Peace4Youth
Long Beach Camerata Singers Peace4Youth
Music is an essential learning skill for young people’s healthy brain development. Our Peace4Youth program brings choral music with a message into the schools. Peace4Youth partners with the existing choral program to allow the students to sing with our professional chorus and consider important values and issues.
Peace4Youth Program Combines Choral Music and Environmental Justice
The Long Beach Camerata Singers brought the Peace4Youth educational program to students at Marshall Academy of the Arts, Hughes Middle School and Naples Elementary School. The title of the 2024 fall program was CRADLE OF LIFE featuring choral compositions about the stewardship of the Earth. Music students at each of the schools learned repertoire from Camerata’s Peace Project and performed along side Camerata Singers in a concert at their respective schools for an audience of parents, teachers and fellow students.
This valuable educational outreach program is led by Peace4Youth Coordinator, Connor Licharz.
Background
Music is an essential element in the development of the young minds. Our Peace4Youth program empowers students to view music as a catalyst for social change by bringing choral music with a message into Long Beach Schools. Peace4Youth partners with existing choral programs to allow students to sing and perform with our professional singers and consider important values and issues in the community around them.
When designing the Peace4Youth program, Christine Whipp, head of arts curriculum for Long Beach Unified School District, said that many programs exist for instrumental music students. However, choral music is a neglected area. Long Beach Camerata Singers decided to address this deficit with the Peace4Youth outreach program. The Peace4Youth program aims to connect student musicians with professional musicians through a series of musical workshops and concerts in which students perform alongside professional members of the Long Beach Camerata Singers. This series starts with our exciting annual Camerata Peace Project in the fall. The program of that concert becomes the foundation for the music in the combined performance. The script is adapted from Dr. James Bass’ concert notes to be age appropriate. Student narrators are invited to introduce each piece and its composer and share inspirational readings and poetry to reinforce the theme.
The 2024 Peace Project address questions of Environmental Justice in a concert entitled “Cradle of Life.” All repertoire in the concert is about our relationship to the earth. A master class for the school’s chorus is held before the concert, and a final wrap- up conversation with students seeks their reaction to the music and themes. Students are encouraged to ask questions about the professional music world.
For more information about how your school may participate in the 2025 Peace4Youth program contact generalmanager@lbcameratasingers.org
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