Friday, June 01, 2007

The African Children's Choir

Wow. I didn't know much at all about the African Children's Choir until I saw them with Theresa and Chris tonight. I really thought Chris would appreciate it, since he's now at the touring level with the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, and he sure did. It was written all over his face. We all did. Let me tell you, it was a PACKED house. It was a line 2-3 people wide, all the way around the church where the concert was held, and even though we got there 40 minutes early, we were lucky to get in. We certainly couldn't sit together. In fact, Theresa and Chris opted to stand along the side aisle instead, and really from that position, they could see better, because ... these kids were LITTLE. My gosh, the ages of the 26 kids performing ranged from 6-9. And they were GREAT -- all loud, in tune, and high energy. You come out of there with such a smile on your face and a tear in your eye.

Apparently, they had been featured in the finale of American Idol this week, and I had missed it. I just knew I liked African singing and when I heard they were going to perform I knew I wanted us to go. Well, it's not all singing. These kids perform to raise money for their orphanages in Africa. Most of them have lost one or both parents. Tonight most of the singers were Ugandan. They perform through the age of 10, and that pays for the rest of their education to adulthood, and they grow up to lift up the circumstances of their villages & countries as educated adults.

Seeing these kids live and in person was a wonderful experience. They travel with their "Aunties" and "Uncles", the men and women who chaparone their travels, help them with their studies on the road, and direct their performances.

The African Children's Choir