In March 2015, the Denver Children’s Choir (formerly the Rocky Mountain Children’s Choir) traveled to the East Coast for a 5-day tour over Spring Break. The singers enjoyed visiting national monuments, building lifelong bonds, and sharing their music with new audiences.
The tour started in New Jersey and included stops in New York City, Philadelphia, and Delaware. The singers collaborated and performed with the New Jersey Youth Chorus, Princeton Girl Choir, and Delaware Honors Chorus. Sightseeing opportunities included Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Times Square, and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
The DCC’s bi-annual tour program offers important opportunities for meaningful cultural exchange and collaboration. For many of our singers, these tours are the first opportunities they have had to travel outside of the Denver metro area, and tuition assistance is made available to any child who needs it to participate. Past tours have included a Civil Rights tour of the Deep South, along with visits to Iowa, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Austria, Hungary, Canada, Cambodia, Germany, France, and a combined tour to Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia. In addition to performing independently and with local children’s choirs on these tours, our singers sightsee, stay with local host families, and experience for themselves the truly universal language of music.
The East Coast tour featured our Summit Singers. This group is part of our Neighborhood Choir Program which offers the opportunity to learn how to sing, read music, and perform for children aged 7 through high school. Summit is our advanced-intermediate level choir where singers learn more challenging repertoire, perform more regularly, and can comfortably hold their part when singing 3-part music. Summit Singers typically tour domestically every other year.
The mission of the Denver Children’s Choir is as important today as it was when we began in 1995. Each year, we deliver choral programs in select schools and community-based settings throughout Denver to children ages 7-18 of diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Children learn to sing and read music while they develop self-confidence, build relationships, strive for excellence, and gain appreciation and respect for one another.
