Celebrate with the African Children's Choir

Friday, Dec. 9

Music erases borders, transcends time and culture, brings people together, and inspires an incredibly unique kind of joy and nonverbal communication. This holiday season, join the African Children's Choir at St. Jude the Apostle Church on Friday, Dec. 9 and experience the simple pleasure of kids performing together and enjoying music.

The African Children's Choir is part of the organization Music for Life, which works in seven African countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana. Volunteer teams from the U.S., the UK, and Canada travel to Africa during the year to work with kids as part of Music for Life, providing community-oriented camps where they can partake in activities like dance, music, theater, and art; it gives them the opportunity to just "be kids." The concept for the African Children's Choir was started by Ray Barnett, who was on a humanitarian trip to war-torn Uganda when he met a young boy who communicated with him by singing, as the two didn't speak the same language. Barnett was inspired to help children through music, and to make their plight more visible to the rest of the world.

The African Children's Choir has sung with well-known artists including Paul McCartney and Annie Lennox, and recently at the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Now their well-loved children's songs, traditional spirituals, and gospel favorites will fill the venue here with light and laughter.

All concerts are free and open to the public, but donations will be encouraged to provide support for African Children's Choir programs. – Miriam Lamey

7 p.m. // St. Jude the Apostle Church // 2801 W. 6th St. // 833.0927