Chester Children Sing a Song of Inspiration

Celebrated local chorus to give free concert in West Chester

The Chester Children’s Chorus, an inspiring choir of over 100 children from the Chester-Upland School District, will give a free concert at Church of the Holy Trinity (High and Union Streets in West Chester) on Saturday, October 20, at 7:30 PM.  

The Chorus, directed by their founder, John Alston, will sing a varied program, including excerpts from Mozart’s Requiem, a tribute to Whitney Houston, and original Gospel compositions. While Houston’s music is part of the children’s everyday experience, Mozart was completely new to them when they began to learn the Requiem this spring. Pairing the two greats in concert “gives the children an opportunity to sing and celebrate what they love together with what they need to know to be educated and competitive adults,” Dr. Alston said.

The city-wide, elite chorus includes boys and girls 8 to 18 years old from every school in Chester. Children are admitted on the basis of audition and spend five to 10 years in the chorus’ year-round music education program, honing their musical skills and mastering a wide-ranging repertoire.

Dr. Alston, an associate professor of music at Swarthmore College, is an alumnus of the Newark (N.J.) Boys Chorus. Because Chester reminded him of the Newark of his boyhood, he founded the Chester Children’s Chorus in 1994 to offer children like himself the same opportunity to change their lives through music that the Newark Boys Chorus had given him.

No tickets are required for the concert.  Freewill donations will be accepted to benefit the Chester Children’s Chorus.

The concert marks the third year of the relationship between the church, in downtown West Chester, and the Chorus.  The Chorus program is supported by individuals, foundations, faith communities, corporations, government agencies, and Swarthmore College. More information is available at 610-328-8180 or www.chesterchildrenschorus.org.

For more information about this concert, call Church of the Holy Trinity at 610-696-4640.