Recent Tours, Concerts, Festivals

Singing (and Drumming) in the Global Community Festival (6/1/2010)

globalsinging4recentconcerts The choir was pleased to host a multicultural festival at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale on April 10, 2010. The workshop hosted two other area children’s choirs, the Princeton Girlchoir under the direction of Lynell Joy Jenkins, and the New Jersey Youth Chorale, under the direction of Trish Joyce. The three choirs rotated through a series of workshops with noted clinicians Rollo Dilworth, who worked with each choir on one of his arrangements and on singing spirituals and gospel music, Jack Kessler, who lead a session on Jewish Music, Joe Tayoun, who taught Middle Eastern Drumming, and several members of Svitanya, who taught singing in the Eastern European style. In the afternoon, all the choirs combined to rehearse some common music from the morning sessions, and at the end of the day, presented an informal concert that was open to the public.

Concert Choir Wows Audience at ACDA (3/1/2010)

ACDA4toursconcerts The Concert Choir was honored to perform for the Eastern Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association on Friday, February 12, 2010 at the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany in Philadelphia. Presenting an eclectic program titled Untraveled Worlds, the choir performed ethnic music from Bulgaria, Estonia, and Lebanon, a challenging work by Finnish composer Rautavaara titled Suite de Lorca, and Paul Halley’s Untraveled Worlds to finish the program. They were joined by Maurice Chedid on oud, Joe Tayoun on drums, and Allison Gillespie on violin, adding color and intensity to the performance.

Winning Hearts of Italian Audiences Through Song

Italy4recenttours It is said that music is the universal language and that was very clear from the reception that The Bel Canto Children’s Chorus received on its 2009 tour of Italy in July. The Chorus performed concerts in various villages and cities, including Camigliano, Norcia, Assisi, and Spoleto. The audiences greeted the performances with standing ovations, tears and great enthusiasm. Even though many of them were unable to understand the lyrics, the choristers’ faces and hearts were able to convey beautiful messages through the music.

Dream Peace Concert

From smiles to tears, from music that stirred the soul to music that lifted spirits high, the Peace concert on Sunday, March 1, 2009 took the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The younger choirs of Bel Canto set the stage with an upbeat performance of “Amani” that included members of our guest ensemble, Atzilut, on drums. But the highlight of their spot came when they performed the hauntingly beautiful “Ani Ma’amin,” accompanied by an exquisitely played violin solo performed by Linda Kistler. With the Concert Choir surrounding the audience at the back of the hall, the words of “Prayer of the Children” then echoed across the audience, and many tears began to flow. Robert Jager’s work, I Dream of Peace, was powerful and stirring, with the twelve piece orchestra of strings, winds, harp, and percussion lending color and vibrancy to the strong words of the music. The audience was on its feet in applause almost immediately after the last note faded.