How Sweet The Sound from Nation's Most Reliable Wireless Network Seeks Best Choir

How Sweet The Sound from Nation's Most Reliable Wireless Network Seeks Best
Choir
Donald Lawrence, Marvin Sapp and Hezekiah Walker Headline Verizon Wireless
Gospel Choir Celebration

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer, Verizon Wireless
is challenging church choirs from coast to coast in the company's nationwide
How Sweet The Sound(SM) gospel choir competition. Expanding upon last year's
successful How Sweet The Sound event in Memphis, Tenn., Verizon Wireless is
now giving choirs in 11 cities a chance to compete in the national grand
finale for a cash prize of up to $50,000 and the title of the best church
choir in America. GRAMMY(R)-winning songwriter, producer, arranger and music
director, Donald Lawrence, will be the tour emcee at each of the 11 markets
and the finale. Marvin Sapp, Hezekiah Walker and other gospel artists will
join the competition as judges.
Verizon Wireless' How Sweet The Sound tour will visit the following U.S.
cities: -- September 13: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
-- September 15: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
-- September 18: Newark, N.J. (Prudential Center)
-- September 20: Detroit (Joe Louis Arena)
-- September 23: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
-- September 26: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
-- September 29: Chicago (United Center)
-- October 2: Memphis, Tenn. (FedExForum)
-- October 6: Houston (Toyota Center)
-- October 10: Oakland, Calif. (ORACLE Arena)
-- October 13: Los Angeles (LA Memorial Sports Arena)
-- November 8: How Sweet The Sound Finale Concert in Atlanta

Tour Stops
The doors to each venue will open at 6:00 p.m. and the show will start at
7:30 p.m. The time for the finale concert will be announced in the coming
months. Prior to the start of each show during the tour, Verizon Wireless
will host a number of activities, including:
-- Children's Choir Showcase -- Local children's choirs from each city
will perform before the start of the main event.
-- Green Screen Karaoke -- Attendees have an opportunity to star in a
performance video with New Direction Christian Church, the 2007 How Sweet The
Sound(SM) winner from Memphis, Tenn. Participants can sing along to one of
New Direction Christian Church's songs, and an image of the choir will be
added via the green screen. Participants can also get a copy of their
performance sent to their mobile phones or upload via the Web, which they can
then share with friends and family.
Tickets for the How Sweet The Sound tour are on sale beginning today;
pricing is $7 for floor seats and $5 for lower and upper tier seats. For more
information, visit www.howsweetthesound.com.
Entry and Selection Process
How Sweet The Sound invites choirs affiliated with a church or other
church organization (as defined by the organization's tax-exempt ID number)
within one of the 11 tour cities to enter. There are two categories for entry
-- Small/Medium Choirs, consisting of six to 35 participants, and Large
Choirs, consisting of 36 to 100 participants.
Choirs interested in a chance to perform on stage in their cities must
submit an application and an up to five-minute performance audition video
online at www.howsweetthesound.com, which must be received no later than
August 6. Audition videos will be reviewed by a panel of judges who will
select choirs from each tour stop. The selected choirs will be posted on
www.howsweetthesound.com where people can vote for their favorite choir August
17-23.
The advancing choirs will compete in front of celebrity judges, who will
then vote to determine the finalist choirs that will be awarded the cash
prizes. The overall winner in each city will advance to the finale in Atlanta
on November 8.
All details about the entry and selection process can be found on Verizon
Wireless' official How Sweet The Sound Web site at www.howsweetthesound.com or
by calling 800-230-0053.
Entry Rules and Regulations
No purchase is necessary -- contest entry ends August 6 for online
entries. Participants must be 18 years of age or older and legal residents of
the 50 U.S. and D.C. For official rules, go to www.howsweetthesound.com or
call 800-230-0053. Verizon Wireless is the sponsor of the Verizon Wireless
How Sweet The Sound choir competition.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and
data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge,
N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more
information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request
broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless
operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at
www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless

Brenda Boyd Raney of Verizon Wireless, +1-908-559-7518,
Brenda.Raney@verizonwireless.com