About United Voices
United Voices Choir was formed in 1998, when Unity Church of God was founded. The first music minister was Amy Hall. The sound system had to be set up and torn down on Sundays and Wednesdays and after any special event. The first musicians were keyboardist Renee Herrin and drummer Barry Hall. The drum set was borrowed from another church member, and the keyboard was a portable tabletop model. The choir started with 12 members, and grew as the church grew.
By the time the congregation moved to the new 500-seat sanctuary in 1999, the choir was running 30 and the band had grown to 5 members. Once in the new sanctuary, United Voices experienced rapid growth. With the addition of Rhonda Trull as band leader, the band grew to include two to three keyboardists, a bass guitarist, lead and acoustic guitars, drums, percussion, and auxiliary musicians.
In 2000, Unity Performing Arts Academy was formed, offering private instruction in piano, voice, guitar and drums/percussion. Academy students became involved in all facets of music ministry, and several current and former students now serve United Voices in various capacities.
When Amy Hall felt God calling to her stay home with her family after 8 years, the choir at Unity was running 70 and the band had 13 members. Rev. Mike Welborn stepped into the position of music minister and led the choir as we moved into a new sanctuary, a 980-seat auditorium with state-of-the-art instruments, sound and lighting equipment. At the same time, Amy’s husband Barry, Unity’s long-time drummer, moved into the sound booth to handle Unity’s growing media ministry, overseeing sound, lighting, a 48-channel recording studio and multi-media.
Unity’s music ministry is now under the direction of Jordan Davis, who is a charter member of Unity. Jordan has grown up in Unity’s music programs. He is one of three original members of Unity’s award-winning youth band, and served as youth band leader for two years. Incidentally, the drum set borrowed when United Voices started belonged to Jordan, who was then eleven years old. Rhonda Trull continues to serve as Unity’s band leader and performing arts director. United Voices choir currently has 70 active members, a six voice praise team, a seven piece band, and an eight member media team. Other music activities include a twelve-member youth band and praise team, an eight member middle school band, and a thirty-five member children’s choir.
With the expansion of our sanctuary in 2008 which increased our seating capacity to 1,400, we look forward to continued growth in the music department.