The Debra Bonner Unity Gospel Choir, is the flagship of the Unity Gospel Choral Program whose purpose is to bring hope, love, and healing to all of God’s children. This Latter-Day Saint choir is an exceptionally talented group of culturally diverse individuals from different races, political, and religious backgrounds, who love each other! The choir performs songs that motivate their audience to clap and sway as they sing along to inspiring music that brings our brothers and sisters closer together as one. Our mission is to heal hearts through Gospel music so that we can cultivate unity on an international level.
Debra Bonner, director of the Unity Gospel Choir International, grew up in Flint, Michigan singing in gospel choirs from an early age.She found school difficult until her best friend introduced her to Jesus Christ at the age of thirteen. Debra embraced her worship services and learned to read by singing from the hymnal. Her life totally changed as her mind expanded in knowledge and understanding through the Spirit. Her pastor, Avery Aldridge, choir director, James Peoples, and the Foss Avenue Baptist Church family in Flint, Michigan loved and nurtured Debra. They paid for her voice lessons until she graduated from high school–with honors.
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance, Debra married her sweetheart, Harry. Three months later they served a Baptist mission in Liberia, West Africa for nearly two years. Prompted to return to the States, Debra became an inner-city high school choir director for nearly two years, continuing to change lives for good. She then moved west where she spent over 20 years training, and was a close associate of Seth Riggs, the most celebrated singing coach in the pop industry. Seth is the vocal coach for over 120 Grammy Award winners. He taught Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Tina Turner, Prince, Natalie Cole, Bernadette Peters, Josh Groban, Stevie Wonder and more. Debra spent 9 years with world-renowned vocal expert, Richard Miller, author of “The Structure of Singing,” and articles in over 120 professional journals.