FACES AND PLACES: Chicago Children's Choir to sing in Kyiv (04/27/97)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Chicago Children's Choir to sing in Kyiv

The Chicago Children's Choir will travel to Kyiv on May 20 for an 11-day tour of Ukraine. The trip is initiated as a result of the sister-cities relationship that exists between Chicago and Kyiv.

A highlight of the visit will be a special performance during the opening of Ukraine's first McDonald's in Kyiv.

Included in the Kyivan portion of the tour are performances at the American Embassy, Independence Square, a children's hospital, an elementary school, the Greek Theater, as well as a benefit concert at the Philharmonic Hall.

The choir will also travel to Kaniv, where it will present a wreath at the tomb of Taras Shevchenko and sing "The Testament" in the Ukrainian language. When performing songs from other countries, the choir members always sing in the language in which they were written. To date, the choir has performed in 17 different languages.

A final stop on the tour is Cherkasy, where the choir will perform at the concert hall and at a sanitorium for children of Chornobyl.

The Chicago Children's Choir was founded in 1956 by the late Rev. Christopher Moore as a multiracial, multicultural children's choir dedicated to making a difference in young people's lives through musical excellence. "I have been deeply concerned about this country and the world in which we live," the Rev. Moore once said. "My way of attempting to help change it has been working with children and with youth in and through music in order to bring them to a deeper understanding of the whole process of building and maintaining a culture that nourishes and ministers to its people."

Today, the Rev. Moore's choir is counted among the largest, most comprehensive organizations devoted to the musical education of children in the United States. Nearly 2,700 children participate in the three-part program that begins at a very early age. This focus on continuity helps promote a sense of community among the young singers and a family-like environment that many of them lack in their everyday lives. "I spent about a third of my childhood - from 1963 to 1969 - as a member of the Chicago's Children's Choir," one former member recently wrote. "Despite the turbulence of the '60s, I had a happy childhood due, in large part, to my experiences with the choir. Those experiences gave me an appreciation for music of all types. I bring musical enjoyment to my own children because the choir nurtured in me the love of music."

The choir program can be found in 32 Chicago schools where some 1,900 children, largely from economically and socially distressed neighborhoods, receive classroom training in basic music theory and choral performance from professional music educators associated with the choir.

After-school programs are also offered in various locations, including Chicago's Humboldt Park area, not far from the Ukrainian Village. Currently, the young singers represent the ethnic mosaic that is Chicago: 49 percent are African American, 32 percent are Latino, 10 percent are European American and 9 percent are Asian or Middle Eastern. Ninety percent of the children attend school in economically or socially distressed neighborhoods.

The 125-voice Concert Choir consists of advanced singers age 8-18 who are selected from in-school and after-school choruses or through open auditions. This choir has performed with the famed Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, at the mayor's inauguration and the Chicago Jazz Festival.

The Concert Choir has made concert tours of Mexico, Japan, Canada and Russia. In 1996 the choir spent over four weeks in South Africa, where members met and performed for President Nelson Mandela.

Given the rampant corruption that currently infests Ukraine's business environment, the opening of Ukraine's first McDonald's is a minor miracle. It is truly an occasion for celebration and exultation, and I'm delighted that a excellent musical group like the Chicago Children's Choir will contribute to the festivities.

I don't know how the executives at McDonald's were able to avoid the bribes, threats and violence other American businessmen in Ukraine have encountered, but I'm pleased they did. When it comes to joint business ventures, the Ukrainian government is still changing the rules of the game.

The Chicago Children's Choir is supported mainly by performance fees and corporate, civic and private sponsorships. For more information call (312) 849-8300 and ask for Pat Washington. You can also write to her at: 78 East Washington, Chicago, IL 60602.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected]

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