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A HEAVENLY CHORUS

Section: Religion

Kelli Moore

From classical and folk to show tunes and ragtime, members of the New Orleans Children's Chorus Northshore raised their voices to make beautiful music at their spring concert on May 20 in Mandeville.

The sanctuary at St. Timothy on the Northshore United Methodist Church served as a perfect venue for the 30-member choir, which entertained and enthralled family, friends and guests with their varied repertoire.

Made up of students from fourth to eighth grades, the choir's young singers showed their mettle both as performers and team players. Rather than standing still, the lively bunch frequently assembled into different groupings for each song, during which they snapped their fingers, clapped and swayed to the music, all under the direction of choir director Eleanor Miller.

Seventeen of the singers, all of whom were original members of the 2-year-old St. Tammany Parish-based chorus, opened the concert with a breathtaking acappella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

This same group had, by invitation, delivered this same performance in October at a Preserve America Summit held at the U.S. Custom House in New Orleans.

While there, they met with the organization's chairperson, first lady Laura Bush, and were later featured in the February issue of a teaching music journal, along with a photograph of them with Bush.

Following the national anthem, the entire chorus assembled to perform a broad spectrum of choral works including John Rutter's "For the Beauty of the Earth," Gabriel Faure's solemn "Pie Jesu," and an ambitious rendition of Irving Berlin's ragtime-era hit, "Play For Me a Simple Melody."

Rounding out the repertoire were several versions of traditional American and folk music, including a lively Serbian gypsy dance song, a rousting South African freedom song, and a mournful Creole tune.

The choirs of angels up in heaven must have been smiling as proudly as the parents in the audience when the young singers performed a simple, harmonious rendition of "Amazing Grace" in a modern arrangement by Stephen Hatfield.

Rather than serving as a distraction to those of us who love the familiar melody of the old hymn, instead, the captivating a cappella performance drew in the listener to re-examine and enjoy the familiar verses as they were set to the somewhat familiar, yet somewhat unexpected new melody.

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