It’s not every day a children’s choir garners a cool million, with nameless donor and all. They may not be sharing where the money is coming from, but it won’t cool the excitement one bit. It’s a good week for music education.
[Email announcement]
NCC Receives $1 Million Gift
Anonymous Donor Makes Groundbreaking Pledge as First Step Towards Endowment Campaign
________________________________________
In a dramatic and generous gesture last month, a philanthropist wishing to remain anonymous contributed $1 million to the National Children’s Chorus. The gift, payable over the next four years, will help provide vital musical education for youth in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. As part of the NCC’s plans for an endowment campaign, this first important step reflects the organization’s growing commitment to ensure the long-term sustainability of its expanding educational programs.
“The National Children’s Chorus is quickly becoming one of America’s cultural treasures,” said NCC Artistic Director Luke McEndarfer. “This generous endowment–one of the largest gifts of its kind to a children’s chorus–will greatly support the NCC’s outstanding programs and world-class performances. We are immensely grateful for this investment in the dreams and aspirations of our talented students.”
Over the past few years, NCC students have been praised for their excellent music reading capabilities, and have been accepted at prestigious voice and composition programs nationwide, including Tanglewood Music Festival, Idylwild Musical Festival, Interlochen and the LA Philharmonic Associate Composers program. Currently, the NCC is pioneering new ways to enrich the learning experience for all of its students, and will be rolling out novel initiatives in the coming seasons.
“We are humbled and honored that our donor believes so deeply in our mission to educate youth across the nation, and is willing to partner with us in our future growth,” said Executive Director Cristina Demiany. “In 2009, the chorus consisted of a single class, geared solely towards learning music for concert appearances. Today we offer a comprehensive learning platform that includes sight-singing and musicianship in the Kodály Method, private voice training, composition and conducting instruction.”
This Friday, the NCC will make its debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall in collaboration with the American Youth Symphony, singing Tan Dun’s Heaven Earth Mankind (Symphony 1997). Presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the performance will serve as the Los Angeles premiere of the work. Other events this season include the NCC’s Regional Auditions for students wanting to apply to the program, set to be held on April 16th in Los Angeles and May 9th in New York. Season finale performances will take place on April 29th at Royce Hall in Los Angeles and on May 7th at Carnegie Hall in New York, both with music tracing the diverse cultures found along the ancient Silk Road. In July, the NCC will travel to Hong Kong and Mainland China for its second international tour with performances in Beijing and Xian.
For more information, please visit our website:
