Children’S Chorus Bound For Italy
Some kids hang around all summer, some go to camp. But three dozen local youngsters who sing like angels have raised enough money to go to Italy. (Talk about having something to write about in September’s “What I Did Last Summer” essay.)
The Spokane Area Children’s Chorus has been invited to take part in the Tuscany International Children’s Chorus Festival in July, and is giving a send-off concert Sunday afternoon to present the music locally that they will sing to represent Spokane while in Europe.
Singing aside, Spokane will be represented in a big way wherever the chorus goes — in airports, while riding buses, waiting in line for snacks — because it’s hard not to notice 36 children in matching outfits with their entourage.
Plus, spontaneous singing happens. Any two or three of them seem to burst forth into song at the slightest whim or provocation. It’s the lucky traveler who encounters the host of angelic voices without having to cross over to hear them.
The Spokane Area Children’s Chorus formed in 1987, and has grown to more than 200 singers. The full chorus is comprised of several smaller groups singing at various levels, including the elite Ensemble. The chorus has released two holiday CDs and has appeared regularly with the best musical organizations in the region, including the Spokane String Quartet, Spokane Opera, the Cathedral and the Arts, and the Spokane Symphony.
Tamara Schupman, director of the children’s chorus, has put together a repertoire of sacred and secular literature to be sung at a variety of concerts. While in Tuscany, the chorus will sing at several formal and informal performances, as well as combining with all of the other visiting choirs for a Gala Festival Concert.
The Tuscany Festival hosts nearly three dozen children’s choruses from all over the world, with the greatest number coming from the United States.
Each visiting choir prepares a “signature piece” to represent itself. The Spokane chorus has selected Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susanna” in an arrangement by David Dusing. They have added choreography by Roger Welch, artistic director for the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre.
Other selections for the festival, which you can hear on Sunday, include Tuscan folk songs and “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s opera “Gianni Schicchi.” Some gorgeous sacred music includes Randall Thompson’s “Pueri Hebraeorum,” John Rutter’s “God Be In My Head” and the Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria.”