West Michigan Symphony Children’s Choir and Debut Strings provide young musicians a creative outlet
Both ensembles will present upcoming fall concerts in The Block
Muskegon, Michigan, October 22, 2018 – The experience of singing and playing music is an irreplaceable part of a child’s development; yet opportunities are few and far between today. West Michigan Symphony—through its Children’s Choir and Debut Strings—is working to change this.
Both groups will give their fall concerts at The Block in downtown Muskegon next month. The Children’s Choir, directed by Beth Slimko, will perform at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, November 10, with music featuring the entire ensemble and solos from select choir members. Debut Strings, led by Angela Corbin, will perform music from around the world—from Europe to Latin America—at 3:30pm and 4:30pm Sunday, November 11.
Musical selections from the Children’s Choir will include the traditional German folksong “Lovely Evening”; Victor Johnson’s “Singabahambayo,” a South African musical celebration of freedom and hope; the Spanish Christmas lullaby “Niño Querido” (“Dear Child”); Mark Patterson’s “Season of Peace,” Douglas Wagner’s “Be Glad This Festival Day,” and Alan Billingsley’s arrangement of “Try Everything” from the Disney film Zootopia. An audition-based group for children ages eight to 13, the Children’s Choir rehearses weekly throughout the season and performs regularly with WMS and throughout the region. On Friday, December 14, the choir will perform during the WMS Home for the Holidays concert at the Frauenthal Center. Next spring, it will participate in the annual Link Up concerts for over 5,000 school children and the community.
Debut Strings will take the audience from Germany, France and Scandinavia all the way to Latin America and Korea. The program will open with German composer J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, continuing with the traditional Korean folk song “Ahrirang,” arranged by Richard Meyer. The group returns to Europe for a French composer’s take on Spain with Georges Bizet’s Toreador Song from Carmen. A Viking seafaring adventure is next with Viking by Soon Hee Newbold. The program will conclude with a visit to Latin America with Rhumbolero by John Caponegro.
Tickets are $5 for adults. Students and children are admitted free. To order in advance, call 231.726.3231. All remaining tickets will be sold at the door. The West Michigan Symphony Children’s Choir is sponsored by Fifth Third Bank. Debut Strings is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and generous individual donors to the WMS Education Fund.
