Milwaukee Children's Choir Announces Record Enrollment for Roots & Wings Festival 2010

Milwaukee Children's Choir (MCC) invites the public to join us for the Roots & Wings Festival 2010 concert "All Cultures in Harmony."

Roots & Wings is MCC's annual spring festival for its younger choir members and guest choirs from area schools. This year, Carol Storck's first as Artistic Director, the festival has record enrollment. Sixteen guest school choirs will join MCC choirs for the day. In all, more than 500 young singers are expected to attend, and more than 140 schools will be represented. Schools represented at this year's Roots & Wings festival are listed below.

The festival day: The children gather in the morning. They practice music prepared in advance with their music teachers. They learn traditional folk dances, including Chimes of Dunkirk, Sasha!, Shoofly and La Raspa. The young singers also do a service project. This year participants will create cheerful cards to send to members of the United States Armed Forces, and special guest Navy veteran Mike Kolodzyk will speak to the children.

The festival concert: After a fun-filled day of song, dance and art, the singers present an uplifting concert reminding everyone of the power of music. The 4pm concert is open to the general public and general admission tickets are only $5.

This year's Roots & Wings concert theme is "America: All Cultures in Harmony." Students will sing folk music celebrating the fact that Americans come from all parts of the globe, with songs from cultures that influence American life. Repertoire includes Haida (Chassidic round), Old Dan Tucker (traditional American), De Colores (traditional Spanish), Yonder Come Day (African-American spiritual). Also on the program are All of One Heart, a song about freedom, peace and liberty, and I'll Make the Difference, by the late Moses Hogan, a noted African-American composer. Members of MCC's more senior choirs will perform for the young singers and the concert audience.

"We are thrilled with the size of this year's festival registration," MCC Artistic Director Carol Storck says. "The Roots & Wings Festival is an opportunity for our choirs and guest choirs to meet, play, dance, work and sing together. The young singers will learn about some of the cultures that make America what it is today. They'll learn dances that were taught Americans many years ago. They'll learn from a veteran how it feels to get a letter from home while you are serving America far away from home. And by working and playing together, they'll learn about and from each other. Those attending the afternoon concert cannot help but be inspired by the joyful sound of 500 young voices singing out strong. I can think of no better place to be that day."

Guest Schools: Applecrest Preparatory Leadership Academy (Milwaukee); Deer Creek Intermediate (St. Francis), Dover Street School (Milwaukee), Family Montessori School (Milwaukee); Golda Meir Elementary (Milwaukee); Hales Corners Elementary (Hales Corners); Hartland South Elementary (Hartland); Highland View Elementary (Greendale); John Long Middle School (Grafton); Kennedy Elementary (Grafton); Milwaukee Montessori School (Milwaukee); Racine Montessori School (Racine); St. Francis Borgia School (Cedarburg); St. Sebastian School (Milwaukee); Trowbridge Elementary (Milwaukee); and University Lake School (Hartland).

MCC Choir member schools:

Academy of Accelerated Learning
Applecrest Leadership Academy
Aquinas Academy
Atwater Elementary School
Bethesda
Blessed Savior South
Brookfield Academy
Brookfield Christian School
Brookfield East High School
Brookfield Elementary School
Brown Deer Middle School
Butler Middle School
Calvary Lutheran School
Canterbury Elementary
Catholic Central High School
Cedar Grove-Belgium High School
Cedarburg High School
Christ King School
College Park Elementary
Cooper Elementary
Cumberland Elementary
Deer Creek

Divine Mercy
Divine Savior Holy Angel
Dover Street School
Downtown Montessori Academy
Dunwiddee Elementary
Eagleville Elementary
Edgewood
Eisenhower High School
Eisenhower Middle School
Elm Creative Arts
Fairview
Fernwood Montessori
Frank Lloyd Wright
Franklin Elementary School
Fritsche Middle School
Glen Hills Middle School
Glen Park Elementary
Glenwood
Golda Meir
Grafton High School
Greendale High School
Greenfield High School
Hartford Union High
Hawley Environmental
Heritage Christian School
Highland Community
Highland View
Hillside Elementary
Holy Family School
Homestead High School
Humboldt Park School
IDEAL
Indian Hill
JF Kennedy Elementary
John Long Middle School
Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School
La Escuela Fratney
Lake Bluff Elementary
Lake DeNoon Middle School
Lake Shore Middle School
Lakeview Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Lloyd Street School
Longfellow Middle School
MacDowell Montessori
Madison Elementary
Magellan Day School
Manitoba

Maple Avenue
Maple Grove Elementary
Marcy Elementary
Maryland Ave. Montessori
McKinley Elementary
Meadowview
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Milwaukee Jewish Day School
Milwaukee Montessori
Milwaukee Spanish Immersion
Morgandale
MPS SUPAR
Mt. Olive Lutheran School
Nicolet High School
Oak Creek East Middle School
Oak Creek High School
Our Father's Lutheran School
Our Redeemer
Parkway Elementary School
Pewaukee Lake Elementary School
Pilgrim Park Middle School
Pius XI High School
Pleasant View
Prairie School
Rawson Elementary School
Richards Elementary
Roosevelt Elementary
Rosemary School
Rufus King High School
Shorewood High School
Shorewood Intermediate
Siloah Lutheran
South Milwaukee High School
South Milwaukee Middle School
St. Bernadette
St. Charles
St. Francis Borgia
St. John's Lutheran-Glendale
St. Joseph Parish School
St. Mary's
St. Matthias School
St. Monica School
St. Paul Lutheran School - Grafton
St. Paul's - Muskego
St. Robert
St. Sebastian
St. Thomas Aquina Academy
St. Vincent Pallotti
Stormonth School

Sussex Hamilton High School
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Thorson Elementary School
Tonawanda Elementary School
Trailside
Trowbridge
University School
Walden III Middle School
Washington Elementary
Wauwatosa East High School
Wauwatosa West
Webster Middle School
West Suburban Christian Academy
Westlawn Elementary
Whitefish Bay High School
Whitefish Bay Middle School
Whitman Middle School
Willow Springs
Woodlands

About the Milwaukee Children's Choir, Inc. Now in its 16th season, Milwaukee Children's Choir (MCC) is Southeastern Wisconsin's premier professional children's choir. Under the leadership of artistic director Carol Storck, MCC has programs for children of all school ages. Rehearsals are educational, child centered, age appropriate, and fun, and integrate these educational concepts: singing as the basis for music education, folk music for beginning singers, use of solfege, performing highest quality music, developing the complete musician, and using sequenced curriculum.

MCC teaches not only music but also important life skills such as poise, self-confidence, self-discipline, focus, memory, problem solving, and teamwork. MCC's commitment to artistic excellence makes it the "go to" choir for performing arts groups, including Present Music, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet, and Festival City Symphony. In December 2008 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel declared MCC a "highly skilled and essential musical resource" in Milwaukee. Learn more at www.milwaukeechildrenschoir.org.

 

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