Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Gospel Music Workshop of America is an international music convention founded by Rev. James Cleveland along with Albertina Walker (Queen of Gospel Music) in 1967.
GMWA membership
Active GMWA Membership ranges from professional and amateur Gospel vocalists to instrumentalists, composers, arrangers, directors and producers, and the like. According to its official website, approximately 75% of the music on Billboard's Gospel Charts is written, arranged, produced, or performed by GMWA members. The GMWA also has chapters in the United States, United Kingdom, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
GMWA conventions and recordings
The GMWA presently meets twice a year. A board meeting is held in the spring and the annual convention session is held at a major venue beginning on the second Sunday of August. The conventions include workshops and musical performances during the week and attract 12,000 to 15,000 registrants annually. A mass choir of 2,000 to 3,000 vocalists is formed at each GMWA convention, and each year a new recording is produced. GMWA offshoots who also record include GMWA Women of Worship, GMWA Men of Promise, and the GMWA Youth Mass Choir.
The first GMWA convention was held in Detroit, Michigan in 1968 at King Solomon Baptist Church. Approximately 3,000 delegates attended. The most recent GMWA convention was held in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Approximately 12,000 delegates attended. In 2009 the Board Meeting will be held in Birmingham, Alabama and the Annual Session will be held in the month of July in Cincinnati, Ohio.
