By Alva Solomon

DO YOU ever dare to dream big? Well, you can! From cassette to records, gospel songstress Miriam Corlette-Williams dares you to dream. She has risen above her challenges, piloted by the Spirit of God, climbing as far as the stage at New York’s Madison Square Gardens to minister in song with the best in gospel music.

After a five-year break from creating albums of her catchy gospel singles, Williams, of the “We can Stop the Hate” fame, is back with a fresh new album, titled “Dare to Dream.” It’s a 10-track compilation of songs which will leave a lasting impression on the listening ear.

The album features the lead single, Dare to Dream, featuring Courtney Fadlin. Carrying the album’s name, the inspirational single gives the listener a powerful reminder that one can fulfill one’s dreams, no matter where one is from or what one’s circumstances are.

“When I wrote the song, it was actually like a poem for my son’s graduation,” Miriam said, adding that it was all about the inspiration her children provides that God has given her an ability to rise above the challenges. After writing the lyrics, she said, she found the melody thereafter, and the song has been one of the more inspirational tracks on the album.

The album features other tracks, including “Language of Love”, “Need you Jesus” and “Season is Changing”.

As one peruses the album, the single “Rise Guyana” hits the ear. It was the single she sang at the inauguration of President David Granger. With lyrics such as “Guyana will rise from the ashes,” Miriam said the single is one of her favourites; it is a vision she had after the pastor at her church called her to pray for Guyana several Sundays before the May 11, 2016 elections.

“I saw Guyana rising from the ashes like a phoenix or an eagle, and it became as great as the highest mountain,” she recalled. “God gave me a prophetic song that came as a result,” she added.
She said that the prophetic declaration over the nation is that a change will come. “Our nation will be great again, and within five years this will be the place to be,” she added.

“I’m just a conduit through which God can touch someone.”

She said that the resources of the earth will come to the surface and the people will return like Nehemiah did in Israel to rebuild the walls.

A staunch Christian, Miriam is no stranger to the music world. She has been singing almost all her life. Back in 2000, her hit “We can stop the hate” created a stir locally and overseas. A product of the Kross Kolor Studios, the hit was created to calm the nerves and instill love and unity at a time when the tensions were high around Guyana.

Miriam has been singing ever since she discovered her vocals were angelic and serene. That was 33 years ago. She has since produced four albums, including her first, which she laughingly recalled was on cassette. That was back in 1998, when she released “Vision of Excellence.” In 2000, she added two songs to the cassette album, and released “Bring back the Glory.” She continued to chart a course through the local music scene, and in 2010, she launched “The best of me”, featuring the single “God got ya back.” In 2011, she went back to the studio and created “Step out in Faith”, and for a while she was focused on other singles as well as tours across the Caribbean and the United States.

Then in September she had a crowning moment when she appeared among a cast of gospel singers from the Caribbean and the United States at the “New York Empowerment Summit,” a Labor Day event at which she sang with the likes of Kevin Downswell, Yankee B, Natalie Evans, Uche Agu and her countryman Eddie Neblett. The event was a humbling one, and Miriam believes it was the highlight of her career.

She said singing has residual effects, and singing for over 30 years is a lifetime. She said it’s not always about the money, but she acknowledges that there are costs attached to making music. She said, too, that exposure of local music on our very own radio stations is something which Guyana can improve.

She said that she has been assisting her fellow countrymen and women in honing their skills in the art form, and she believes that the best singers are among our midst. “It is for us to find them and put them out there as our own”, she said.

Miriam wishes to thank the producers who worked with her on the latest album, as well as those before, and everyone who assisted her in her music career over the years.

A humble mother of five, Miriam says she plans to continue perfecting her skills as a singer. For her, there is more to music than financial rewards. “While I was on tour, there was this girl who was on the verge of committing suicide, and then I stopped in the middle of the song and asked everybody to go around and hug each other”, she said, noting that such moments are priceless.

“I’m just a conduit through which God can touch someone”, she added.