They’ve sung for the Queen and a long list of celebrities. Now Byron Shire residents have their chance to get up close and personal with the African Children’s Choir on its second Australian tour.
The first Choir was formed in 1984, selected from orphaned and vulnerable children in the Kampala and Luwero areas. The children travelled among the North American church communities where they impressed audiences with their vibrancy, outstanding musical talent, and dancing abilities.
They quickly became a mouthpiece for the plight of the many thousands of vulnerable children like them in Uganda. The funds they earned through donations provided for their own support and education. Proceeds from that first tour also funded the building of a choir training academy in Kampala from which a second African Children’s Choir was selected.
More than 1000 vulnerable children have since been through the Choir program; the funds generated have provided the opportunity for education and hope for more than 50,000 others like them in some of the most desperate and needy areas of Africa.
Today, more than 500 children are provided education daily at two primary schools around the capital city of Kampala. Another 550 sponsored students attend secondary schools in their communities. Many graduates are now serving their communities as teachers, doctors and business people.
In 2012 the choir sang the specially composed ‘Sing’ for the Queen’s Jubilee. They have performed for US Presidents, Nobel Prize winners and graced the stages of Carnegie Hall and the London Palladium. They count Matt Damon, Paul McCartney, Ellen De Generes and Bob Geldof amongst their fans.
Eighteen children and eight adults of the Uganda-based choir will be hosted and billeted by local school Cape Byron Rudolph Steiner School during their visit to the Byron Shire for a concert and public workshop.
‘We are especially excited about this tour as it offers our residents a unique cultural exchange opportunity where they will get to meet and mix with the choir on a personal level’, says Marsha Gusti, President of Kwaya Australia.
Tickets are now on sale for the Under One Sky concert as well as an up close and personal workshop experience on Sunday June 14. The workshop encourages participants to learn drumming, Lugandan dance and song with the choir at the auditorium at Mullumbimby High School.
The choir is comprised of orphaned and vulnerable children from the disadvantaged Kampala and Luwero areas of Uganda.
Their vibrancy, outstanding musical and dancing abilities captured the world’s imagination when they first started touring thirty years ago. Every year since the choir has toured North America and Europe to raise money for children’s education.
Through international sponsorships, choir members have been educated to University level and often return to the community as lawyers and doctors.
In 2012 the choir sang the specially composed Sing for the Queen’s Jubilee. They have performed for US Presidents, Nobel Prize winners and graced the stages of Carnegie Hall and the London Palladium. They count Matt Damon, Paul McCartney, Ellen De Generes and Bob Geldof amongst their fans.
Mullumbimby High School auditorium, 9 Jubilee Avenue, Mullumbimby
When: Sunday 14 June 2015, 2pm to 3pm
Tickets: $15/$10
Bookings online: www.kwaya.org/underonesky.html
For more about the choir, visit: www.africanchildrenschoir.com
