In 2014, OperaDelaware and the Wilmington Children’s Chorus partnered to launch the Neighborhood Choir Program, a satellite-site model that creates smaller choirs in community centers and schools throughout the area. Since then, the program has expanded into a 22-week choral music program that includes over 200 singers in grades K-5 who attend the Latin American Community Center After School Programs in three locations. The singers perform a public concert at the end of each school year.
Appalachian Children’s Chorus Empowering West Virginia's Youth -Charleston, West Virginia
The Appalachian Children’s Chorus, located in West Virginia’s capital city of Charleston (pop. approx. 51,000), was founded in 1990 by Selina Midkiff with just 12 singers. Today, they serve as the official Children’s Chorus of West Virginia, and, in that capacity, they have performed for governors, presidents and heads of state, and travelled to Carnegie Hall and on international tours to Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland and England. The choir’s mission is “to provide artistic excellence, a quality music education and extraordinary opportunities while creating a positive effect on the lives of West Virginia’s youth.”
The organization has grown to include six choirs of children in kindergarten through 12th grade that are located in three counties. ACC welcomes children of all racial, cultural, religious and economic backgrounds and provides opportunities to offer a superior music education, to experience the world through music of other cultures, and to foster the personal and social growth of choir members. The choir hosts the national Appalachian Festival of Young Voices, an annual celebration of folk music in mountain tradition. “The chorus's history is rich with tradition, replete with spirit and ably representative of all that is good about the State of West Virginia.”
Central Dakota Children's Choir (Bismarck, ND)-Inspiring New Generation of Singers/Creating Community in Sparsely Populated State
North Dakota, with a population of approximately 758,000 (Census Bureau 2016), is the fourth least populated and fourth least densely populated state in the US. It is in the capital city of Bismarck (metro population 130,000) that the Central Dakota Children’s Choir has created a thriving community of young singers who are enriching and strengthening the social fabric of the metro area and serving as cultural ambassadors for the state. The choir program has grown to include six different choirs of over 300 singers in grades 2-12 from 47 schools around the region.
The choirs perform nearly 40 concerts in schools, churches and other venues annually for approximately 15,000 people and sponsor several music education programs throughout the year. Their members come from a variety of backgrounds and attend private, public, and homeschools. According to its website, “Central Dakota Children's Choir's mission is to provide a unique choral education and experience to the children of central North Dakota, to enrich the artistic community, and to serve as ambassadors for our state through music and education.” The group offers tuition waivers to make the program financially accessible to students from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. Because the choir has been around for nearly twenty years, they have graduated a broad base of alumni who continue to return each spring to join forces with the other choristers.
Learn more about the work of the Central Dakota Children’s Choir by watching the video below.