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Boston Children’s Chorus to Perform at International Choral Festival in Oregon

Press Release
June 16, 2008
Contact: Mary Ann Brennan Newcomb (617) 778-2242, ext. 230

The Premier Choir of the Boston Children's Chorus will perform from June 24 – 28, 2008 at the annual Pacific International Children's Choir Festival (PICCFEST) in Eugene, Oregon. Boston Children's Chorus was chosen to represent the Northeast at the Eleventh Anniversary Gala Concert I Dream a World. The event will also feature choral singers from Oregon, Georgia, Hawaii, California, Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee in a gathering of some 300 talented singers under the direction of Bob Chilcott, one of the most prolific contemporary composers of choral music in England.

The program will include songs by Chilcott, Peter Robb, Eleanor Daly, and Peter Leek.

The 12 to 18 year old Boston-based singers are the premier performing and touring group of the internationally recognized Boston Children's Chorus. They will spend a week on the campus of the University of Oregon making music on a par with any youth music festival in the world. PICCFEST is a conscious effort to promote generosity, gratitude, mutual respect and enjoyment, while achieving musical excellence.

"We aspire to be Ambassadors of Harmony wherever we go," said Executive Director Annette Rubin.

"In seeking artistic excellence we welcome opportunities to collaborate with other groups, gaining new skills and collaborating with others. Providing such experiences for young people is a way to expose them to varied cultures and geographies that they may often not have the opportunity to experience on their own," added Anthony Trecek -King, Artistic Director.

The Boston Children's Chorus is a multi-racial, multi- ethnic arts education organization that uses music as a powerful tool for social change. The children sing, perform and serve as ambassadors of harmony for the new Boston, appearing locally, nationally and internationally.

The BCC began almost 5 years ago as a pilot program with 20 singers. Today, it has almost 300 singers in nine choirs of different levels of experience in four locations. Its premier choir, which draws from Greater Boston, has toured to Mexico, Japan and Chicago. It has sung with the Boston Pops at its July 4th concert on the Esplanade in Boston and performed at the Trinity Church in a concert to welcome new Boston School Superintendent Carol Johnson. Other appearances include the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the inauguration of Governor Deval Patrick and the opening of the baseball season at Fenway Park. It has performed with the Boston Pops, Boston Classical Orchestra, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, American Boychoir, Soweto Gospel Choir, Westminster Choir College, Chicago Children's Choir and Young People's Chorus of New York City. Its annual televised Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert has become a tradition for celebrating the legacy of Dr. King on that national holiday.

To view the release, click here.

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Taking kids’ voices seriously
The Boston Children’s Chorus director has big ambitions for his group

Anthony Trecek-King (right), artistic director of the Boston Children's Chorus, leads a rehearsal for the season-closing concert. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

The Boston Globe
By Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff
June 8, 2008

Since its founding in 2003, the Boston Children's Chorus has grown from a 20-singer pilot program to a group that serves almost 300 kids, ages seven to 18 years old, singing in nine different choirs. It was founded by the Boston education activist Hubie Jones with the hope of bridging racial divides through its multi-ethnic makeup. These days, the chorus actively recruits in the Boston schools and also draws kids from over 50 towns and cities across greater Boston, with half of the children coming from families making $50,000 or less. Auditions are ongoing throughout the summer.

But BCC aspires to be more than a feel-good, bridge-building project, according to Anthony Trecek-King, the dynamic 32-year-old conductor who is completing his second year as the chorus's artistic director. He takes the chorus's musical ambitions at least as seriously as its social mission. This week he has been leading rehearsals for the group's season-closing concert but on Monday afternoon he could be found in his South End office, where contemporary Baltic choral music was pouring out of the stereo. He lowered the volume and spoke with a visitor.

Q. How are the social and artistic missions of this group integrated?

A. At the outset, many people said you can't do this. You can't make the organization more open - socially, economically, racially, religiously - and still be really good artistically. But I don't see it as a choice. The choir has to be good in order to achieve some of the social outcomes. We also want to start locally and see if we can get this movement to go beyond just Boston to be kind of a national thing, where everyone is constantly thinking about providing greater access to the arts.

Q. How does the chorus's mission play itself out in practice?

A. We have kids whose parents make well over six figures, and kids who are living below the poverty line, but when we're in rehearsal, you can't tell who's who. They become friends and they hang out on weekends. And when they're drawn together, then their parents are forced to interact too. You actually see this thing happening on a daily basis.

Q. Does singing in a chorus make this possible in a way that's different than, say, playing in an orchestra?

A. Yes. It's easier to break down barriers because you're using your voice and communicating at such a primitive level. So choirs can form communities very quickly, in a different way than with instrumentalists. Plus, all cultures sing - but not all cultures play the violin. So you can sing a piece from Africa, Asia, or South America - and then use those as jumping-off points. But what I love and adore is when I eventually pick out "Lift Thine Eyes" from Mendelssohn's "Elijah" - or something from Mozart's Requiem, or a Bach cantata - and the kids just love it. To me this is when you've had some success. A few years earlier, many of the kids never would have touched this stuff.

Q. Is your goal to produce future professional singers?

A. My hope is that by the time they're finished with us and they graduate, they are capable of going into music, but that's not our point. To me, you should only pursue a career in music if you have to do it, and not because you want to do it. A lot of kids choose it because they want to, and that's when they fizzle out.

Q. How did you choose to go into music?

A. At University of Nebraska [at] Omaha, I wanted to be an engineer but I also took some music classes and the chair of the department called me and said, 'Have you ever seen anyone like you conduct?' I said, 'No, I haven't. In all my days, I've never seen an African-American conductor.' He told me I had some talent in the area and I should consider it. That planted the seed, and I eventually explored it further. I kept trying not to do it, but it pulled me back in!

Q. The lack of diversity in orchestras and their audiences continues to be a tremendous problem in classical music. Do you see enough being done to address this?

A. I think it's very important that we figure out some way to break through that barrier. We do need to do more, but I don't have that answer. I think it's about building deep relationships with the communities we're trying to reach. The chorus plays a part in that.

Q. How do you recruit, and do you find the kids to be responsive?

A. We go into the schools. . . . When I walk into a classroom in Dorchester or Roxbury, and the kids look at me, there's an instant connection. I don't have to break down some sort of resistance to it. It makes it a bit easier to bridge gaps and so on, but there's also a certain danger in becoming known as 'that guy who bridges gaps.' I'm a musician first.

Q. What in your opinion has been lost by taking music out of the public schools to the extent that we have?

A. We've lost a ton. The Boston Children's Chorus shouldn't exist. There shouldn't be a reason for us. Every public school should have arts. You need academics, athletics, and arts to create a complete human being. When you start taking out one or two of those things, we lose something tremendous. I think this lack of creativity and this lack of completeness is going to be a real problem that will show up once these kids are graduating and becoming part of the workforce. . . . I believe in music's ability to transform lives. It transformed my life. And when I go to a school where there is very little music, or no music, I just wonder - why would a student want to go to school if there's nothing extra to hang onto?

Q. The chorus has also been involved in commissioning composers to write new works for the kids. Are young people more open to challenging contemporary music than adults?

A. Yes, absolutely. When I work with kids, if I love the piece and I come with conviction, then they buy into it. Even if they don't quite get it, they're willing to try. And often if you're working with adults, that's not necessarily the case - there can be a lot of push-back. Kids don't really see limitations in the same way. It's very inspiring. I look at what the older kids can do as the equivalent of what adults can do, and even beyond that. Ultimately, I want the group to be looked upon as of one the great choruses of the United States, not one of the great children's choruses of the United States.

Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
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Nine choirs of Boston Children’s Chorus to sing at Strand Theater

Press Release
June 6, 2008
Contact: Mary Ann Brennan Newcomb (617) 778-2242, ext. 230, mbrennannewcomb@bostonchildrenschorus.org

WHO: WHAT: WHERE: WHEN:

Boston Children’s Chorus’ nine choirs, including nearly 300 singers Year-end Concert – "Rhythm of Culture" Strand Theater, 543 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA 02125 June 14, 2008 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Co-sponsored by the City of Boston, this special end-of-the-year concert is free and open to the public. Diverse cultures from Africa, Asia, Europe & the Americas will be musically represented through drumming and rhythms.

The Boston Children’s Chorus is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic arts education organization dedicated to promoting artistic excellence and social change. The children, ages 7-18 years old, come from over 50 Greater Boston cities and towns. They sing, perform and serve as ambassadors of harmony for the new Boston, appearing locally, nationally and internationally.

The BCC began five years ago as a pilot program with 20 singers. Today, it has nearly 300 singers ages 7-18 in nine choirs of different levels of experience in four locations. Its premier choir, which draws from Greater Boston, has toured to Mexico, Japan and Chicago. It has sung with the Boston Pops at its July 4th concert on the Esplanade in Boston and performed at the Trinity Church in a concert to welcome new Boston School Superintendent Carol Johnson. Other appearances include the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the inauguration of Governor Deval Patrick and the opening of the baseball season at Fenway Park. It has performed with the Boston Pops, Boston Classical Orchestra, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, American Boychoir, Soweto Gospel Choir, Westminster Choir College, Chicago Children’s Choir and Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Its annual televised Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert has become a tradition for celebrating the legacy of Dr. King on that national holiday.

To view the release, click here.

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"Sing for the Earth" Concert
West Roxbury music executive to sing with Boston Children’s Chorus

Press Release
April 29, 2008

Vocal music is part of West Roxbury executive Annette Rubin's daily life. As executive director of the Boston Children's Chorus, she is involved every day in program planning, fundraising, marketing and organizational development of the five-year-old organization's nine choirs in four different locations in Boston. But on May 18th as a member of the Mystic Chorale she'll be singing with the BCC as well.

The much anticipated event is the "Sing for the Earth" Concert on Sunday, May 18, at 4:00 p.m. in Converse Hall at Tremont Temple, 88 Tremont St., Boston. Rubin will be one of the Mystic Chorale's adult singers joining with dozens of Boston Children's Chorus singers in a program that will include drums, pageantry, costumes, giant puppets and a wealth of different types of songs to heal earth and soul and what do you get?

Audience involvement is a tradition of the chorale, and this concert will be no different. Mystic Chorale director and founder, Nick Page, has put together a kind of "Earth Pops" that all can join in to share in the spirit of healing the earth and bringing people together in song. There will be a pageant of huge puppets, banners and singers in costumes celebrating the Earth. During the first half of the concert, the Chorale will go through a moving repertoire of Earth-based songs that includes tunes from Lyle Lovett, Joni Mitchell, Willie Dixon, Monty Python, and José Luis Orozco, among others.

In the second half, the Boston Children's Chorus, directed by Anthony Trecek-King, will join the Mystic Chorale, with a more serious set of music celebrating the Navajo tradition of "I Walk In Beauty," and Nick Page's own "Love the Earth," with its hard driving Native American drum beat throughout. Like the Mystic Chorale, the Boston Children's Chorus has a philosophy of bringing about positive social change through music, focusing particularly on youth development, social healing, and community building for children (and their families) from throughout Boston.

The Boston Children's Chorus has grown from a pilot project of 20 singers in 2003, to now almost 300 young people. The choirs participating in this collaborative concert are the Concert choir and Intermediate level choirs. Boston Children's Chorus is currently conducting auditions for the 2008-09 season and welcomes all children who love to sing.

The Mystic Chorale, founded by Nick Page in 1990, performs throughout the Boston area, sponsors community outreach and school-based music programs, and has toured internationally and throughout the US, including Germany in 2002, Quebec in 2003, Costa Rica in 2004, New York City in 2005 and 2007, and in the summer of 2006, a tour of Ireland.

Tickets, which are available at the door, are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors.

Available Online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/31435

To view the release, click here.

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Song in Their Hearts
Boston Children’s Chorus gives voice to city youth

Artistic director Anthony Trecek-King (right) leads the Boston Children's Chorus Premier Choir in concert. Students say that "Mr. T-K," as his young charges call him, goes above and beyond just teaching music. He says he tries to "make them good citizens who are goal-oriented" and prepared to succeed. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Children's Chorus)

Bay State Banner
By Talia Whyte
May 8, 2008

On a typical afternoon at the South End offices of the Boston Children's Chorus, the voices of children are everywhere — in the songs the kids practice with the chorus' teaching fellows; in the boisterous peals of laughter that fill rehearsal rooms and accompany recaps of what happened in school that day; even in the heads of parents sitting in the waiting room, thinking about what to make for dinner.

For the youth and their families, the Boston Children's Chorus is all about voices — the music they can make, the community they can create and the social healing they can provide.

"We are a family here," said Mary Ann Brennan Newcomb, BCC's director of development. "We have a social mission here to bring down the social barriers and bring together kids and their families from different backgrounds and racial identities for the common cause of tolerance and understanding."

Since its inception five years ago, the chorus has become the city's leading educational organization for uniting youth with the power of song, bringing together children in grades 2-12 to serve as ambassadors for the city through their performances, both locally and internationally.

The chorus is the brainchild of longtime community activist Hubie Jones, who decided after seeing a similar choir in Chicago that it was time for Boston to have its own. When it began, the chorus had fewer than 50 participants. Today, it boasts nearly 300 singers in nine different choirs, ranging in age from 7 to 18.

This is a particularly emotional year for the chorus, as three of its original members will soon be graduating high school. Sherylynn Sealy, 17, president of the Premier Choir, a program for advanced singers, will be graduating from Shrewsbury High School and attending Northeastern University in the fall.

"I love doing this," Sealy said. "Anyone who has the opportunity to do this should do it. We get to travel everywhere to perform and meet a lot of interesting people."

The chorus performs at more than 50 events per season, including recent trips to Japan, Mexico and Chicago. They have also performed at a number of notable local events, including the inauguration of Gov. Deval Patrick, the Boston Pops Orchestra's July 4 celebrations at the Esplanade and the welcoming concert for Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson. Many of the singers are now preparing to perform at a music festival in Oregon.

Their performances have even attracted the attention of heads of state — King Abdullah II of Jordan, who attended a recent performance by the Premier Choir at the Harvard Club, is very supportive of the chorus' work.

While the opportunity to travel and meet famous people is certainly a bonus to being in the chorus, for many of the singers, the highlight of membership is the chance to interact with other young people that they wouldn't normally meet. The chorus' singers hail from more than 50 different cities and towns in the Greater Boston area, representing a wide variety of racial, religious and economic backgrounds.

"The chorus is really interesting," said Jaleel Johnson, 14, of Dedham, an original chorus member who joined five years ago. "I get to meet new people from all over the city. Being part of this is fun, and it gives me something constructive to do with my time."

A member of both the Premier and Young Men's choirs, Johnson must balance his singing with the demands of Pop Warner football and keeping up his grades in school.

While school and other extracurricular activities are important for the chorus' members, many agree that they are pushed to practice and perform their best by artistic director Anthony Trecek-King, or "Mr. T-K" to his young singers.

"What is so great about these kids is that they are such hard workers," Trecek-King said. "We have been working on a lot of the psychology behind the music. We don't just talk about music; we also talk about life in general. Many of the kids come from stressful environments. What I do here is try to make them good citizens who are goal-oriented."

It's a mission shared by chorus members' parents, many of whom engage in fundraising for chorus trips and provide transportation to performances around the city.

Joel Piton is the father of 8-year-old Courtney Piton, who is about to complete her year in the Treble Choir, a group for beginners. Piton travels from Randolph every Tuesday afternoon so that his daughter can participate.

"Courtney has aspirations to be a musician," Piton said, a guitarist in his own band. "She sings and plays instruments. The choir gives her structure."

The chorus is now holding auditions for new singers to join for the next performance season, beginning in September.

Dwijuana Reed, 15, of Dorchester hopes more youth from Boston will want to share the experiences of making new friends and using music as an instrument for social change in the community.

"I look forward to coming here everyday," Reed said. "I feel like I am making a difference in my life."

For more information about the Boston Children's Chorus, including auditions, please call 617-778-2242 or visit www.bostonchildrenschorus.org.

Copyright Banner Publications Inc
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King legacy finds a youthful voice

The Boston Globe
By Marc Larocque, Globe Correspondent
January 20, 2008

Powered by granola bars and bottled water and doted on by car-pooling mothers, these young singers are ambassadors for the city, working to promote change.

In 2004, they preceded a speech by Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. When the city's new superintendent of schools arrived from Memphis, they greeted her. They have toured Mexico and Japan.

Recently, they hosted Czech choristers and welcomed King Abdullah of Jordan.

Tomorrow they will take center stage at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall to sing in the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert. With the theme "Remember Yesterday, Inspiring Tomorrow," it is billed as the climax of the chorus's season and will be broadcast on WCVB-TV (Channel 5).

And just who are they? They call themselves BCC, short for the Boston Children's Chorus.

Their history began with one man, Hubie Jones, who came here to study social work at Boston University in 1955. The next year, he visited Jordan Hall, where he first heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak.

"I'll never forget that day," Jones said. "I was sitting right in the middle of the orchestra section. [King] just set me on fire. It was one of the most unbelievable speeches I've ever heard. It filled me with hope and pride, and I made a commitment to social change in this country."

Inspired by King, Jones went on to work for racial justice and the quality of life in the city.

It was 10 years ago that Jones first listened to the Chicago Children's Choir and was "blown away by a very diverse group of young people, high school kids singing at a level of artistic excellence."

"I felt like Boston needed a diverse chorus group to lead them to excellence as the result of good instruction," Jones said.

So he founded the Boston Children's Chorus. He recruited about 100 children, found an artistic director and other staffers, and rehearsals started in 2003.

"They would serve as ambassadors for the city, playing at public as well as private events," he said.

Then he decided to invite the Chicago Children's Choir to join forces in Boston for the King holiday in 2004 - and they have returned every year since.

"We want people to know that we have to do things on MLK Day that are reflective and powerful," he said.

The Boston chorus now has several choirs, with about 300 members from more than 60 neighborhoods in the city and suburbs, representing a range of incomes, religions, and cultures. The children, ages 12 to 18, perform 40 to 50 programs a year.

"We never turn anyone away who can't pay," said Mary Ann Brennan, director of development and marketing for the nonprofit group. "Some people only pay $3 a month. Some people don't pay at all. Money never stops someone from being in the chorus."

Today, many families involved believe that the Boston chorus embodies the ideals of King.

Near the end of a recent weeknight rehearsal, mothers of chorus members waited in the foyer of the Shawmut Avenue headquarters, where the chorus moved last July from its previous home on Chauncey Street. One mother brought a cheese pizza for her hungry children, and shared it with others.

"Some of us have developed really good friendships through this," said Kerry Thompson of Melrose, whose 14-year-old daughter, Grace, is in the premier choir. "A lot of these kids now go to each other's plays and sleep over at each other's houses. This concert [tomorrow] captures that spirit of love in a way that's hard to describe."

For the concert, Grace will sing "Dravidian Dithyramb," a composition that proclaims unity and combines a drum beat from northern India with a melody from southern India.

Recalling previous Martin Luther King Day concerts, her mother said, "people are getting on their feet and clapping. . . . It reminds me of the 'We Shall Overcome' days."

Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
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Choirs keep MLK's dream alive in song

The Boston Globe
By Linda Laban, Globe Correspondent
January 23, 2008

Nearly 100 children and teenagers from the Boston Children's Chorus and Chicago Children's Choir lined up onstage at Jordan Hall Monday, each wearing a red blazer and black pants. On cue, television cameras were in action and a glorious harmonic murmur rolled out.

Backed by only two tabla players, the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. concert, which was televised live on WCVB-TV (Channel 5), began with the hypnotic South African folk song "Tshotsholoza."

The choir then split, leaving some of the Chicago singers to perform a haunting a cappella rendition of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit." Though somber, this version of the song - about racially motivated lynching - lost the pained mourning captured in Holiday's bluesy paean; but then, she had witnessed that strange fruit firsthand.

There were plenty of pauses for serious thought during this Martin Luther King Jr. Day memorial celebration, which the delightful host, ABC News anchor Ron Claiborne, said was not just about honoring a great African-American, but about "honoring a great human being." Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino were in the audience, adding a poignant political presence.

The atmosphere was somber as the BCC debuted a new work, "Dreams," which transcribed the words of African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar into a hard, staccato choral piece accompanied by piano. More traditional devotional songs had elements of Southern spirituals and European baroque and were backed at various points by a band, horn and string sections, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra's principal harpist, Ann Hobson Pilot.

The celebration brightened when several dancers from Boston Arts Academy mixed interpretive and traditional Indian dance in the sassy "Dravidian Dithyramb" and in a medley of Stax Records soul and funk, which celebrated what Claiborne said was "the first racially integrated studio."

The concert's theme of "Remembering Yesterday, Inspiring Tomorrow" was underscored by several testimonials from people old enough to remember yesterday. One, however, was not. Nine-year-old Christina Yee said that she attended an ethnically mixed school and that she was living King's dream of a unified, multiracial society.

King's mentor, Gandhi, so profoundly said, "Be the change you seek in your world." Singing about unity together seemed a good start. But only a start.

Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
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Snap, crackle, Pops! Keith & Co. rock out

Boston Herald
By CHRISTOPHER JOHN TREACY
July 6, 2007

The following is an excerpt from the original article:

The Boston Children's chorus was charming and cherubic, crooning "American Pride." The youngsters returned later for the annual patriotic singalong, complete with big-screen projected lyrics.

Copyright © 2006 The Boston Herald
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Boston’s Children’s Chorus gives free concert in SMA

Atención San Miguel
Friday June 22, 2007

The children’s chorus of Boston joins ANYÉL—a music program serving hundreds of children in San Miguel—in presenting a free concert on Thursday, June 28 at 6pm in the Angela Peralta Theater. The mission of the chorus is “to maximize the power of music to create social change.” The mission of ANYÉL is “to help the children of San Miguel create a better future through music.”

Founded in 2004, the Boston Children’s Chorus is a multiracial, multicultural arts organization that brings together a diverse group of children in grades 2-12 from many neighborhoods in the surrounding area. They will be singing from their unique repertoire which includes classical, folk and world music and spirituals. Although they perform locally in the Boston area, they also tour the world, believing that “the future of the arts is ensured by keeping music alive in the minds and hearts of our youth and communities.”

The hope is that this event, and others, will bring attention to our ongoing effort to form the San Miguel Children’s Chorus; to help this community learn about the value of such an opportunity; that parents and community members will come to appreciate and support the commitment necessary to create a strong, functional musical organization for our youth. This is provided by ANYÉL, free of charge to all San Miguel children, with the help of the Department of Education and Culture and the Biblioteca Pública…and much more support is needed!

On Friday, June 29, the visiting chorus members from Boston will get together with children from the ANYÉL program, including the girls and boys from the orphanages, Casa Hogar Santa Julia and Casa Hogar Mexiquitos. They will meet, eat, play and sing at a comida/workshop event in the patio of the library, beginning at 2pm.

After enjoying the inspiring concert the evening before, now is your chance to give more support to this wonderful opportunity for our children: a delicious, healthy, homemade comida will be served to 120 children and adult helpers—and we need financial help to buy the food. Boxes saying “Comida for Boston/San Miguel Children” will be at the front desk of the library, the counter in the Santa Ana Café (library) and at Casa de Papel, Mesones & Reloj. Please put your donation of any amount into a box. ANYÉL will buy the food, prepare it and serve it. If you’d like to volunteer to help with preparation and/or serving, put your name and contact info in the box also, or call Juanita at 152-8188. Visitors are welcome to watch the workshop for the children at 4 PM. 

Together, we can make this a positively unforgettable happening that will create a new consciousness in San Miguel about the value of music in the lives of all our children!

To view the article, click here.

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Pops gets a little help from good friends

The Boston Globe
By Sarah Rodman
June 8, 2007

Old friends weren't only in the audience at the annual "Presidents at the Pops" gala Wednesday night, they were also on stage.

In addition to the corporate bigwigs -- who raised more than $1 million for the Pops' educational and community outreach programs -- raising a glass, familiar faces and voices lent their skills to a rousing night at Symphony Hall.

Pops laureate conductor John Williams was on hand to conduct from several of his scores. Local legend James Taylor, Simmons College graduate and veteran television journalist Gwen Ifill -- who got her start in Boston -- and conductor Keith Lockhart's personal friend and Broadway star Maureen McGovern all lent sparkle to the night. But it was the fresh-faced exuberance of the youngsters in the Boston Children's Chorus that stole the hearts of the assembled during the 2- hour, 15- minute performance.

The night got off to a suitably lighthearted start when Charlie Baker, president of the "Presidents at the Pops" fund-raising committee and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, came onstage to announce that Lockhart would be late because of a mysterious "transportation problem." The assistant conductor then led the orchestra through its jolly version of "Charlie on the M.T.A." as a film of the maestro getting lost on the T -- and running into Mayor Thomas Menino, Williams, and Wally the Green Monster in the process -- played on screens above them.

Lockhart then swept in through the side doors leading the red-jacketed Chorus up to the stage.

The Chorus, led by animated and encouraging director Anthony Trecek-King, performed two selections: the reverent yet joyful "Las Amarillas" and a nuanced "Deep River" that was filled with resonant lows and bright highs.

The orchestra picked the perfect match for its continuing salute to "Oscar and Tony" in McGovern, who as a film and Broadway veteran knows the terrain well.

Performing tunes by Harold Arlen, the radiant redhead was breathtaking doing a yearning, jazzy take on "Optimistic Voices," a scat-happy rendition of "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead," and an unamplified version of "Over the Rainbow," all from "The Wizard of Oz." That last song was truly riveting as the hall went pin-drop quiet to hear the bell-like clarity of McGovern's sweet high notes.

She followed with an equally impressive medley of "The Man That Got Away," "Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)," and "Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)" that had razor-sharp precision without sacrificing an ounce of interpretive emotion and reminded everyone of Arlen's many gifts.

Williams handled the second half conducting spirited passages from his scores of the "Harry Potter" films and " The Cowboys." He also had the pleasure of hearing the Chorus flawlessly perform his jubilant "Dry Your Tears , Afrika" from "Amistad" for a deserved standing ovation.

The night closed on a patriotic note with Taylor and Ifill providing narration to the iconic historical images of Steven Spielberg's "Celebration 2000: American Journey" -- commissioned by Bill Clinton for the millennium celebrations -- and Williams's score. The words, from great American literature, poetry, and public record, worked in concert with music filled with bold, brass figures , and contemplative string arrangements.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Brighton teens lend their voices to MLK celebration

Eddie Dobson, 13, from Brighton reherses at the Tremont Chapel in Boston (1/11/07) for the Boston Children's Chorus performance of "Raising the Roof" celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Song. The performance was January 15th at Jordan Hall in Boston. (Keith AE. Jacobson/Staff Photographer)

The Allston Brighton TAB
By Meghan Kelly
Thursday, January 18, 2007

Five Brighton kids helped the country celebrate Martin Luther King Day this week by making their voices heard.

All are part of the 200-member Boston Children's Choir which, along with children's choruses from New York and Chicago, hosted a choral performance celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 15, in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Natachia Kotomori, 14, Alexis Tice-Alarcon, 14, and Eddie Dodson, 13, have all been singing for as long as they can remember and have been in the choir since its inception in 2003.

On a break between the dress rehearsal and the night's performance, the teenagers were relaxed and confident about the upcoming performance. The rehearsal went well, but "it's long!" all three chimed in, laughing.

Kotomori attends the Boston Arts Academy in Boston. Her brothers, Jonathan, 12, and Leonardo, 8, also sing in the Boston Children's Choir in the Lyric Choir and Treble Choir, respectively, and also participated in Monday's concert.

Tice-Alarcon, who attends Mount Alvernia High School in Newton, played the piano as a younger child and participated in the Watertown Children's Theatre, most memorably in "The Wizard of Oz." She is looking forward to her upcoming voice lessons, which will be starting in two weeks.

Dodson attends the Pierce School in Brookline and has taught himself how to play the electric guitar. He also plays the trombone in the school band.

Kotomori said that she is considering music as a future career, and Dodson said that he would like to continue his musical career as well, with the possibility of playing his guitar in a band or with different people once he gets to high school.

The three keep busy with homework, extracurricular activities and choir rehearsals, which meet twice a week from September through June. They will all travel to Mexico with the choral group this summer for a series of performances.

The concert's significance on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not lost on the teenagers. It's something they learned about in school, but "when you sing these songs, you see how memorable it is," said Tice-Alarcon.

All three agreed that the most moving piece was "Ani Ma'amin" arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, a song based on Jewish prayers of faith.

Anthony Trecek-King, the artistic director, said his focus was to bring together children from different races, areas and economic brackets to represent King's vision of togetherness and diversity in his speech "I Have a Dream."

Trecek-King said he felt that choirs are "particularly good" at bringing children of all different backgrounds together to make friends and learn from each others' experiences.

Copyright © 2006 GateHouse Media, Inc.
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Coro infantil de Boston estrena su primer disco
"Sing!" contiene una amplia selección de música proveniente de todo el mundo

El Planeta
REGION, P.2
07 al 13 de diciembre de 2006

Redacción -- Con el lanzamiento de su primer disco "Sing!", el Boston Children's Chorus embarca a sus oyentes en una travesía musical de canciones en latín y hebreo, canciones de cuna en japonés, canciones espirituales afroamericanas, canciones del evangelio e himnos americanos. Bajo la dirección de su primer director artístico Darren Dailey, y para enfatizar los tres primeros años del BCC, el disco sing! une las voces de cantantes de sus diferentes coros de "Concert", "Lyric", "Treble" y "Neighborhood" para interpretar la Trilogía de sueños, comisionada por primera vez al BCC, la cual es una poesía de Langston Hughes transformada en una pieza musical por el compositor Rollo A. Dilworth.

Su fundador y presidente Hubie Jones soñó con un coro musical en el cual niños de diversas razas y clases sociales se unieran a través de la música. El señor Jones ha jugado un papel muy importante en el liderazgo de más de 30 organizaciones comunitarias de toda el área de Boston. Hoy día, el BCC es una institución educativa, multirracial y multiétnica que reúne a muchos niños sin diferencia de raza, religión o nivel social para descubrir el poder del canto y para que sean los embajadores que representan a su ciudad en los eventos que se llevan a cabo tanto en ésta, como en sus giras nacionales e internacionales.

© Copyright 2006 - Hispanic News Press LLC
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Let's reach for that

The Boston Globe
GLOBE EDITORIAL
January 5, 2007

GOVERNOR Deval Patrick's unorthodox inaugural yesterday managed to be both modest and magisterial. He brought the ritual directly to the people who elected him with the first public swearing-in, held outdoors at noon in uncommonly fair January weather. The tableau on the State House steps was striking for the way it brought the governor, legislators, and all the constitutional officers out to face the public, nearly at eye level. But the pomp and ceremony were also unmistakable, and the pageantry seemed to uplift the crowd. We hope this symbolic effort to bridge the gap between the government and the governed finds a way into the daily reality of Patrick's administration.

Patrick struck a note of determined optimism in his inaugural address, naming the very real challenges that face citizens living far from Beacon Hill: failing public schools, rising property taxes, drugs, violence, and poverty. But then he recalled that the state is at its best when people have high goals, faith that they are achievable, and the will to work for them. In creating the best-prepared workforce, in providing affordable health care for all, in developing a public higher education system to rival the elite universities, in ridding communities of violence, in establishing a fair tax structure, he repeatedly urged the crowd: "Let's reach for that."

There is honor just in the reaching, he seemed to say, and he was careful not to overpromise. Still, Patrick's call for change didn't stop at new policies or a new party in power. He wants a change in the very idea of government -- fueled by 16 years of minimalist and often cynical Republican administrations -- as incompetent, corrupt, and only for the connected. "Today we join together in common cause to lay that fallacy to rest," he said.

As he had throughout his campaign, Patrick called on Massachusetts residents to recognize the stake they have in each other. The good will he engendered is precious and cannot be squandered. Standing with her daughter and granddaughter in the crowd before the speech yesterday, Donna Bertrand of Leicester said Patrick's election represented a pragmatic chance to get government moving again on behalf of real people. "I hope he can unify the state and get things done instead of bucking heads all the time," she said. "It's time to roll up our sleeves now. You can get more done with teamwork than you can with the 'us and thems.' "

The sense of a new day for Massachusetts was palpable yesterday, borne on the exceptionally diverse and neighborly crowd. As the breeze freshened and the sun made a fleeting appearance, the Boston Children's Choir sang the gospel hymn "The Storm is Passing Over," written in 1905 by the masterful Charles Albert Tindley, who only learned to read and write after Emancipation. Keeping hope and realism in balance is just the first of Patrick's challenges.

© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
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These kids can 'Sing!'

The Boston Children's Chorus recently released their first CD. (Contributed photo)

MetroWest Daily News
By Jennifer Lord/DAILY NEWS STAFF
Sunday, December 10, 2006

The Boston Children's Chorus has performed in national tours, swung through Japan and was a highlight of the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

Their next appearance is their most exciting yet: They're coming to a CD player near you.

The multiracial chorus, now in its fourth performance season, recently released "Sing!" its first professional recording. The 15-song CD features the voices of 130 members of the Boston Children's Chorus' five performance groups.

"We were always anxious to put something on a recording, and, as we enter our fourth performance season, it seemed like a fitting time," said David Howse, director of programs and community impact for the Boston Children's Chorus. "It's a wonderful way to chronicle our history and a good chance for the kids to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor."

The Boston Children's Chorus was founded by Hubie Jones, who had a vision of a chorus where children from diverse backgrounds united in song. The first chorus came together in October 2003, and it is now in its fourth performance season, with about 50 performances a year.

More than 400 children have participated in Boston Children's Chorus programs since its inception. Earlier this year, the third annual Dr. Martin Luther King Concert by the chorus was broadcast live on WCVB-TV in Boston and rebroadcast to more than half a million viewers nationally by Superstation WGN to celebrate Black History Month in February.

"Sing!" is comprised of songs from the Boston Children's Chorus concert repertoire, with selections in Latin and Hebrew, a Japanese lullaby, African-American spirituals, gospel songs and American anthems. It also includes the first commissioned piece for the chorus, "Trilogy of Dreams," by composer Rollo A. Dilworth, who set three poems by Langston Hughes to music.

Elizabeth Strzepa, 15, a Shrewsbury resident, is now in her third year with the chorus. Heading into the recording studio with her fellow members of the concert chorus was a highlight, she said.

"I had never been inside a recording studio before. It was a really good experience," Strzepa said. "It sounded better than I thought it would. It sounds really, really good, really professional."

Strzepa, a soprano, auditioned for the chorus after spotting a magazine ad. Her previous performing experience was in her school chorus and in musical theater.

"I'm usually in Boston eight hours a week," said Strzepa, a ninth-grader at Worcester Academy. "It's a lot, but it's worth it."

Strzepa cannot hear her own voice on the recording, but she wasn't expecting to be in the forefront. "I was in the back row during the recording," she said. "But I can pick out some of my friends' voices in it, which is cool."

When planning for the CD, care was taken to ensure that the music was as diverse as the makeup of the choir.

"It was important that we have representation of all of our different choir programs," Howse said. "We wanted to make sure we had even our youngest kids, who might not be as polished. It was exciting for the kids. They really didn't know what to expect going into this, and they did remarkably well."

The CD is now available on the group's Web site, bostonchildrenschorus.org, for $20 (shipping included) and arrangements are being made to have it sold in venues such as the Boston Children's Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts.

"The response has been overwhelmingly positive," Howse said. "We're hoping this is just the start for our recordings."

Copyright © 2006 GateHouse Media, Inc.
To view the article, click here.

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Pequeñas grandes voces
El Coro Infantil de Boston, una organización multicultural y multiracial, con las puertas abiertas al talento latino

Alexis Tice-Alarcón, en una práctica del coro. (MARCELA GARCÍA/EL PLANETA)

El Planeta
TENDENCIAS, P. 11
2 al 8 de marzo de 2006

Redacción. - En estos tiempos, cuando no es fácil mantener a sus hijos ocupados en una actividad artística, una gran opción para ellos es el Boston Children's Chorus, o el Coro Infantil de Boston, una organización cuyo objetivo es promover el desarrollo juvenil a través de la música y, fundamentalmente, usar a ésta como una herramienta para el cambio social.

Creado en el 2003 por Hubie Jones, el Coro Infantil provee a los niños con una educación musical intensiva, además que les da la oportunidad de adquirir experiencia en presentaciones públicas. Actualmente, el coro cuenta con 50 niños que están desde el 2do. grado hasta el 12avo. grado escolar. Dos niñas pertenecientes al coro, Louisa Ramírez-Flynn y Alexis Tice-Alarcón, ambas de 13 años, conversaron con El Planeta sobre su experiencia.

"A mí me encanta cantar. Además haces muchos amigos y por eso nunca quiero faltar a los ensayos", dijo Louisa, cuyo padre es originario de la República Dominicana. Con apenas seis meses en el coro, ya se siente parte de la “gran familia” que es la organización. Por su parte, Alexis ha pertenecido al coro desde que se formó y gracias a él ha aprendido a ser disciplinada en su vida diaria. A ella tampoco le pesa asistir a los ensayos, a pesar de que son de una hora y media, dos veces a la semana.

"Vale la pena el sacrificio, es una oportunidad fenomenal para ella", señaló la venezolana Úrsula Tice, madre de Alexis, quien al igual que Louisa es una de las tres niñas hispanas miembros del coro.

El director artístico del coro, Darren Dailey, explicó los esfuerzos que hace la organización para reclutar a más miembros de las minorías.

"Tratamos de reflejar la diversidad que existe en Boston no sólo en las caras de los miembros del coro sino también en nuestro repertorio - hemos cantado canciones en español", dijo Dailey.

Además, la organización mantiene un coro comunitario en Villa Victoria, en South End, un área donde residen muchos latinos. Si a su hijo o hija le gusta el canto, no dude en llamar a la oficina del Coro al (617) 778-2242, o visite www.bostonchildrenschorus.org.

© Copyright 2006 - Hispanic News Press LLC
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Stern hits the right notes

Boston Globe
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

As an audition for "American Idol" setting aside the question of whether Simon Cowell would even consider a Canadian Adam Stern probably would never get past these judges.

Not after they witnessed Stern joining the Boston Children's Chorus during their pregame rendition of "O Canada" yesterday at Fenway Park. "No way he sang at that pitch," said Kevin Youkilis, who as Red Sox leadoff man was standing closest to the microphone during the ceremonies. "He had to be lip-synching."

Coco Crisp, the aspiring record producer, tried to be charitable.

"I heard him before," said Crisp. "Everyone has a voice. He has a voice like everyone else." But does he have a good voice? "No," Crisp said.

But as someone trying to show he has the chops for regular playing time while Crisp, and now Trot Nixon, who strained his groin yesterday, recover from injuries, Stern has his own fan club. And it's growing bigger by the day. He started in Crisp's place in center field, delivered a two-run double, stole third, and scored in a four-run second inning that sent the Sox to a 5-3 win over Toronto in their home opener.

"I think Adam is a very good ballplayer," Nixon said. "He's only going to get better hittingwise, the more at-bats he gets. He's got speed, he's got a great arm in the outfield, the sky's the limit for him. He's the kind of guy you don't want to get rid of because he might turn into something really special."

Stern is one of those roster oddities known as a Rule 5 player, which refers to an annual December draft in which a team can select a player not protected on the 40-man roster, provided they're willing to keep the player on the big-league roster for the next season. Because many Rule 5 picks have limited experience, like Stern, who had never played above Double A in the Atlanta system, teams will often go through contortions to keep a player while not giving up a spot on the 25-man roster, even if it means inventing an injury or placing a player on a much longer convalescence than he might require.

The Sox, of course, are above such chicanery. Not for us to question the four months it took Stern to recover from the fractured thumb he sustained last March, or that he sprained the same thumb in August. And no one fakes surgery, like that underwent by Stern to repair tears in the rotator cuff and labrum of his shoulder last September.

Stern was absent so much, in fact, that he came into this season still needing to spend 17 days on the Sox roster to satisfy the minimum 90 days required by baseball rules for a team to keep a Rule 5 player active. Short of that, the Sox would have been required to return him to the Braves, and clearly the Sox had seen enough of Stern to prefer that he stick around.

"I think he's handled the situation real well," manager Terry Francona said before the game. "You're a Rule 5, it's almost, to the veteran players, like you're on scholarship. It's almost like sometimes I think that gets resented a little bit.

"[But] he's handled himself real well. He was quiet when he first came up, paid respect to the veterans, and slowly but surely started showing his personality."

He also has shown he can play. It started with his breakout game for Canada in the World Baseball Classic in March, when he had three hits, including a triple and home run, in a stunning upset of Team USA, a performance that inspired Nixon to call him the "Canadian Babe Ruth" upon his return to Sox camp.

Francona said all spring he was eager to see what Stern would do with 500 at-bats playing every day in Pawtucket (once he satisfied the Rule 5 fine print), but that all changed when Crisp fractured the knuckle on his left index finger while sliding into third base in Baltimore Saturday night.

Stern started the next day, had a couple of hits and knocked in a couple of runs batting leadoff. Yesterday, with Youkilis in the 1-hole and Stern batting eighth, he came to the plate in the second inning with one run in and runners on second and third. Batting lefthanded, he reached out and sliced an outside pitch from Josh Towers down the left-field line as both runners scored, giving the Sox a 3-1 lead.

Then, on an 0-and-2 pitch and Towers neglecting to check the runner, Stern on his own bolted to third for a stolen base. He scored on Youkilis's double.

A lasting impression?

"Definitely," Crisp said. "He has a great arm, above-average speed, good wheels on him, a good glove, a good hitter. Everything he needs to be a successful big leaguer."

Stern wasn't quite ready to embrace Francona's scholarship analogy, though. "Scholarship? I'd like to know what kind of scholarship I'm on," he said.

But he embraces the opportunity to continue matriculating at the big-league level, where, according to Nixon, he could become a player capable of hitting 15-20 home runs and stealing 20-30 bases a season.

And you know what? Youkilis says his pipes are actually better than he got to show yesterday, when he deliberately kept his voice inaudible because it would have clashed so drastically with the kids' sopranos.

Stern says the team asks him to sing "O Canada" just about once a road trip.

"When you're a rookie, you've got to sing something, your school song or fight song," Youkilis said. "He sings `O Canada.' He's actually pretty good. He throws stuff in there, instruments, the drums. He makes stuff up."

Which isn't bad for openers.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
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No place like home: Sox open at Fenway in grand style

Boston Globe
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Permission slips will be submitted today. Something along the lines of "Charlie missed school yesterday because he was running a fever."

Truth is, Charlie and 35,490 other hooky players, rich guys, and folks who took personal days were gathered at ancient Fenway Park for the 106th Red Sox home opener. Instead of running a fever, Charlie and friends were running up the ramps when the gates opened at noon, and the first-place Red Sox celebrated this New England holiday with a winter-blueprint 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Not only that, but the Sox made their Massachusetts Lottery debut, becoming the first big league baseball team to be honored with its very own scratch ticket. Imagine: A team representing a Nation plays in a cathedral and boosts the local tax revenue. So much for separation of church and state on Yawkey Way.

Olde Fenway earned rave reviews after undergoing its most extensive renovations since Thomas Yawkey bought the team in 1934. High-rolling fans enjoyed new outdoor pavilions upstairs behind home plate and folks in the lower arena, some of whom paid $90 or more to park, were greeted with new food stands, staircases, wider concourses, and an improved sound system.

The product on the field wasn't bad, either. New Sox stopper Josh Beckett struggled for an inning, then blinded the Jays, allowing only two hits and no runs over his final six frames to improve to 2-0. New third baseman Mike Lowell, who came to Boston with Beckett in a deal made during Theo Epstein's self-enforced sabbatical, cracked four hits, including three doubles, to lead the offense.

Meanwhile, rookie Jonathan Papelbon picked up his fourth save in the last five games, and Franchise Face David Ortiz celebrated his contract extension with a cherry-on-top solo homer in the seventh. Not a bad 95th birthday bash for the old ballpark.

The Red Sox are 6-1, have won five straight, and lead the Yankees by three games.

Sox captain Jason Varitek gave his stamp of approval to the Fenway improvements. The catcher said the open-air seats behind home made Fenway louder, adding, "It can't do anything but create excitement, and this is a very exciting place to play."

Six months after the Red Sox were swept out of the playoffs by the eventual world champion White Sox, Boston fans were ready for baseball. Standing atop the Green Monster at 6:30 a.m. yesterday, one could see six young men playing Wiffle ball on top of the crumbling garage across Lansdowne Street from the Wall. While the sun rose over the right-field pavilion, and fans in tents began to thaw from an overnight stay waiting for standing-room tickets, the Wifflers set up a makeshift diamond and took turns trying to put some good plastic on the ball.

Repeat: This was at 6:30 in the morning.

Seven hours later, Red Sox announcers Joe Castiglione and Don Orsillo served as co-masters of ceremonies for pregame festivities. Curt Schilling, Gabe Kapler, and Papelbon received hearty hellos when the Sox lined up along the first-base stripe. Terry Francona wore his oil-changin' red sweatshirt, and birthday boy Trot Nixon (32) sported a cap that looked like it had been rescued from a flour bin. Ailing pitching coach Dave Wallace, standing in the dugout with the aid of crutches, was introduced to the crowd.

With Canadian-born Adam Stern standing behind them (Sox choreographer Dr. Charles Steinberg thinks of everything), the Boston Children's Chorus performed the Canadian anthem ("I can tell you Stern wasn't singing," said Kevin Youkilis). Then 5-year-old Jimmy Fund patient Jordan Leandre was wheeled onto the field by Ortiz, and melted the crowd (and both rows of ballplayers) with a stirring rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- punctuated by the customary flyover of A-10 jets from Bradley Air National Guard Base in Connecticut.

After the flyover, a couple of 1946 Ford convertibles came out of the magic door in center and carted six members of the Red Sox '46 World Series team around the warning track to the area in front of the Sox' dugout. Then Bobby Doerr, Charlie Wagner, Eddie Pellagrini, Don Gutteridge, Dave "Boo" Ferriss, and Johnny Pesky threw out ceremonial first pitches. The loudest ovation was reserved for Pesky, Mr. Red Sox.

Beckett's first pitch, a 94-mile-per-hour heater, was thrown at 2:08. Game-time temperature was 61 degrees with 7-mile-per-hour winds. Russ Adams grounded to short and fans nodded in agreement that this looks like the year.

Beckett struggled after the first out. He gave up a walk, a single, another walk, then walked home the first run of the home season. He escaped when Shea Hillenbrand grounded into a double play on his 36th pitch of the inning. The big righty growled when he came off the mound.

"He almost tore my hand off," said Francona. "I don't want to go anywhere near him."

Varitek added, "Some people don't let it out. Some people let it out. He's one that lets it out."

It was pretty clear that Beckett wasn't going nine, but just as he did in Texas, he settled down after the rough start, retiring 18 of the next 21 batters he faced. All agreed that the Hillenbrand double play was the biggest play of the day.

"A huge turn of events," said Youkilis. "A base hit or a double there might have taken him out of the game."

A combination of 2004 champs and new guys put a four-spot on the board for the Red Sox in the second. After Nixon walked and Varitek (another birthday boy, the catcher turned 34) singled, Lowell and Stern hit back-to-back doubles to make it 3-1. Then Youkilis doubled home Stern and it was 4-1.

An inning later, Nixon left the game with a mild groin strain. He was replaced by Wily Mo Peña. Wily Mo was a factor in Toronto's final piece of offense. After Ortiz homered to right to make it 5-1 at the end of seven, Keith Foulke came on to pitch the eighth and he might have escaped unscathed, but Frank Catalanotto lofted a high fly to the warning track in right and a backpedaling Peña made the crowd gasp as the ball clanged off his glove and into the visitors' bullpen. The tip-in two-run homer made it 5-3, but Papelbon rode to the rescue again in the ninth.

Veteran lefty David Wells gets the ball tonight, and another victory will give the Sox their best start since 1920.

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King-size concert; Boston Children's Chorus joins peers from Chicago, NYC to honor civil-rights leader

Boston Herald
By TENLEY WOODMAN
Monday, January 16, 2006

The Boston Children's Chorus rehearsal at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church ended in tears last week.

Following a 12-minute choral piece, the young singers choked up, as did director Darren Daily when he told them, "See what I mean about the power of children's voices?"

The 3-year-old Boston Children's Chorus has traveled to Japan, sung at the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots' season opener and at the rededication of the Holocaust memorial in Boston.

Tonight marks another milestone, as it joins with the Chicago Children's Choir and the Young People's Chorus of New York City in "Raising the Roof: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. in Song," which will be televised live on WCVB-TV (Ch. 5) at 7 p.m.

Tickets already have sold out for the Jordan Hall event. Those hoping to hear the chorus in person can attend its 1 p.m. dress rehearsal for $5.

"I've done some other groups, but this is amazing," said Julia Hanlon, 14, a two-year veteran of the concert chorus. "It's a really diverse group. Here kids have wanted to be in this. That makes the difference.

"I think our joy of music is going to come through," the Cambridge resident said of tonight's performance.

The program includes the words of poet Langston Hughes set to song in "Trilogy of Dreams," the 12-minute piece that elicited such strong emotion from the members in rehearsal. The performance will mark its world premiere.

Eddie Dodson, 13, of Brighton has been part of the chorus since it began. He said the experience has been surreal.

"It's such a big jump," said the Pierce School seventh-grader.

"When we sing together, we sing as one," he said."It seems like each person in the audience, we are singing to them individually."

Shrewsbury singer Sherylynn Sealy, 15, joined last September.

"I'm really excited about this performance," she said.

"Raising the Roof: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. in Song" with the Boston Children's Chorus, Chicago Children's Choir and the Young People's Chorus of New York airs tonight at 7 on WCVB-TV (Ch. 5).

Copyright © 2006 The Boston Herald
To view the article, click here.

[Illustration]
Caption: ALL AS ONE: Director Darren Daily, above, goes through the emotionally charged 'Trilogy of Dreams' with the Boston Children's Chorus. Top, the group practices for its MLK show. STAFF PHOTOS BY JOHN WILCOX

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Singing of Dreams

Boston Globe
Editorial
Sunday, January 15, 2006

"YOU NEED to sound like you're excited," Darren Dailey told the collection of preteens and teenagers standing on risers in Jordan Hall and singing with high, open voices.

"I dream a world. Yes, I dream a world." The music filled the honey-colored hall, where the 1,000 seats are almost magically pulled into an intimate arrangement.

It was a Monday night rehearsal of the Boston Children's Chorus, with Dailey, the artistic director, signaling starts and abrupt stops so that he could correct and encourage.

Coats were stuffed into the auditorium seats. Dress for the evening was adolescent casual: sneakers, jeans, sweatshirts, an orange headband and matching T-shirt. Latecomers trickled in, threw down their stuff, and squeezed into their spots on the risers. Teenage and adult musicians played along.

The rehearsals are for a concert that's meant to electrify Martin Luther King Day make it more than a day off from work and a chance to shop. Tomorrow night, the Boston Children's Chorus will join the Young People's Chorus of New York City and the Chicago Children's Choir in a performance that will be broadcast live on WCVB-TV (Channel 5).

Dailey signaled another stop. "That 'dream' is not going any place," he complained, referring to the lyric. Chorus staff and New England Conservatory students working as interns stood around the auditorium watching and offering feedback.

The song is part of a trilogy based on the work of the poet Langston Hughes and composed specifically for this show by Rollo Dilworth. A Chicago-based conductor, Dilworth spent weeks composing the music, weaving together the jazz, blues, and gospel that he says influenced Hughes. Dilworth listened to a rehearsal via a cellphone. Tomorrow he'll conduct one of the concert's pieces.

The practicing, composing, even the administrative work are all part of a sprawling artistic construction site. But there is more being built than a better holiday. Just over two years old, the chorus is fighting to become an established nonprofit organization, where city and suburban kids of various racial, ethnic, and financial backgrounds produce great art.

The thrill of the work is exciting kids about music, and using the music to make them citizens of the world.

"By performing in a space, you make it your own," Dailey says, whether the space is Jordan Hall, Carnegie Hall, or Japan, where 28 older chorus members traveled last summer to sing in an international festival. The kids sing in one of three choirs, based on their age. And there's a neighborhood choir based in the South End.

Pop culture throws the spotlight on solo singers climbing the charts or trying to win on the television contest "American Idol." But singing in a chorus is a big, artistic civics lessons about the patience, discipline, and vision it takes to transform a crowd into a musical whole.

Performing in a chorus lets young singers watch themselves grow musically. The chorus, meanwhile, will have to deal with the changing voices of its boys and the competing priorities of its members, from sports to filling out college applications.

Then there's the fund-raising, a daunting task in Boston, where even the most harmonious knocks on corporate doors can go unanswered. With an annual budget of $1 million and three years of support from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the chorus is a small organ ization with a big job. Dailey wants to grow, adding more choirs in more neighborhoods.

Money is needed for travel, which puts the chorus and Boston on the national and international scene, and also pushes the singers to bond and make leaps in their performing skills. Teenagers will get to see themselves and their hard work reflected in the work of other teenagers in other choruses in other cities, defying the usual limits of geography.

"Good things happen every day. They just don't make the news," Adelisa Gonzalez said, watching the rehearsal. For a moment there was an intrusion of thoughts of the world just outside, where shootings mar young lives. Gonzalez works for the charitable giving program at Mellon Financial Corporation, which provides financial support for the chorus and other nonprofit organizations and tries to build capacity by encouraging its employees to join nonprofit boards of directors.

Still, in order to thrive, the chorus has to search for more "serious funding," according to Hubie Jones, the founder and president. He remembers a spring training camp in 2003 where the children were just "screaming." Now, he says, they have "learned how to use their voices."

In a way, the Boston Children's Chorus is a test, a series of questions about whether the Boston area can support a new source of vital, musical messages.

"Feel the spirit. Come on," Dailey cried out. "Have church!"

At the end of a song, the chemistry showed: the rehearsal had warmed, its halting starts melting into fluid performance. The urge to clap trembled in the room and faint scattered cheers broke out.

But palpably missing was an audience and its power to listen. It's easy to think one has heard everything there is to hear about having a dream, but put these words from Martin Luther King, and Langston Hughes, and others to music and there is more to hear.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists two old senses of "dream": "joy, pleasure, gladness, mirth, rejoicing" and also "music, minstrelsy, melody; noise, sound." With this understanding, a children's choir singing of dreams and of being dream-keepers does offer something new. These are dreams not merely made of images but rather of magnificent public performances. It's a dream superbly suited to a chorus, or a country.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Dream With Them

THE BOSTON CHILDREN'S CHORUS

Boston Phoenix
Friday, December 16, 2005

Martin Luther King Jr. famously wrote in his "I have a dream" speech that he dreamt of the day when "all of God’s children will be able to sing."  A good number of God’s children will realize that goal when the Boston Children’s Chorus, the Chicago Children’s Choir, and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City assemble at Jordan Hall on January 16 to perform the world premiere of "A Trilogy of Dreams," which is based on the works of Langston Hughes.  What’s more, this celebration of Martin Luther King Day will be aired live on Channel 5.  Jordan Hall is at 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | 6:30 pm | $15-$25 | 617.778.2242.

Copyright © 2005 Phoenix Media/Communications Group.
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NECN cover story

New England Cable News
December 2005

News video segment on the Boston Children's Chorus.  Click here to start video.  Note: please disable pop-up blockers to view video.

You'll need a version of Windows Media Player 7 or higher to view the video.  If you need to download it, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/en/default.asp.  The video player is supported by Microsoft IE 5.0 and above.

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Boston Honors King's Legacy In Song

WCVB-TV
Monday, January 16, 2006

BOSTON -- Choirs from three major U.S. cities gathered in Boston Monday to celebrate the life and legacy of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

The third annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Concert was held Monday night at the New England Conservatory of Music's Jordan Hall. Hundreds attended the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast at the Convention Center in South Boston Monday morning.

"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Dr. King understood that dreaming was not enough. We must be dream keepers, and keep the dream alive," concert emcee and ABC's "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts said during the event.

This is the first time in the United States that a children's choral concert was presented live on a major network affiliate celebrating the King holiday.

The Boston Children's Chorus, under the direction of Darren Dailey, shared the stage with two world renowned guests: the Chicago Children's Choir, under the direction of Josephine Lee, and the Young People's Chorus of New York City, under the direction of Francisco J. Nunez.

"(King) preached about children of all different colors and races coming together singing. He didn't mean it literally, but that is what we are doing," said Andrew Raynar, of the Chicago Children's Choir.

The Chicago Children's Choir includes 3,200 children, ranging in age from 10 to 18.

"We have children from everywhere, different races, different religions, different cities. And bringing (together) so many kids with the same passion, it is just, like, it is so powerful," said Julia Hanlan, of the Boston Children's Chorus.

The event merged storytelling and song to bring the civil rights movement alive. Inspired readings and narration during the event wove together some of the major themes characterizing King and his work.

Copyright 2006 by TheBostonChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Boston Children's Chorus Trilogy of Dreams

WBUR
Monday, January 16, 2006

Copyright WBUR Trustees of Boston University.
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Boston Children's Chorus Trilogy of Dreams

WBUR
by Matt Largey
Monday, January 16, 2006

Copyright WBUR Trustees of Boston University.
To listen, click here.

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Singers celebrate King

Somerville Journal
Thursday, December 22, 2005

On Jan. 16, three major cities will change how our nation celebrates a great man and his legacy.  Presenting a world premiere of "A Trilogy of Dreams" based on the works of poet Langston Hughes, this multiracial, multi-ethnic ensemble will ignite Jordan Hall at its third annual King Holiday concert.  The concert will be telecast live on ABC-TV Channel 5, the first U.S. children's choral concert honoring Dr. King to be presented live on major network television.

The Boston Children's Chorus will be joined by nationally renowned guests the Chicago Children's Choir and the Young People's Chorus of New York City.  Through artistic excellence and the power of children singing, Chicago, New York City and Boston will unite in this blockbuster program, elevating the celebration of the King holiday to a new level of vibrancy and social significance.

"I love the music-making," says Hubie Jones, founder and president of the Boston Children's Chorus, "but what I really love is the community-making.  You can see social barriers crumble when these kids are standing side by side, sharing folders of music, singing their hearts out."

Seven of the young singers are from Somerville: Benjamin Hosking, Etta Resnick-Field, Brien Spier, Melina Garro-Duplisea, Tayla Plett, Marisa Rafal and Kenya Teixeira.

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Singing opens world of opportunity for Samantha

Samantha Hankey has found her experience with the chorus to be a worldly one.  Here, she enjoys the flight to Japan with fellow chorus member Grace Thompson, 12 of Melrose.  (Courtesy photo)

Marshfield Mariner
By Ryan Bray/ rbray@cnc.com
Saturday, January 7, 2006

Samantha Hankey is making the leap from the her middle school stage into the living rooms of residents all over Massachusetts.  The 13-year-old eighth grader at Furnace Brook Middle School will perform in "Raising the Roof: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. in Song," the Boston Children's Chorus' third annual televised King Holiday concert honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King.  The performance will feature the world premiere of "Trilogy of Dreams," a musical adaptation of select works of poet Langston Hughes.

The concert will air on Channel 5 January 16 at 6:30 p.m. from the New England Conservatory, and will be the first U.S. children's choral concert honoring Dr. King to be presented live on major network television.

"I'm so excited," Samantha said about performing in the event.  "A lot of people get stage fright, but I love the stage.  It's where I want to be."

Samantha, who has been singing since she was 7 years old, has been involved with the children’s choir since its inception three years ago.  The choir started as a camp with 25 kids back in 2002 and has since expanded into a full program.

"She loves it," said Samantha's mother, Martha Hankey.  "It’s a wonderful organization.  They do amazing performances throughout the year, and this is the highlight.  It’s really great."

As for what drew her to singing, Samantha said its always been something she’s turned to from a very young age.

"I just started singing," she said.  "I always sang when I was little, and its just something I’ve stuck with."

It's a good thing she did.  Since joining the children’s choir, Samantha has experienced a lot for her age, not only on stage, but around the world.  Last July she visited Japan with the choir as part of an international children’s choral festival, providing her with an experience she said she'll never forget.

"It was so amazing," she said.  "I still keep in touch with the family I stayed with while I was there.  It’s just so different and it really opened my mind to how other people live."

This year's King Holiday concert joins the Boston Children's Chorus up with the Chicago Children's Choir and the Young People’s Choir of New York City.  While the choir performed with the Young People’s choir last year and the Chicago choir in 2004, this year's performance marks the first time the three have shared a stage together.

The "Trilogy of Dreams" segment will center upon three Langston Hughes poems: "The Dream Keeper," "I Dream a World," and "Dreams."  Hughes, like King, was an influential Black thinker who used his poetry to celebrate black culture.  Samantha said while she wasn't readily familiar with Hughes' work prior to rehearsing for the event, she's come to appreciate his work.

"I wasn’t familiar with him (Hughes) at first, but fortunately we learned about him in school," she said.  "His words sound great with Rollo (Dilsworth)'s music."

As a performer, Samantha’s vocal style adheres to a classical background.  Outside of her role in the choir however, her tastes are more mainstream for teens.

"When I’m training I listen to a lot of classical," she said.  "I really like Charlotte Church.  But when I'’m home or just hanging out I listen to everything from hip hop to alternative.  Just anything I like really."

Samantha said she views the upcoming performance as a way of representing the city of Boston through song.

"As a choir, we really are kind of like the ambassadors of Boston through our music.  It’s kind of our motto."

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Raising the Roof: Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. in Song

Bay State Banner
Monday, January 6, 2006

The Boston Children’s Chorus, a multicultural ensemble, will dazzle a Jordan Hall audience with a world premiere performance of "A Trilogy of Dreams," based on the works of poet Langston Hughes.  The concert honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nationally-renowned guests, the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, will share the stage at the concert, to be telecast live on Channel 5. Through artistic excellence and the power of children singing, 3 major cities will unite in this blockbuster program, elevating the celebration of the King Holiday to a new level of vibrancy and social significance.

The concert takes place 1 p.m. at Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Ave., Boston. General admission tickets for the 1 p.m. dress rehearsal are $5 and can be purchased at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall Box Office (617) 585-1260, A Nubian Notion, 57 Warren St., Roxbury, or online at www.bostonchildrenschorus.org.

Click here to find this and other events on The Baystate Banner.

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Amira Hardaway hits high C: the Children’s Chorus

Amira Hardaway

Holbrook Sun
By Leeanne T. Stronach/ Correspondent
Friday, January 6, 2006

When Amira Hardaway asked to take singing lessons, her mother Tanya figured that it would be expensive.  About the time of her daughter's request three years ago, Tanya had seen an advertisement in the Bay State Banner for the Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC).  Tanya decided that she would let Amira take a shot at an audition for the BCC at the New England Conservatory of Music, which is the lead artistic partner of the chorus.  Amira was chosen for the beginner's or treble group.  This is the nine-year-old’s second year in the chorus.

Not only has Amira learned how to read music and sing with the chorus, they have sung at some impressive venues.  They sang with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and at a venue for the League of Women Voters at Faneuil Hall, which featured a speech by U.S. Sen. John Kerry.  They also took part in a professional recording session that produced a CD with the Mystic Chorale, based out of Arlington.

To Tanya’s surprise, she found that the fee for her daughter to be part of the BCC was affordable and the effort of traveling into Boston once a week for practices was worth it, she said.  The fee for the chorus is based on a sliding scale about what a person can afford.  Other perks to Amira joining the chorus have been that not only has she made many friends with other children her age, Tanya and her husband Alan have made friendships with several parents.

The BCC is a multi-cultural and multi-racial ensemble of boys and girls from Boston’s neighborhoods and surrounding communities, including Holbrook.  The next performance for the BCC will take place on Monday, Jan. 16 at the New England Conservatory of Music’s Jordan Hall.  This performance will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Accompanying the BCC will be the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Young People's Chorus of New York City.  Although Amira will not be seen on television, the performance will be telecast live on ABC (Channel 5) at 6:30 p.m.

Amira has enjoyed her experiences with the BCC and doesn’t get too nervous before a performance, she said.  Anira joined because she wanted to learn something new and thought that singing would be good exposure for her.  In the chorus, Amira has performed many types of music, including jazz and religious music.  She has learned several songs in different languages, such as Spanish, Japanese, and Hebrew, she said.

Amira is also a dancer.  She has been dancing since she was two and takes ballet, tap, and jazz dance lessons at the Sherry Gold Dance Studio in Brockton.  An only child, Amira has been home-schooled by her mother for the past two years.  Before that, she was attending the Lighthouse Church Christian Academy.  Once she reaches the sixth grade, she will return to a private school, Tanya said.  Amira said that she likes being home-schooled because it can be easier to focus without the noise from other students interrupting her concentration.

Since Amira is home-schooled, interacting with children from the chorus provides a great social time for her, Tanya said.  Amira gets together with her chorus friends sometimes to extend their relationship beyond the chorus.  Tanya has found that other parents of children in the chorus home-school their children, too.  This makes her feel that she has met other people who are on the same page as her about their children, she said.  One of the best aspects of the BCC is that although the children come from a variety of backgrounds and socioeconomic status and race are not significant to the chorus, parents and children alike enjoy the music and have fun, Tanya said.  Those interested in more information about the upcoming performance or the BCC can log on to its web site at bostonchildrenschorus.org.

Leeanne Stronach can be contacted at ltstronach@aol.com.

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Young voices will help celebrate King holiday

Boston Globe
Catherine Foster, Globe Staff
Saturday, January 14, 2006

On Monday night at 6:30, children's choruses from three cities will raise their voices at Jordan Hall in praise of Martin Luther King Jr.

Some 120 members of the Boston Children's Chorus will present the premiere performance of a song cycle, "A Trilogy of Dreams," based on three Langston Hughes poems, set to music by composer Rollo Dilworth. Joining them onstage will be two other choruses. The 40-member Chicago Children's Choir will perform "Songs of the Civil Rights Movement," and the 40-member Young People's Chorus of New York City will present "Songs of Freedom." "Raising the Roof: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. In Song" will air live on ABC's Channel 5, the first time a US children's choral concert honoring King has been presented live on a major television station, according to Hubie Jones, founder and president of the Boston Children's Chorus. "Good Morning America" news anchor Robin Roberts will read from speeches and writings by King. On Tuesday, "Good Morning America" will feature footage from the concert.

"This is about us trying to elevate the celebration of the King holiday to a new level of significance and vibrancy in Boston," Jones says. "Over the last few years, there are more people going to work and not using the holiday in a meaningful way. We don't have important events that they can plug into. Now we have this evening, so people can have a powerful experience regarding the King legacy."

Jones says he expects to hear within a few days whether the cable superstation WGN in Chicago will broadcast the taped program throughout the Midwest and the South.

The concert itself is sold out, but $5 seats are available for a rehearsal Monday from 1 to 2 p.m.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Governor Mitt Romney, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino have all confirmed that they will attend the concert.

Boston Children's Chorus artistic director Darren Dailey says he found Dilworth, who's based in Chicago, through a composition Dilworth wrote several years ago, "Everlasting Melody."

"I fell in love with the piece," Dailey says. "We're closing with it." Then Dailey found the Hughes poems that, he says, "screamed the mission of the Boston Children's Chorus" and gave them to Dilworth to set to music.

This is the third King concert by the Boston Children's Chorus since Jones started the choir in 2003 as a way to inspire social change by having children from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, and religions make music together. The chorus, made up of 131 children ages 7-15 drawn from 39 urban and suburban neighborhoods, has given more than 60 private and community performances since its sold-out debut concert on Martin Luther King Day 2004.

Branden Miles, 10, of Roxbury, has been involved with the chorus since the beginning. "I think the music is going to be great for ["A Trilogy of Dreams"], he says. "It's going to be about dreams and how Langston Hughes is talking about what he wanted to have happen later in life, and how it's happened now."

Last July, the Boston Children's Chorus traveled to Seto City, Japan, to perform at the International Children's Chorale Festival. Then in August, it sang the national anthem to kick off the New England Patriots opening game at Gillette Stadium.

"This concert is not only big for the Boston Children's Chorus and the two choruses with us," Jones says, "it's great for children's choral music itself. It's never had this kind of visibility, except the Harlem Boys Choir."

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Children's choruses join voices to honor legacy of M.L. King Jr.

Boston Globe
By Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff
Sunday, January 8, 2006

Pride is in order for the Boston Children's Chorus, as members prepare to sing their hearts out for Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday.

All 1,100 tickets have been sold out for weeks for the third annual evening performance, which this year will also feature the Chicago Children's Choir and the Young People's Chorus of New York City, together for the first time on the same stage.

That's a lot of children, about 200 in all, raising their voices in honor of the civil rights activist, and the union of the three groups has prompted early birds to snatch up the tickets to the Jan. 16 event.

"It's becoming so popular, and that's one of the reasons it's selling out early," said Darren Dailey, artistic director for the Boston Children's Chorus.

"I haven't heard of anybody selling tickets on eBay yet," he said, joking about the demand for tickets.

But you can still catch the show another way.  There will be a 1 p.m. open dress rehearsal that day, for $5, at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Ave.

Or you can tune into WCVB-TV (Channel 5) for a live broadcast from 7 to 8 p.m, another first for the Boston group, which is a diverse ensemble of urban and suburban youths grades 2 to 12.

"Now that's a bargain," Dailey added.  He hopes the show will be picked up by ABC affiliates in New York and Chicago to give the three groups more of a national audience.

For more information, check out www.bostonchildrenschorus.org.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Children’s chorus to honor MLK

Boston Globe
by JOHNNY DIAZ
Thursday, January 5, 2006

Pride is in order for the Boston Children's Chorus, as members prepare to sing their hearts out for Martin Luther King Jr.'s holiday.

All 1,100 tickets have been sold out for the third annual evening performance Jan. 16, which will also feature the Chicago Children's Choir and the Young People's Chorus of New York City, together for the first time on the same stage. That's about 200 children raising their voices in honor of the civil rights activist, and the union of the groups has prompted early birds to snatch up the tickets.

But you can still catch the show another way. There will be a 1 p.m. open dress rehearsal the day of, for $5, at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Ave.

Or you can tune into WCVB-TV (Channel 5) for a live broadcast from 7 to 8 p.m, another first for the Boston group, which is a diverse ensemble of urban and suburban youths, grades 2 to 12.

For more information, check out www.bostonchildrenschorus.org.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Boston Children’s Chorus gives MLK Day concert

Beacon Hill Times
by Alexandra Bowers
Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Gracias, Arigato, Xie xie, Danke schön: Saying "thank you" in a handful of languages is something that local singers Emilie Slotine and Maxwell Anthony know by heart.  The song "Malo Malo," which says "thank you" in different tongues, is their favorite song in the Boston Children's Chorus MLK performance on Monday evening.

Music is important to both children, and the BCC, an arts organization that brings together children from all of Boston to discover the power of singing together, has given them a stage to express themselves.

Slotine, age 10, lives on Joy Street and attends the Ecole Bilingue, where she studies both English and French.  She joined the BBC a year ago because she loves to sing.  "I was part of my school chorus and I practically sing all day and annoy my friends," said Slotine with a smile, adding that while there are a lot of songs at the BCC to learn at one time, she loves being onstage and likes that the chorus performs nearly every month.

Anthony, age 12, lives at West End Place and attends the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton, He has been singing with the BCC for two years.  "You make friends and they teach you how to sing," said Anthony.  "Mr. Dailey is a good conductor and he teaches you a lot about music."

In addition to singing, Anthony has studied violin for 6 years, and music may be his future career.  "I want to be a conductor, maybe an orchestra conductor," he said.  "My favorite composer is Beethoven.  I think my favorite piece is "Ode to Joy."

Monday's concert celebrates Martin Luther King Day, and will be held at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall at 6:30 p.m.  The BCC will be joined by the Chicago Children's Chorus and the Young People's Chorus of New York City.

Darren Dailey, the chorus' founding artistic director, and principal conductor of the BCC's Concert, Lyric and Treble choruses, describes the evening's program.  "Essentially the music for this concert are songs of freedom and songs of the Civil Rights movement," said Dailey, adding that because the concert celebrates King's legacy, the theme of "dreams" led the BCC to commission a new choral work from composer Rollo A. Dilworth.  Dilworth set three Langston Hughes poems to music: "Dreamkeeper," "Dreams," and "I Dream a World."  The Concert Choir will perform its world premiere on Monday.

"The first is simplistic but very mysterious as the children's voices invoke the appearance of a dreamkeeper," said Dailey.  "The second movement is a quasi–blues style and the third movement is set in a gospel style."

The concert has been sold out, but it will be telecast live on WCVB-TV, Channel 5 at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available for the 1 p.m. open dress rehearsal at www.bostonchildrenschorus.org or at 617-778-2242.

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Musical melting pot

Marblehead Reporter
Swampscott Reporter
By Neil Zolot/ Correspondent
Thursday, January 12, 2006

This Monday, on Martin Luther King Day, the Boston Children’s Chorus, in partnership with the New England Conservatory of Music and WCVB-TV Channel 5, will present a live, primetime telecast of its third annual concert celebrating the legacy of Dr. King.

This is the first time in the United States that a children’s choral concert will be presented live on a major network affiliate celebrating the King holiday.  Joining the Boston Children’s Chorus on the stage of NEC’s Jordan Hall will be the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

Among the singers will be 11-year-old Sophie Lev, a Swampscott resident and student at the Tower School in Marblehead.  She’s part of the intermediate lyric choir.  Although the lyric choir will not perform in the televised portion of the show, it will sing some African-based hymns as an opening act for the more advanced concert choir and the guest choirs.

The BCC was formed in 2001 by Hubie Jones, a local educational leader and panelist on the now-defunct WCVB public-affairs program "Five on Five."

"It was inspired by the Chicago Children’s Choir," explained BCC publicist Judi Garfinkel.  "He felt Boston needed something similar, where children from all backgrounds could come together, grow musically and break down social barriers."

Lev joined last September in the spirit of Jones’ idea.

"I thought it would be fun to be in the city with a lot of different types of kids," she said.  "I’ve gotten to know a lot of different types of kids.  I consider them friends."

Added Sophie’s mother, Carol Lev, "I had read about the chorus and thought it sounded like an interesting experience.  It draws kids together from all walks of life and different neighborhoods.  When Sophie had time for it, we looked into it and she loves it.  It’s a great thing to have experiences outside Marblehead and Swampscott and for her to meet children she might not otherwise meet."

The family has roots in both towns.  Carol, a lawyer by profession but now a stay-at-home mom, and her husband Mark both graduated from Swampscott High in 1980 and lived in Marblehead for many years.  Right now, they’re living with extended family in Swampscott while looking for a new house.

Even at 11, Sophie is an old hand at performing, having appeared in productions with the Marblehead Little Theatre and in school plays.  Not surprisingly, she likes show tunes but also listens to popular music on the radio.

Her commitment to the BCC involves one afternoon a week, although more time has been required as the concert approaches.  She’s pretty busy with the BCC, Hebrew School, gymnastics and ice hockey, although not as busy as she has been in the past.

"It works out; things are spread out during the week," Carol said.  "Some years we’ve been racing from one thing to another.  This year it’s more relaxed."

Nevertheless, Sophie sometimes reads during down time at chorus.  Carol often waits for her but sometimes visits her older daughter, 14-year-old Phoebe, who attends a private school in Boston.  She dances.  It’s sort of an artistic family, at least among the younger Levs, with 9-year-old son Cooper playing drums.  He also attends Tower, as did Phoebe at one time.

Carol said neither she nor Mark is artistic, although she remembers playing music around the kids.  Sophie, it turns out, was able to hum "Over the Rainbow" before she could talk.

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Bromfield Teen Has the Music in Him

By Nan Shnitzler
Harvard Post
September 9, 2005

Paul-Jordan Talbot and his mom Marie are flanked by their Japanese host family Akemi Tateyama (left) and Takatune Tateyama. (Courtesy photo)

If it weren't for Action Unlimited, Paul-Jordan Talbot might not have gone to Japan. Two years ago, he answered a request for auditions from the Boston Children's Chorus that appeared in the ubiquitous weekly advertising circular. "It was just the beginning," said his mother, Marie Talbot.

In only its second year, the Boston Children's Chorus was one of four U.S. children's choirs invited to perform at the second International Children's Chorale Festival in Seto City, Japan from July 26 to Aug. 2. The festival was held in conjunction with the Aichi World Exposition, a multinational world's fair of cultural exchange expected to attract 20 million visitors over six months.

For the Boston Children's Chorus, it was an extraordinary opportunity to take its mission - the community-building power of children and music - to a global stage. The chorus was built from the ground up with children of diverse backgrounds, having at least two things in common: youthful promise and a love of singing. Indeed, the festival, called "In Harmony," was designed to bring together children from Japan and the U.S. to encourage international friendships and understanding.

Perhaps nothing fosters cultural understanding more tangibly than a homestay. During the festival, local Japanese residents volunteered as host families and welcomed singers, chaperones and parents into their homes as members of their families. "The host family piece is wonderful," Marie said.

The 28 singers and chaperones were not sent into the unfamiliar world of kanji and tatami mats without preparation. Four orientation sessions at the Children's Museum in Boston taught them Japanese phrases and manners, how to use chopsticks, and how to cope with high-tech Japanese bathrooms. A key insight was the museum's 100-year-old wooden Japanese house, given to Boston by its Japanese sister city of Kyoto. "The houses we stayed at were very similar to the house at the museum," Marie said.

"They don't use nails," chimed in Paul-Jordan. They're notched like Lincoln Logs, he said.

One of many highlights for Paul-Jordan was celebrating his 14th birthday in Japan. He was feted by his fellow choir members and presented with a candle-laden birthday cake by his host family that he said was delicious but smaller than it looked in photos, stacks of which Marie and Paul-Jordan are looking forward to filing in albums.

No international cultural exchange is complete without swag. The Boston-based singers shared key rings, pencils, pins and hats commemorating the children's choir and the Rex Sox World Championship. They gave a Red Sox shirt to the mayor of Inuyama, their resident city, located not far from Nagoya. In return they received dolls, more pins, origami and even custom-made kimonos in which they performed at one of their four concerts. Next year's chorale festival is in Chicago, but both Talbots said they would love to go back to Japan.

The Boston Children's Chorus is a big commitment for the Bromfield freshman. Ninety-minute rehearsals, twice weekly, are coupled with performances almost every weekend, but Paul-Jordan loves it. The longer the rehearsal, the more energized he gets. Hour-long drives from Harvard to Boston are homework time. Does he warm up his voice in the car? Not in front of my mom, he teased, although he admitted to singing in the shower. "I'm alone in there," he said.

Paul-Jordan has been singing for half his life. "Since he was 8, he would just sing," Marie said. He began chorus with the Arts Alliance Pro Musica Youth Chorus in Hudson and Boston Bel Canto Opera directed by Bradley Pennington, with whom he took private voice lessons for two years. He'll choose musical theater over singing or acting alone. Among his roles have been Amahl in "Amahl and the Night Visitors" with Boston Bel Canto; Nicely Nicely Johnson in "Guys and Dolls" with Arts Alliance Summer Drama Workshop in Hudson; and the Artful Dodger in "Oliver!" presented by Bromfield Drama Society. He also plays guitar for fun, percussion and timpani with the Bromfield band and sings with the school chorus.

Paul-Jordan enjoys music and art to the exclusion of almost any other academics. He brought thick comic books, called manga, back from Japan and emulates the big-eyed spiky-haired characters in his sketchbook. He can memorize stacks of sheet music in English and Japanese, along with choreography and sign language for concerts. At one time he knew the entire script for the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." But don't ask him about Spanish irregular verbs. "I have a good memory for music, not for Spanish or math formulas," he said.

"I remember what I want to remember."

Copyright 2005 townonline.com and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.

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Young Melrose singer visits Japan

By Greg Duggan/ gduggan@cnc.com
Melrose Free Press
September 1, 2005

Grace Thompson, bottom row, second from left, poses in Japanese attire while on a trip to Japan with the Boston Children’s Chorus. (Courtesy photo)

Kimonos, castles, origami and very few lunches. For 12-year-old Grace Thompson, a recent trip to Asia with the Boston Children's Chorus (BCC) opened her eyes to the cultural differences of life in Japan.

"I've always loved to sing," Thompson said, but she never expected her voice to be a ticket to Japan. Yet, after joining the BCC last November, Thompson had the talent and good fortune to participate in the second International Children's Chorale Festival, held in Inuyama, Japan as part of the World Exposition.

Thompson was one of 28 singers from the BCC to travel overseas, where the group sang both English and Japanese songs during three concerts held from Jul. 26 to Aug. 2. Although singing in a foreign language may sound impressive, Thompson modestly said that after practicing all year, the songs and foreign words "weren't terribly hard to memorize."

In fact, singing in Japanese allowed the BCC to collaborate with the Japanese choruses, Thompson's favorite part of the trip.

"Singing with the other choruses, we actually got to stand next to them and say hello," Thompson said. More than simply physical proximity, sharing a language, even for a brief time, made her feel that much closer to her Japanese peers.

Rather than merely introducing the American singers to the Japanese choruses, however, the trip actually placed the children with host families. Parents had no contact with their kids, and the children fully immersed themselves in Japanese lifestyle.

Thompson's hosts, two women, didn't speak much English, so they communicated with the help of bilingual dictionaries. The language barrier did little to hinder a great experience, as the hosts took Thompson and her roommate, also from the BCC, to a nearby castle and to the local mall. The only big adjustment Thompson had to make was foregoing lunch.

"My host family didn't really have lunch," she said. "They just had a big breakfast."

Thompson came home with more than just memories: a kimono given to her from organizers at the World Exposition and plenty of origami from one of her host's nephews. She also made sure to bring a bit of Massachusetts to Japan, handing out gummy lobsters, BCC pencils, and lots of Red Sox memorabilia.

The trip forged a relationship Thompson will never forget. She recently received a post card from her host family, and plans to write back soon.

"I definitely want to go back and see them," she said.

Copyright 2005 townonline.com and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.

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Children's Chorus hits the high notes

By SWANEE HUNT
Boston Herald, August 22, 2005

Every city has its ethnic neighborhoods, but often, rather than being rich in hope, they become disconnected pockets, cut off from the benefits of urban life. With this in mind, Hubie Jones, founder of the Boston Children's Chorus, has set to work constructing a cultural bridge. He knows that the world has become more dangerous, especially for kids. There are plenty of destructive options and temptations on the city streets, even in the schools. But it's against that backdrop that this civic leader has created a showstopper.

In 2003, Jones created the chorus, modeling it after the 47-year-old Chicago Children's Choir, which has performed from Carnegie Hall to the Ukraine. Jones' dream has grown to nearly 150 children, from grades 2-12. After a highly successful debut for a sold-out crowd of more than a thousand (with only three months of rehearsals under their belts), they performed a year later at the Democratic National Convention. It's no wonder they're receiving more singing requests than they can handle.

Like other children's choruses, the Boston group provides music education and performance experience. It also provides the building blocks ev