Every Sunday evening, the Marsh Chapel sanctuary echoes with the sound of 55 voices joined in song.

“I wouldn’t know my life without a choir,” says Shameka Gregory (CAS’08). “When I sing, my entire outlook on the world brightens.” A gospel singer since she was four years old, Gregory is the president of the Boston University Inner Strength Gospel Choir, an interdenominational music group within Marsh Chapel.

Since the choir’s founding in 1973, its membership has expanded from primarily African-Americans to include members of all races, nationalities, and religions. “We’re proud that, even though we’re a decidedly Christian group, we attract singers from all walks of life,” says Herbert Jones, the choir director.

The choir performs two official concerts each year and sings at worship services and various special events, including the University’s annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.

“Music gives me great joy,” says Gregory. “No matter what emotion you’re experiencing, there’s a song that expresses it, and just knowing that someone else has been through that same emotion — that’s very comforting to me.”

The Inner Strength Gospel Choir will perform its spring concert on Friday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Marsh Chapel, 735 Commonwealth Ave. Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 at the door, and $5 per person for groups of 10 or more. For more information, contact Gregory at greatjoy04@gmail.com.

Edward A. Brown can be reached at ebrown@bu.edu. Vicky Waltz can be reached at vwaltz@bu.edu.