Arts center choir has final performance
Published 9:56 pm Friday, May 11, 2018
- Gavin Harper led rehearsal with the chorus at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts before their finale performance on May 17. (submitted photo)
The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts’ Children’s Chorus will have its final performance next Thursday to close out its inaugural season.
Suffolk Center Education Manager Gavin Harper started this choir in January 2018, and more than 20 children have spent time learning how to read music, identify pitches and learn proper vocal techniques during weekly rehearsals.
“I think they’ve grown a lot just in their presence to be able to sing in front of people as well as learn different techniques,” Harper said. “They learn breathing techniques, reading music and identify rhythms, and they have grown a lot.”
The upcoming performance will be only the group’s second performance since the group got started. The other performance was March 1 at the Young Artist Showcase at the center.
The season finale will feature music through the years, and the selections range from ’60s hits to music from today.
Some of the songs featured will be Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Waters” and Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All.”
“The focus of the concert was to bring joy to people’s faces and to their hearts. We are doing a variety of music from decades, and we hope that every person can find a song they can relate to and bring them back to when they were a kid,” Harper said.
The program will be held at 7 p.m. May 17 at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, 110 W. Finney Ave.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, and it’s going to a variety of music. The kids have worked really hard, and there will be some surprises and all around just really good music,” Harper said.
Harper has a master’s degree in music education and has conducted a variety of choirs from children to adults. He was the orchestra director in the 2017 production of “Shrek the Musical” at the Suffolk Center.