2024-2025 Season: People, Get Ready
It is not the light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. – Frederick Douglass from “What to the slave is the 4th of July?”
In a world where change is constant and vital, Boston Children's Chorus invites you this season to explore the themes of civic engagement, protest, and perseverance through the power of song. People, Get Ready will explore pivotal moments and voices that have shaped our nation’s history and continue to shape our world today.
Get Ready as we embark on a musical journey that challenges, inspires, and empowers. Our season promises unforgettable performances that resonate long after the final note. Together, let's create a world where every voice is valued and every heart is filled with hope.
View our Season Events Calendar
SING WITH US!
If you are interested in joining Boston Children's Chorus, we would love to have you join us regardless of skill or experience!
SEASON PARTNER
MassCreative
MassCreative is a statewide arts and culture advocacy organization that envisions a Commonwealth of Massachusetts where arts, culture, and creativity are an expected, well-funded and valued part of everyday life, and are recognized as having significant impact on building civic engagement and economically vibrant, equitable communities.
Mass Creative will lead civic engagement workshops with our Upper Choirs and Intermediates singers to explore arts activism, civic responsibility, discuss the intersections between the arts and politics, and explore efforts to use art and culture to develop creative strategies that educate and encourage participation in the electoral process.
OPUS NUOVO COMPOSERS
Victor C. Johnson
Victor C. Johnson, a native of Dallas, Texas, is currently the School Choral Editor for Sing!, the educational publishing division of Choristers Guild. A prolific composer and arranger, he has over 450 choral works, vocal solo books, and keyboard collections currently in print. Prior to his position at Choristers Guild, from 2000-2018, Victor was a choral director at Ft. Worth Academy of Fine Arts (FWAFA). At FWAFA, Victor directed the Academy Singers, Academy Men’s Choir and was Artistic Director of the Singing Girls of Texas and Children’s Choir of Texas. In August 2022, he was appointed as the conductor of the Dallas Symphony Children’s Chorus Mixed Ensemble, which is comprised of students in grades 9-12 and is the resident children’s choir for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Victor is in demand as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician for music educators and students throughout the United States. He has conducted numerous All-State and Honor choirs in the US and Canada. His own choirs have performed at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention as well as the American Choral Directors Association- Southwest Division conference. His professional affiliations include: American Choral Directors Association, American Guild of Organists, Texas Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, Texas Choral Directors Association, ASCAP, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Inc.
Johnson's commission will feature intermediate, middle school-aged singers and premiere at We Are the Change in March.
Tracy Wong
Dr. Tracy Wong hails from Malaysia and is a choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. She is passionate about helping choral educators to provide unique experiences for their students through collaborative commissions, customized workshops, festivals, and artist residencies. She had conducted workshops for choirs in North America and internationally. Her choral works are widely published and they have been performed by choirs at international competitions and festivals.
Wong's commission will feature our high school-aged singers and premiere at Leaders Among Us in June.
GUEST ARTISTS
Sherylynn Sealy
Sherylynn Sealy, a BCC ’08 alum, and recent featured soloist at the Boston Pops Gospel Night, will join BCC once again on stage for their Finale Concert, Leaders Among Us. Sherylynn Sealy is a creative strategist and educator with a varied background. In her previous role as Senior Program Manager with Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA), she developed, curated, and managed online and in-person content and events for arts and culture funders across the United States. Prior to GIA, Sherylynn was a Philanthropy Fellow with the New York Community Trust where she engaged with arts and culture funders and organizations across New York City. She previously served as a consultant for the Mayor’s Office and Superintendent’s Office on their implementation of the City-wide Youth Stat Initiative in New Haven, CT. Managing over 200 student-cases, she served as the point of contact for 7 schools and local partners. She is currently on the steering committee of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP)-Boston Chapter.
Outside of her work in philanthropy, Sherylynn is a certified yoga instructor, barre instructor, professional vocalist and a trained dancer in ballet and various ballroom styles. She also served on the Dance/NYC Junior Committee. Sherylynn created TrustLoveKnow | The Christian Wellness Company where she uses movement and music to support spiritual growth. She continues to perform as a soloist around the world and spreads a message of hope through her creativity. Learn more at www.sherylynnsealy.com.
A Teach for America alumna, she received her MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from New York University, and her BS in Education and Psychology from Northeastern University.
GUEST ARRANGERS
Tehillah Alphonso
New-Jersey-born and Nebraska-raised, Tehillah Alphonso is a Nigerian-American vocalist, pianist, music director, and GRAMMY®-nominated arranger based in Los Angeles, California. A proud Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Southern California, she received her B.M. in Popular Music Performance from the Thornton School of Music and was named 2020 Outstanding Graduate, becoming the first Black woman in the pop program to achieve this award. While a full-time student at USC, Tehillah served as Business Manager and Music Director of USC’s premiere a cappella group and five-time ICCA champions, the SoCal VoCals.
Her time in the VoCals has led her to perform in venues such as the Staples Center, the Rose Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and many historic theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Upon graduating, she quickly made a name for herself in the session music industry, having sung on a number of films and television shows and alongside notable artists, including Chloe Bailey, Lebo M, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo.
B.E. Boykin
B.E. (Brittney Elizabeth) Boykin first pursued her interest in music during her time at Spelman College, attending classes that inspired and challenged her musical imagination and peaked her interest in composition. After graduating with a B.A. in Music, Boykin continued her studies while attending Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey, graduating with a M.M. in Sacred Music and receiving the R & R Young Composition Prize. Boykin has been commissioned and collaborated with several organizations, including a number of ACDA divisions, the Minnesota Opera and the Kennedy Center. She obtained her Ph.D. from Georgia State University with an emphasis in Music Education and is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Nancy O’Connor
Nancy O’Connor (she/her) is a New York based music director, pianist, and arranger. She has had the pleasure of working with BCC for the past four years, as an accompanist then an arranger. Nancy has recently worked as the Associate Music Director for “Evita” at the American Repertory Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company, a sub conductor and pianist for the Off Broadway musical “Titaníque,” and the Associate Conductor/Keys 2 player for the Lulu National Tour of “Waitress.” She has had both compositions and orchestrations featured in “Curtain Up,” a concert of new musical theater songs at the Berklee Performance Center. Outside the theater world, Nancy has played keys for two west coast tours of Máiréad Nesbitt’s “Celtic Spells,” and has worked as a voice actor for five audiobooks with Random House and Full Cast Audio. Nancy is passionate about the sense of community and collaboration we can find through music! You can find more about her at nancyoconnor.org.
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.
