Concert Choir Performs for STING!

By: Olivia Dundon-Duvall, Concert Choir
Olivia has been in BCC for 2 years. She is 12 years old.
Last Thursday, Concert Choir’s Red Choir had the wonderful opportunity to perform at the UNICEF Children’s Champion Award Dinner. Before attending this event, I was thinking along the lines of: Another concert, more music, more work! But when I got there, this place struck me as different. The guests of honor were Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. One of my fellow choir members made sure that they got a BCC CD! After and hour or so of practice downstairs, we finally got to go perform! The rooms where the dinner was being held were enormous, and I so was excited just to be there. When we got onto the stage, I couldn’t help but notice the huge jumbo-tron behind us. It was catching our every move, which was both awesome and scary at the same time. It made us sure to be professional and engaged all the time, and I think it might have even improved our performance!

Our first piece was “Climbin’ Up the Mountain, Children!”, which is a traditional African-American spiritual arranged by Rollo Dilworth. To me, this song is about climbing the “mountain” to heaven and moving forward in life. It’s an upbeat piece, and it was very fun to perform. The audience seemed engaged, too. Our second and final piece was entitled “Stand Together” and was written by (the one and only) Jim Papoulis. Some lyrics of “Stand Together” are:

“Stand alone, see the rain that’s falling down below where I’m reaching
Joining hands slowly takes us to a place we all can believe in
Side by side we could be growing hopes and dreams
If we stand together, we will sing forever of the dreams growing in our hearts
If we stand together, we will see forever, side by side, hope will find a way to our hearts”

These lyrics really outline an idealistic world. Before we performed it, this song didn’t really mean... well... anything to me. But these powerful words took on a whole new meaning when I saw the audience’s reaction. It brought me to tears to see these wonderful people genuinely touched by our voices. I hope every concert that we perform touches the audience as well as us like this one did.

Concert Choir Singing at Sanders Theatre

By: Chloe DeMello, Concert Choir
Chloe has been in BCC for 3 years. She is 12 years old.

Recently, the Concert Choir sang Kaddish Symphony by Leonard Berstein at Sanders Theater in Cambridge. The performance was a collaboration with the Boston Conservatory Orchestra. Hearing the orchestra play 2 other pieces before our piece made me get pumped! Sanders Theater is a beautiful place, and the hall where we performed was probably the prettiest place I have ever seen in my life.


Singing there made me feel more professional than ever before, because we were performing with a professional orchestra, the piece is much longer than a typical piece at BCC (the whole score was literally 115 pages!), and we even had extra rehearsals at Boston Conservatory the week before the concert. It made feel way more grown up than ever.

The piece was enormously long -- at least 20 minutes long -- and had crazy time signatures, like 7/8 and 3/8. At first when we received the piece on the first day I thought, “How are we supposed to learn this?!?” Once Mrs. Adams showed us how 7/8 was counted it was a little easier, but still hard. All-in-all, great experience for me.

Concert Choir has done pieces with Boston Conservatory before, but this is my first year in this particular group, so it was great to experience this for my first time!

What We're Up To: Paying Tribute the Best Way We Can

Editor's Note: Today we are sharing two blog posts about our singers' experience at the Massachusetts Remembers 9-11 Commemoration. BCC was a featured performer at the event. More information can be found on our website.

By Isabel Koyama, Premier Choir
Isabel has been in BCC for 9 years. She is sixteen years old.

Sunday was the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and appropriately, BCC was there as a musical voice of Boston to bring hope to a confused yet reflective city. It was a hot day, and we wore our black uniforms, which didn't make the heat any easier. But just as we did in Jordan three years ago, we tolerated the heat like true professionals! Although we were shaded by the arched Hatch Shell, I sat near the end of my row, right where the sun decided to shine only on my seat. But even through the baking penetration of the sun, I could not have been more glad to sit through the event from the stage. From my seat I watched the Pops play patriotic songs, and Deval Patrick offer reflection. I watched people of all different religions unite in one prayer. I watched a black female vocalist sing from her soul. I heard the family members of victims tell inspiring stories of how they have overcome the unconscionable death of their loved ones ten years ago.

BCC singers perform with the Boston Pops Brass Ensemble at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade

In preparing for our first concert, we practiced songs such as "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and "This is my Song." My first impression of these songs bordered on disgust -- they were so predictably corny. Everything about them was sappy and cliche. But after hearing the speakers I looked at the lyrics to "This is my Song" with a new outlook:

"My country's skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine"

I considered these words as I sang them, how they can bring hope to victims' families in a time when they are brought back to hopelessness; how much it must mean to them that I am singing this song. I thought about the beautiful idea of equity behind this verse - We spend so much time trying to protect what is labeled ours, but in actuality we all live under the same sky. Anyone should be able to look up and see a beautiful, refreshing blue sky above them. Yet war and violence can, metaphorically and literally, turn a blue sky gray.

As I pondered these lyrics I began to sing not for myself, but for them. And by "them" I mean the victims, the victims' families, or any person in the world who is victimized. I felt myself beginning to tear up from the lyrics that I had scoffed at the day before.

In my 9 years of participating in BCC, I have heard our mission statement hundreds of times. It is important to me to interpret it and try to make meaning from it. On Sunday, I felt that our mission, for me, was accomplished. It was accomplished by using music to bring hope to the city of Boston when it needed it most. Through song we exemplified compassion, understanding, unity, and humility; and even if this message of understanding was only internalized by one audience member it was still worth it. BCC was a shoulder for Bostonians to lean on; and if that isn't social change, I don't know what is.


By Allana Matthews, Premier Choir
Allana has been in BCC for nine years. She is seventeen years old.

On Sunday, we had the wonderful opportunity to sing with the Boston Pops for the ten-year anniversary of the tragic event that shook our nation on September 11, 2001. Premier Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble lifted their voices in song, singing patriotic songs as well as songs of hope. Although 9-11 is not a happy day, our music sang to the souls of the fallen, and spoke hope and encouragement for the future to their families.

To be part of such an amazing event was very rewarding. It was an opportunity to reflect on the mission of the Boston Children’s Chorus - we harness the power of music as a catalyst for social change, and that is exactly what we did on the stage at the Esplanade. Ten years ago, there was a terrorist attack against our nation that screamed hate. It was in this time that our nation joined together to promote peace, and spread a beacon of courage, hope and strength for the future. It didn’t matter what the race, the religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background or economic status- we ALL needed one another in that sad time.

On that stage, that is what we stood for. Singing for peace and love, and using music to spread the message of a world without hate.

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace” – John Lennon

UK Tour Wrap-Up

By: Marlon Matthews, Young Men's Ensemble
Marlon has been in BCC for 8 years. He is 15 years old.

The tour to the United Kingdom was the 7th annual tour of the Boston Children's Chorus, and our 4th international trip. It was unlike any of the previous three international trips to Japan, Mexico, and Jordan because the culture shock was more subtle. Many things we saw in the UK (except castle ruins and double-decker buses) are also in the U.S. What really struck a lot of the choir members were the little things, like how much lower the overall noise level is, how the sun was only down for about four hours, or how the rat race mentality of the US seems to have had no effect on the UK. Everything over there still ran smoothly and with efficiency, but the manner in which people got work done was as if they weren't working at all!

Marlon wants YOU to read his blog post!

However, the tour still shared its similarities with previous tours. On every tour that I can remember we have collaborated with other groups that use some form of music to create social change. During the tour to the UK we collaborated with even more groups that usual, including three choruses, one orchestra, and a rap group. The rap group was named IGNITE and I think it's safe to say that their message hit closest to home among the three groups we met. IGNITE is a group that was formed to break down the walls of separation between communities that may have tension due to gangs other social problems through rap and other musical styles. The other four groups we collaborated with, the children's choruses and orchestral school, didn't have the same mission we did entirely, but their music was beautiful.

This tour gave us the opportunity to stand out as leaders because, nearly everywhere we went, we had the opportunity to teach our new friends a song or two. I realized that, although Premier Choir and Young Men's Ensemble graduated 14 seniors this year, it does not mean we are going downhill - there are lots of new leaders prepared to step up to the plate! That was especially obvious when we were doing workshops for younger kids, which we did in addition to our collaborations.

Another similarity that this tour shared with all those before it is that it was a great time for bonding. Tour is a great opportunity to form and nurture relationships. When we are put in this situation, far from our families and our homes, singers understand that we are truly a family, and that family sticks together. This goes for everyone: staff, students, old singers, and new. BCC is a great place to make friends, but it's easiest to get to know the people that are sitting near you during rehearsal, especially since we don't have too many formal social events during the year.

Tour is the best time for people in the same choir to branch out and get to know other people, and even cross over the line and get to know the singers that they don't know well in the other choir. Personally, I got to know a lot of the girls in PC that I would not have otherwise. I saw some guys I haven't seen say more than a word all year sitting in a group of guys and girls and talking as if they'd known each other for years!

Stay tuned...until next year's tour! If you want to see more photos make sure to look at the slideshow on our website!

UK Tour Days 11 & 12

By: Allana Matthews, Premier Choir
Allana has been in BCC for six years. She is 17 years old.

On Day 11 we had a wonderful tour around London. We were able to see Buckingham Palace as well as London Bridge and the Big Ben. We also had some excitement about the new Harry Potter Premier!! Before a very special luncheon, we were able to go to an art museum (the Tate Modern) and it was very interesting.

The group in front of London Bridge

As a tradition, we always have a last, formal meal together in honor of our seniors. This year it was a little wet. There was torrential downpour and no one was happy about the weather, but as usual, BCC made the best of it! We enjoyed a nice sit-down meal at the Azarro Restaurant.

Later on the night, we were able to hear the wonderful sounds of the St. Paul's Girls School Orchestra as well as their chorus. That night was by far the toughest and most emotional night of tour; it was the last concert that the seniors of 2011 would ever be apart of. As we began to sing our signature song, Up to the Mountain, composed by our former teaching fellow Whitney Simmons, almost every singer was in tears. As we sadly say good-bye to fourteen of our beloved singers, that last song was our way of telling them, "Good luck" and "We love you all". We ended the night with a collaboration of both choirs singing I Vow to Thee My Country.

Frank the Bus Driver

On the morning of Day 12, our host families dropped us off at St. Paul's Girls School, and we were homeward bound! Before going to the airport, we went to the Windsor Castle. It was a gorgeous final stop! Once we arrived at the airport, we were sad to have to part ways with our wonderful guide, Dave, and and our fantastic bus driver, Frank. Thank you so much Dave and Frank for allowing us to have an amazing tour of the United Kingdom. Thank you also to all the wonderful staff that made tour possible. We can't wait for next season! :)