Organization
The Choir currently serves 2,700 children aged 8–18 through choirs in 40 schools, afterschool programs in 8 Chicago neighborhoods and the top-level Concert Choir. The Choir collaborates regularly with choral, orchestral, opera, theatre and dance organizations, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The 8 after school programs are Hyde Park, Lincoln Park/DePaul, Rogers Park, Pilsen/Little Village, Humbolt Park, Garfield Park, Beverly and now Albany Park. The Choir also has a program called DiMension for boys with changing voices.
Under President and Artistic Director Josephine Lee, the Concert Choir has undertaken national and international tours, performed for such dignitaries as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, was featured on the 2007 PBS series From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall, and received a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for the 2008 documentary Songs on the Road to Freedom.
The mission of Chicago Children's Choir is to be a "multiracial, multicultural choral music education organization, shaping the future by making a difference in the lives of children and youth through musical excellence." This is based on the founder's belief that by bringing children of differing races, creeds and socioeconomic backgrounds together through music, he could help them better understand themselves, each other and the world around them. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Choir raises approximately $1.5 million each year in order to provide reduced tuition on a sliding scale according to family income.
Read more about this topic: Chicago Children's Choir
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