Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is an American gospel choir based at the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in the early 1970s under the direction of Carol Cymbala, the choir grew from a small group of nine singers into one of the best-known church choirs in contemporary gospel music. Its music combines traditional gospel, contemporary worship, choral arrangements and congregational praise, with an emphasis on Christian faith, prayer and worship.

The choir is closely associated with Carol Cymbala, its longtime director and principal songwriter, and her husband, Pastor Jim Cymbala, the senior pastor and founder of the Brooklyn Tabernacle’s modern ministry. Over the decades, the choir has built an international audience through recordings, live performances and ministry appearances. Its distinctive sound is characterized by large-scale vocal arrangements, powerful lead singers and a strong connection to the worship life of the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

Quick Facts

Formation and Early Years

The story of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is closely connected to the development of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church. Jim and Carol Cymbala were married childhood sweethearts who entered ministry together before eventually taking responsibility for a small, struggling church in Brooklyn. When they arrived, the congregation consisted of fewer than twenty people and met in a rundown building in a difficult part of downtown Brooklyn.

Prayer became central to the church’s identity during its early years. Carol Cymbala, who had grown up in a ministry family and developed a love for music from childhood, felt called to direct a large choir despite having no formal training as a choir director. She began with only nine singers, and that small ensemble became the foundation of what would eventually develop into the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

The choir’s growth mirrored the growth of the church itself. What began as a local ministry gradually developed into a large, multi-ethnic ensemble made up of men and women from different cultural and national backgrounds. Rather than functioning simply as a performing group, the choir became an important part of the church’s weekly worship and outreach ministry.

Carol Cymbala and the Choir’s Musical Identity

Carol Cymbala has been the central musical figure behind the choir throughout its history. She taught herself to play piano by ear as a child and grew up surrounded by different musical influences. Her father’s missionary work exposed her to musical traditions from different parts of the world, experiences that later contributed to the choir’s broad musical character.

As the choir developed, Cymbala also emerged as a prolific songwriter. Many of the songs associated with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir were written or co-written by her, giving the ensemble a distinctive repertoire rooted in biblical themes, personal faith and corporate worship.

The choir’s arrangements often move between quiet, reflective passages and powerful full-choir climaxes. Its recordings have featured numerous lead vocalists while maintaining the large choral sound that became one of its defining characteristics. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers, a smaller group of vocalists drawn from the wider choir, have also contributed to the ministry’s recordings and international appearances.

Recording Career

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir began recording during the early stages of its development, and its albums eventually introduced the ensemble’s music to audiences far beyond New York City. Over the years, the choir has released numerous live and studio projects, many of which were recorded in connection with worship services at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

Among its notable recordings are Live… We Come Rejoicing, Praise Him – Live!, Favorite Song of All, High and Lifted Up, God Is Working, Light of the World, Be Glad, Live… This Is Your House, I’ll Say Yes, I Am Reminded and A Night of Worship.

The live setting has remained particularly important to the choir’s music. Rather than presenting its recordings purely as concert performances, many of the projects are designed to capture the atmosphere of corporate worship and the relationship between the choir, musicians and congregation.

Grammy Awards and Recognition

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir has received major recognition within gospel music, particularly through its association with Carol Cymbala’s songwriting and choir direction. Its recordings have earned Grammy nominations and awards over several decades.

In 2001, the choir won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album By Choir or Chorus for Live – God Is Working. The award recognized Carol Cymbala as choir director and placed the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir among the prominent gospel choral ensembles of its era.

The choir returned to the Grammy stage in the 2020s with I Will Not Be Moved (Live). Released as a live worship project featuring songs written or co-written by Carol Cymbala, the album won the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album. The project included contributions from artists such as Stephen McWhirter, Babbie Mason, Brad Hudson and TaRanda Greene.

The Grammy recognition reflects the choir’s long recording history while also demonstrating that its music continues to reach audiences beyond the Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation.

Ministry and International Influence

A major part of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir’s identity is its role as a ministry rather than simply a recording act. The choir continues to participate in worship at the Brooklyn Tabernacle while also traveling within the United States and internationally.

Its membership has traditionally reflected the diversity of New York City, bringing together singers from different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This diversity has become an important part of the choir’s public identity and contributes to the broad range of musical influences heard in its recordings.

The choir has also helped introduce a large-scale gospel choir sound to Christian audiences around the world. Its albums and live performances have influenced church worship settings and helped establish the modern church choir as both a congregational ministry and a significant recording force.

Legacy

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir occupies a distinctive place in modern gospel and Christian worship music. Its history is closely tied to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, but its recordings have allowed its ministry to extend far beyond the church’s Brooklyn home.

Under Carol Cymbala’s direction, the choir has maintained an emphasis on worship, prayer and biblical themes while adapting its musical presentation across several generations. Its longevity, extensive recording catalogue and Grammy recognition have made it one of the most prominent American church choirs of the modern era.

More than five decades after its beginnings as a nine-member group, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir remains an active part of the Brooklyn Tabernacle’s ministry. Its continuing work reflects the vision that shaped it from the beginning: bringing together singers from different backgrounds to proclaim the Christian faith through choral music and worship.