Hey AcaFans! You know we wouldn’t leave you hanging without this final competitor interview from tonight’s The Sing-Off: A Special Holiday Event!
Allow us to introduce… Timothy’s Gift!
Thank you to Melissa Greene (MG) and the rest of Timothy’s Gift for their time and answers in this interview!
AcaFanBase: Who are Timothy’s Gift, and how did the group get started?
MG: Timothy’s Gift is an innovative, prison outreach founded by Ron Miller. I, Melissa Greene, am the Hope Curator for TG. Ron asked me back in 2012 to organize and produce a concert tour to take down to maximum security prisons in Florida for Christmas. That initial tour went so well that since December 2012, we have now sung in over 80 prisons, for over 15,000 inmates and 400 staff.
The six girls that appeared on The Sing-Off make up the core team and face of TG. TG’s heart and message is that no one should be forgotten or overlooked, that every life matters, and that we all have great worth for who we are as inhabiters of this great world, NOT for what we do or don’t do. That message is not just for inmates; it is for all of us.
AcaFanBase: Introduce yourselves and let us know how you each got started in music.
Melissa Greene: I grew up singing in church and musical theatre. I traveled as a Christian Artist for almost 10 years- 7 of which with American Music Award-winning and Grammy-nominated group Avalon.
Anna Register: I sang my first solo in church when I was 5 and never looked back.
Abby Lane Hinton: I used to give private concerts to the posters in my bedroom, and somewhere along the way my hairbrush turned into a microphone and the people become real.
Beta Angarole and Emily Angarole: We are sisters, and we grew up singing in church and school.
Lauren Wedertz: My first public performance was in a Hallmark store when I was 4 singing, “All I wanna do is Make love to you.” The rest is history. 🙂
AcaFanBase: What are each of you doing now?
Melissa Greene: I am the Pastor of Worship & Arts at GracePointe Church, the Hope Curator for Timothy’s Gift, and a Speaker, a Writer, and I’m also a wife and mom of 2 crazy kids…sometimes I wear a cape! 🙂
Anna Register: Director of Children’s ministry at GracePointe Church
Beta Angarole: Artist, Song Writer, Background Vocalist, Dog Walker, Voice Teacher, Busker. 🙂
Emily Angarole: Southwest Flight Attendant
Abby Lane Hinton: Indie Artist, Song Writer and Executive Assistant – Marketing Company
Lauren Wedertz: Business Development at a Cancer Research Center
AcaFanBase: Who would you say is your current fanbase for Timothy’s Gift?
We have a mixture, between people who follow and are moved by the prison outreach that we do and also tons of new friends that have heard about us simply through The Sing-Off platform. We look forward to showing all of them the depth of what TG and our music represents.
AcaFanBase: How do you select your songs? Who does the arranging?
I, Melissa, normally select all of the music for the tours. We all have a hand in arranging the music for our tours though. The amazing Robert Dietz has had a HUGE hand in arranging most of our a cappella music thus far.
AcaFanBase: What did it feel like when you found out Timothy’s Gift had been cast in The Sing-Off this year?
WE were ecstatic. Little secret – we actually made the show while using acoustic guitar and percussion. Originally, this year, The Sing-Off was going to include some instruments. Then they said – YOU MADE IT – but it’s back to just a cappella. 🙂 No problem for us since we do sing a cappella music.
Once we got over the initial shock of making The Sing-Off, we were excited to be an all-female group representing on the show. Then we consistently were so grateful that not only were we sharing our music with such a LARGE platform, but more importantly that we were sharing our message. TG stands for something much larger than just the 6 of us ladies and our voices.
Here is one of our audition videos:
AcaFanBase: What would you like to say to all of the AcaFans out there?
We are SO, SO HONORED to now be a part of this A Cappella Family. The Sing-Off reminded us how a cappella singers are simply SMART MUSICIANS and endlessly talented. We hope that you’ll allow us to stay a while in your world and that you’ll be inspired by our message in the meantime.
A big thanks to the ever-busy to Melissa for coordinating this interview with her group! Here’s the contact info in case you missed it in our Sing-Off Season 5 intro post.
Members: Beta Angarole, Emily Angarole, Melissa Greene (Hope Curator and Leader of TG), Abby Lane Hinton, Anna Register, Lauren Wedertz
Website: http://www.timothysgift.com/
Twitter: @timothysgift
Facebook: www.facebook.com/timothysgift
Remember, the hashtag is #SingOff with no “the” in front. Get it trending when The Sing-Off: Season 5 airs TONIGHT, Wednesday, December 17, 9/8c on NBC.
AcaFanBase 