IHC Music presents:

Indianapolis Children’s Choir’s Master Chorale and the Anderson Area Youth Chorale

On May 21 at 4:00 pm, singers from the Indianapolis Children’s Choir’s Master Chorale and the Anderson Area Youth Chorale will perform at IHC as part of the IHC Music Spring Concert Series. These talented young singers will be accompanied by an orchestra for a full celebration of springtime in Indiana as they present two uplifting major choral works: Vincent Persichetti’s Celebrations and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. This concert also honors our graduating seniors of these ensembles as the choir dedicates and performs some of their favorite choral pieces to celebrate the fun, friendships, and experiences that the ICC offers its singers over the years.

Celebrations sets Walt Whitman’s poetry to music as it explores the resilience and optimism of the human spirit. Works include Whitman classics such as Stranger, Voyage, and You Who Celebrate Bygones. Chichester Psalms is an exciting composition that sets to music the complete texts of Psalms 100, 23, and 131, together with a few verses from Psalms 108, 2, and 133. The work debuted in 1965 and was commissioned for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals Festival at Chichester Cathedral. Across its three movements, the piece builds and explores the themes of unity and the brotherhood of man.

Currently in its 37th season, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir (ICC) has grown to become one of the largest professional children’s choirs in the world Led by Artistic Director Joshua Pedde, the ICC serves more than 2,500 central Indiana children from ages 18 months through 18 years The Anderson Area Children’s Choir and Youth Chorale division was founded in the fall of 1992 and is dedicated to serving the children and youth who reside within Anderson and Madison County The Indianapolis Children’s Choir community nurtures and inspires student achievement through quality music education and the pursuit of artistic excellence in choral music performance

To assist with learning these works, the choirs have partnered with several members of the community including Cantor Aviva Marer, who will run a clinic for singers, and Steve Rappaport, who will lead a discussion with singers regarding the background and inspiration for the Chichester Psalms

In a partnership with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, several members will perform with ICC and AAYC singers and have also served as their mentors, plus Director Eric Stark will conduct a few of the movements at the performance

To purchase advance tickets for the Celebrations concert, please visit icchoir.org/tickets or call 317-940-9640 Tickets are $14 each Ages 5 and under can attend for free but require a ticket

If the concerts do not sell out in advance, additional tickets will be available for purchase at the door prior to the performance

When seeking a simple explanation of a topic, it often is worthwhile to look at a child’s book first. In addition to a story or custom, an adult may find background information that usually is accurate.

I am reminded how effective children’s books can be while re-reading, Cheesecake for Shavuot, by Allison Ofanansky, photographs by Eliyahu Alpern.You may think of cheesecake when preparing for Shavuot (“weeks” –seven weeks after Passover), but the holiday also is referred to as: Hag Hakatzir, the holiday of the grain harvest, Hag Habikurim, the holiday of the first fruits (fruits were brought to the Temple on Shavuot), and Hag Matan Torah, the holiday of the giving/receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And some think of Shavuot as a dairy holiday since cow and goat milk are plentiful at that time of year.

The easily understandable text describes a youthful Israeli class planting and watering wheat seeds in the fall. The wheat will grow and be harvested in the late spring. Children watch the seeds sprout grass Close to Passover, they see rows of green seeds on top of the stalks. When the seeds ripen and turn brown and droopy, students use a sickle to cut the stalks.