CONCERT PREVIEW
Atlanta Homeward Choir
“Christmas on the Hill”
5 p.m. Dec. 13. Free. Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 48 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive S.W., Atlanta. www.atlantahomewardchoir.org.
Christmas will come a few days early for the men of the Atlanta Homeward Choir.
The choir, made up of residents of the Central Night Shelter in downtown, will perform at the White House on Dec. 21.
"It's been a complete whirlwind," said Donal Noonan, the choir's music director and head of the music ministry at the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where the choir is based. "I'm so excited for the guys. The whole experience has been phenomenal and they haven't gotten there yet. It's affirming to the guys that you might be in this situation right now, but you're still one of us."
If Noonan is still incredulous about the trip, imagine how the guys feel.
William Augustine, 54, from Alexandria, La., joined the choir about four months ago after he relocated to Atlanta with plans, he said, to attend Georgia State University and start a new life.
Instead, he found himself on the streets.
Augustine, who sings tenor and bass, said he used to sing as a teenager in his church’s choir. Did he ever dream that one day he would sing at the White House?
“Absolutely not,” he said, as a grin slowly spread across his face.
On Tuesday, Augustine joined nearly two dozen other men at the church, where they practiced for the White House performance and holiday concerts around Atlanta.
Their voices rose in a soulful rendition of "Hallelujah," written by Canadian Leonard Cohen.
Noonan made them practice the song several times. He told them to face each other so they could really hear how their voices sounded and should blend.
“It’s good,” said Jimmy Mullally, 41, who lived in Alabama before moving to Atlanta after the rubber plant where he worked closed down. “It’s going to be like a new experience.”
They can’t make the trip, though, without money.
The choir has a Facebook page and a website and is accepting donations to pay expenses for the trip, including food and lodging. Noonan recently posted on the Facebook page that Southwest Airlines has offered roundtrip tickets for the group.
As of midweek, the group had raised about $5,000 toward its goal of $25,000. The amount raised already includes $2,100 from the budget of the Central Night Shelter for clothes for the trip. They have to buy new everything — down to underwear.
Noonan said the idea sort of bubbled up from a conversation he had with a friend who had previously heard the choir. He asked Noonan how would they top that performance?
Noonan started thinking, Wouldn’t it be amazing if they could perform at the White House?
He spread the word. Who knew someone who knew someone who might know the janitor at the White House?
He said help came from the office of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
The guys couldn’t believe it was really happening.
“They were in complete shock,” he said. “Why would they want us to go? It came down to a teaching moment. I asked, ‘Why wouldn’t they want you to go?’
“One of the first comments was, ‘We need to be good. Really good.”
Since the news spread, not one person has been late for choir practice. Some have even asked if they could squeeze in more rehearsals.
“I told them, you know, I have a full-time job,” he said laughing.
The towering native of Kilcock, Ireland, and former Catholic school teacher came up with the idea for the Homeward choir nearly three years ago.
He noticed men hanging around the shelter or sitting on the walls around the church. Many looked bored.
He thought music might be a way to engage them.
His mother, Helen, “always said if God gives you a talent, you’d better use it or answer for it.” He approached some of the men with the idea and “it literally caught on fire,” he said in a previous interview. Noonan’s message was simple: “If you want to praise God, come on in and praise God,” he said. “I’ll make you sound good. I can make you sound ‘purty.’ ”
He was surprised by the vocal ability of some of the men, others need a bit more work, but all are welcome.
Occasionally, the teacher in him surfaces. He expects the men to attend practice and be on time. At rehearsal Tuesday, he had to admonish one man, who got a bit out of line.
“It’s all about accountability,” he said.
Is it possible that President Barack Obama or a member of the first family might stroll through and hear them?
Bryant Allen, 27, a tenor from Detroit, hopes so.
“One can only hope,” he said.
Though even if it doesn’t happen, it probably won’t spoil the moment for the choir.
“It’s pretty awesome,” he said. “I can’t wait to go.”
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