Monday, April 23, 2007
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – The internationally-acclaimed African Children’s Choir performs on Wednesday, April 25, at 7 p.m., at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The program will include traditional African dances, well-loved spirituals, children’s songs, clapping and accompaniment by ethnic instruments.
The Choir is composed of children aged between 7 and 11. Though many of them are orphaned due to war, famine and disease, their uplifting voices have brought hope and joy to thousands of audiences worldwide. They have appeared on “Good Morning America,” performed with Bobby McFerrin and Mariah Carey, and their voices can be heard on the soundtrack of the movie, “Blood Diamond.”
“The children in the Choir represent millions of children in Africa,” said Ray Barnett, who founded the Choir over 20 years ago. “These children are bright, articulate and motivated to realize their potential. We believe they can make a difference and we believe that, when audiences see Africa through their eyes, they will want to partner with us to give these children every opportunity to succeed and impact their countries.”
Through its parent organization, Music for Life Institute, the African Children’s Choir is providing education for over 7,000 children in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The Choir also finances numerous relief and development projects including Music for Life Centers in AIDS-devastated South Africa and food-relief containers in war-torn Sudan.
By helping the most vulnerable children now, the children believe they can help themselves and their villages in the future.
The concert is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken at the performance to support African Children’s Choir programs. For further information about the concert, please call Marian Birkhead at 410-651-6523. For more information about the Choir, visit www.africanchildrenschoir.com.
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Wendy Thompson, UMES Office of Public Relations.
Contact: Suzanne Waters Street, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-621-2355,sstreet@umes.edu.
