”

Even though students from ISU shared the stage, Harper said the Eastern choir stole the spotlight.

“I really enjoyed it,” Harper said. “They really sounded great.”

Hughes agreed. “It was just beautiful,” she said. “The students are beautiful whether they sing at Eastern or sing in the church.”

The choir tries to put on two concerts every year, one in the fall and another later in the winter. However, Davis said this year the group is trying something different.

“Our next concert will actually be a Christmas concert,” she said.

The Christmas concert will be on Dec. 6 at Wesley United Methodist Church. The winter show will take place in February or March.

Zach Nugent can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].