Boston, MA (September 7, 2023) – Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) today announces the theme for their upcoming season: “True Colors.” Inspired by the 20th anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, the first state to do so, BCC singers will explore what it means to be your true self and to be compassionate to each other while embracing and affirming all identities.
“In every note, every harmony, and every word, we will explore what it means to be yourself, inviting our singers and community to embrace the challenges that life presents and transform them into songs of strength and beauty,” said Andrés Holder, Boston Children’s Chorus executive director. “We are thrilled to be elevating the 20th anniversary of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, and are honored to be educating our singers about the importance of inclusivity for a thriving community.”
Massachusetts is home to many firsts in our nation: the first public library, the first public park, the first public school music education program, the first woman to earn a Ph. D., and just 20 years ago, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. This season, the singers of Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) will explore what it means to courageously uplift, center, and value LGBTQIA+ identities, be it through self-love or brave allyship. Through song and spoken word, BCC singers will take inspiration from LGBTQIA+ activists to highlight local and national civil rights movements.
In support of BCC’s work in teaching their youth about the importance of inclusivity, BCC is forming a Season Advisory Council to engage the expertise of area leaders and ensuring that their programming choices are thoughtfully considered and guided by people in LGBTQIA+ communities and allies with lived experience.
BCC will also partner with The Jar, a community-building organization creating some of the most diverse and vibrant rooms in Boston, to host a Salon series for BCC singers and families to grow a dialogue around empathy and LGBTQIA+ allyship.
In conjunction with the season theme announcement, BCC is proud to announce its partnership with two new composers as part of its “Opus Nuovo” program, which commissions new work from composers revolving around a theme that resonates with BCC’s singers. Students work with Opus Nuovo composers for the entire season, culminating in a performance of an entirely new chorale piece that debuts as part of BCC’s season finale concert in May.
This year’s Opus Nuovo composers are Melanie DeMore and Darita Seth.
DeMore is a three-time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director and vocal activist. She has directed numerous choral organizations across the U.S. and Canada and is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!, the Institute for Social and Cultural Change, and is the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances. DeMore was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir and became music director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks as part of the 2019 Luminato Festival. In addition to being an Opus Nuovo composer this season, she will be a guest performer at BCC’s BRAVE concert at Old South Church in Boston.
Seth is a teaching choral artist who was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He is currently founder, president and director of Choral Audacity, the director of music at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Danville, CA, associate director of the Danville Girls Chorus and the Cantabella Children’s Chorus. Praised for his technical power and precision, Seth has been featured in performances of choral masterworks including Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Duruflé’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. He has performed in venues across the world including Musikverein in Vienna, Austria; the Liszt Grand Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
About Boston Children’s Chorus
Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) was founded in 2003 by Hubie Jones, a civic leader who has worked for six decades to address the social problems facing Boston’s underserved children and communities. Named Boston’s “Ambassadors of Harmony” by The Boston Globe, BCC harnesses the power of music to connect Boston’s diverse communities, cultivate empathy, and inspire social inquiry. BCC choir programs include 10 choirs with singers from 110 different zip codes in and around Boston. Outside of their after-school programming, BCC is proud to partner with schools to develop in-school choral programs in Mattapan, Roxbury, South Boston, East Boston, Allston and the city of Chelsea. BCC presents over 50 performances per season in a wide range of public and private events. They have performed in venues from Boston Symphony Hall, and Royal Albert Hall in London, to Sydney Opera House, and the White House.
BCC is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.
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