The Visions of Light Gospel choir is a group of people who have created a religious space of their own separate from the mainstream Christian space surrounding established churches. In Brian's interview with the group leader, C.P. comments on the beginnings of VoL. There he says that the choir was originally part of the Lion's Chapel Baptist Church here in Lubbock. The group of college students from that church had a vision to form a community of gospel music singers at Texas Tech University; in much the same way as others had done at other universities. They desired to bring together people interested in singing gospel music without being tied to a specific church. The members of the newly founded choir created a community in which racial identity was not as important as the desire to sing and worship God. They created a new sense of space in order to accommodate their desires and goals.

      The Visions of Light choir also represents the creation of a community belief identity.  In the use of this term I am referring to a set of ideas to which the group as a whole or individually hold to as religious or spiritual beliefs and which they use as markers of identity. One belief common to the members of the choir is the idea that gospel music is a lifestyle more than a type of music to sing. This belief is reflected in both the interview with the leader and the responses to our Questionnaires. At the end of the interview, Brian asked whether Gospel music is a genre or a lifestyle. C.P. responded that gospel music is a lifestyle and not simply a genre. Citing another gospel artist, C.P. reflected that "when the music stops, then I live my song."  This belief is also seen in the questionnaire responses. When asked what they think of when they hear the word "gospel," many commented that gospel is about soulful singing to communicate their personal feeling toward God. Later, when asked to explain why they chose three favorite songs, respondents expressed the personal connection the songs had with them. The respondents also overwhelmingly stated that they listen to gospel music outside VoL rehearsals and performances. These responses lead me to conclude that these students also believe gospel music is a lifestyle.

      Other elements demonstrate the choir's belief in diverse performers and purposes for gospel music. As is described in the fieldwork notes of Brian and Bob and the video of rehearsals, the techniques for learning new music is reduced to the simplest level in order to reach those singers with little musical training. By learning music by rote, the choir shows a desire to teach to students with any level of musical background. The demographics of the respondents to our questionnaire show a diverse group in regards to musical training. Some students had official training, some a bit of self-training, some had none but the work in the choir.    

      These elements all have implications for the community identity of the Visions of Light choir. The diverse population of this community is united by a single desire: to sing and demonstrate their faith through the unique medium of gospel music. Although we, the group putting together this research, make no assumptions about the musical behavior of other gospel groups or other groups of African-American young people, we believe the processes and findings described here have large implications for anyone doing a study of a similar group, whether of the genre, ethnicity, or age group. In addition, there will be similarities to any study regarding a group attempting to construct a separate identity in the shadow of a larger community. We believe this research can fuel more insights into the relationship between music and culture in this and other musical sub-communities.