Catholic musicians plan fund raising  for prison inmates

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The group will also holds musical contest for the inmates as parts of talent hunts were winners will be rewarded handsomely.

Addressing a press conference recently to disclosed the activities lined up for the event, the founder and executive director of CLGMA , Mr. Obiorah Anthony noted that the concept is aimed at creating greater awareness and increasing the appreciation of the artistic efforts and achievements for songwriters, performers and musicians originating from the Catholic Church, adding that the event is bid to hold in 2019.

On the bemefits of the events to the society, Mr. Obiorah stated that, CLGMA will embarked majorly on charity initiative in 2019.

In his words, “The 2019 edition of CLGMA will be partnership with the Nigeria Prison Service”.

“We will be organizing a free medical outreach, donates food items for the up-keep of the inmates and conduct musical contest for them and as well reward winners on the spot”.

The 2019 edition will also be use to mentor inmates by CLGMA ambassadors and also lend their voices to speak on behalf of the inmates.

Mr. Obiorah further revealed that the group will used the medium to sensitize the public on the need and importance of  cartering for prisoners. He said by doing that, multi-national companies, local companies, stakeholders and even the religious groups in Nigeria will then follow suite as much has not really been done on the plights of prisoners in Nigeria.

The founder of the CLGMA also states that the award will be grouped into three categories of 20 Gospel Artist of the year, Gospel Song of the year, Song writer of the year, music producer of the year, Liturgical Music composer of the year, Kyrie of the year, as well as Consecration Song of the year.

Other categories include communion song of the year, Gloria of the year, credo of the year, Sanctus of the year, indigenous recording of the year, Latin recording of the year, male vocal of the year, female vocal of the year, choir of the year, band of the year, R&B gospel artist of the year, jazz gospel artist of the year and reggae gospel artist of the year.

To be eligible to be nominated for any of the categories, the organizers said participants must be baptized Catholics and “must fit the criteria for the category/categories which you are submitting for”.

Mr Obiorah said the CLGMA 2019 nominations submissions will be accepted between Nov. 28, 2018-February 28, 2019, and that in all categories, entrants must have actively performed within the eligibility period. Their works must have been released before Feb 28, 2019.

He said all entries must be submitted via www.clgmawards.com or submitted either by the entrants or representative, general public, record labels and marketing/management. Entrants must submit one song, album, project or video. (Depending on the category/categories they are submitting for).

“Each submission will be evaluated and voted on by the CLGMA nominations & screening committee. The Nomination and Screening Committee, consisting of top select record producers, song writers, radio station hosts, music instructors, managers, musicians and record label personnel are saddled with verifying entrant’s eligibility.

“Nominees will be announced on March 15, 2019 and communicated through their e-mail addresses and via electronic and print media channels. Pictures and profiles of successful nominees in all twenty (20) categories will be published in all our sponsoring media newspapers, displayed on the internet and constant advert placements via television and radio.

“The First round voting (Elimination round voting) commences from March 15, 2019-April 15, 2019. Nominees will be added to a public voting poll and the general public openly votes and promotes their favourite nominees via text messaging and online polling, in which only the top 5 in each category make the cut. Contestants will be required to engage their fans in voting, commenting and promoting their works. The top five (5) nominees in each category will advance to the 2nd Round.

“The Second round voting commences from April 30, 2019-May 15, 2019 by Committee of Certified Musicians, National Catholic Liturgical Music Council, CLGMA Ambassadors & Board Members, in which only the top 3 in each category make the cut.

“The third and final round voting commences from May 30, 2019 -June. 30. In the third and final round voting, the general public will vote for one nominee in each category to determine the winners. Winners in each category will be announced during the prestigious Catholic Liturgical and Gospel Music Awards and Gala Night, on July 6th, 2019.

“We have carefully put up these selection committees and the board of adjudicators to ensure the selection and adjudication processes are of the highest standard; these rigorous processes and the excellent selections will build up the prestige of CLGMA worldwide, in a short space of time.

“We have also come up with a Mentorship initiative. We believe this to be the most valuable prize of all. The top three finalists from each category, will receive one year of monthly mentorship from some of the most experienced Liturgical & Gospel Music greats in Nigeria.

“We are mindful of the need for a robust promotional campaign. We will deploy a viral marketing tactics for online engagement. We will launch a Social Media Contest. We will conduct a Musical Contest: “Judge on the Spot” where participants will have opportunity to showcase their musical abilities, scored and rewarded out rightly.