Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus, celebrating community through song.
History
It started back in 1980, when local teacher Jeanne Frey, saw a need for choral education. She filled that need by giving Kalamazoo-area children an opportunity to explore and develop choral music when she formed the Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus.
“At the time, there was not a choral program in Kalamazoo public schools that was meeting the needs of the kids who really wanted to explore challenging choral repertoire,” Artistic Director Fred Sang explained to the Kalamazoo Gazette in 2011.
Choir placement is based on many things, including the child’s interests, experience, vocal maturity and the needs of each individual choir.
Each year children, ages 8 to 18, learn and perform in an atmosphere of artistic excellence, and by so doing, enrich the artistic life of our community.
A musical and cultural experience
In 2018, KCC was thrilled to participate and perform in a short film by Kyle Misak, The Acorn. We’ve sung with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, The Kalamazoo Singers and the Kalamazoo Oratorio Society. We’ve opened at Comerica Park for the Detroit Tigers, sung in several operas and perform in The Nutcracker Ballet every two years with Ballet Arts Ensemble and the KSO. A 2013 performance of Carmina Burana with KSO was received with outstanding reviews for the Chorus!
“The Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus… lending a befitting purity of tone. Their voices were delightful and accurate – kudos.” C.J. Gianakans, Kalamazoo Gazette
Over the years we’ve shared the stage with:
- Numazu Boys and Girls Choir (Japan)
- Bloemfontein Children’s Choir (South Africa)
- St. Mary’s Children’s Chorus (Canada)
- The Young People’s Chorus of New York City (USA)
Concert Tours
Highlights of our choristers’ travels include Japan, Ireland, London, Vienna, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Costa Rica. KCC has sung with world-class choruses from around the world, both at home and abroad to foster KCC’s vision; “We envision a future where choral singing is considered a vital part of the fabric of our community and where we provide a bridge to cultural understanding through music”.
In June of 2023, KCC participated in the “We Have A Dream” Choral Festival, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Performing music significant to the Civil Rights Movement under the baton of Dr. Eugene Rogers, our KCC members experienced an opportunity of a lifetime singing onstage at the John F. Kennedy Center. While in DC, our Touring Choir represented Kalamazoo with pride alongside five other choirs from across the country in this impactful journey.
Rehearsal Schedule
Our Tuesday weekly rehearsals run from August to May from 6:00pm-7:30pm. We practice proper vocal techniques while singing through a wide variety of music from Broadway to Bach. We provide a challenging musical environment for our choristers and a rich heritage of choral singing to the Kalamazoo-area.
Vision
The Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus envisions a world where young voices lead the way in celebrating our community through song. We seek to create a space where our differences are embraced and where all who enter belong. Through high quality musical experiences, we believe that our young people will expand their understanding of the world while also discovering the potential of their own artistic abilities. We recognize that choral singing is a vital thread in the fabric of our community, and our young people’s voices are the ones who will be heard to tell the story for generations to come.