Our Mission

To carry out the ministry of reconciliation through passionate worship.

Our Vision

To be a multi-ethnic community of believers who seek to passionately worship Jesus Christ, ministering through the medium of traditional, urban, and contemporary Gospel music.

Choir History

The Wheaton College Gospel Choir was founded in 1986 by six students, led by Fred Dade, who desired to worship God through traditional, urban, and contemporary gospel music. The group soon began to flourish, and it continued ever since, growing as large as 120 voices. The campus ministry expanded to include churches, homeless shelters, schools, and prisons in the Chicagoland area.

Over the years, the choir has had the opportunity travel extensively, with tours ranging from California to New York. The choir has also had the privilege of ministering through music alongside such recording artists as Fred Hammond and Radical for Christ, the Soul Children of Chicago, Commissioned, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, John P. Kee and Chicago Mass Choir. The choir has also been able to tour many areas of the United States, including the East and West coasts, southern states, and Ohio.

In the Spring of 2001, the choir had the privilege of releasing its first CD, entitled "Grateful." The CD is available at any of our concerts, or you can print out an order form.

Tanya Egler

The choir's director, Mrs. Tanya Egler, has led the choir for 16 years. Dr. Sam Shellhamer, the Vice President of Student Development, commented of Tanya that she "has served faithfully as director of the Gospel Choir for fifteen years. Her leadership has contributed in significant ways to enhancing diversity at Wheaton and fostering Christ-centered relationships among students from various ethnic backgrounds. If you've never been to a Gospel Choir concert, you need to go!" Tanya is also a talented vocalist, and she is currently working on her own CD entitled The Greatest Gift.

Currently, the choir is composed of approximately 50 students from all over the United States and several countries. To find out how to schedule a concert with the choir, click here.

Rodney Sisco, Director of the Office of Multicultural Development, Dr. Sam Shellhamer, Director of Student Development, and Mrs. Tanya Egler, the Director, together make up the choir's advisory board, which gives guidance, support, and encouragement to the cabinet.