Heaven Bent emerged out of an Auckland singing workshop led by a cappella ‘gospel guru’ Tony Backhouse in 1996. Inspired by the music, a group of participants decided to sing together on a regular basis. This group was eventually to form Heaven Bent.
The choir began to perform, encouraged by enthusiastic responses to early gigs at the Alleluyah Café and other venues. The exacting work of preparing for performances did not diminish the experience of singing “just for the joy of it”.
Over the years some very talented musicians have led us and we pay tribute to: Nick Prater, Louise Haywood, Rick Bryant, Jeni Little and Max Maxwell, Jill Haywood.
Under our current musical co-directors, Priscilla Collins and Shona Fisher, our focus on African American gospel music remains, while we continue to expand our repertoire and fine-tune our sound to include African, Maori and Pacific sacred songs, along with some of Phil May’s contemporary arrangements. Over the years Heaven Bent has sung at a huge variety of venues and events and the choir warmly supports a number of charity functions and fundraisers.