Songs that Inspired a Journey of Hope

The African Children’s Choir Performs at ASU January 27

Story by David Brewer

The world-renowned African Children’s Choir will perform their new show, “Journey of Hope,” at Farthing Auditorium in Boone on Tuesday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m. The show is part of ASU’s Performing Arts Series.

They come from a world away, hailing from abysmal conditions in impoverished and sometimes war-torn regions in countries including Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa. And from the mouths of children who have endured virtually unspeakable hardships, hunger and sorrow comes some of the most beautiful music in the world.

On Tuesday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m., the world-famous African Children’s Choir will perform at Farthing Auditorium as part of ASU’s Performing Arts Series. Tickets to the show are $18 for the general public, $16 for seniors, ASU faculty and staff and $10 for students and children.

For the past 24 years, the African Children’s Choir has astounded audiences around the world with their blend of traditional African song and dance. Comprised of some of Africa’s most vulnerable children, the choir was founded by human rights activist Ray Barnett following the brutal reign of Uganda’s Idi Amin, during which thousands of children were orphaned and left starving.

According to Choir Director David Trumer, it was one little boy’s indomitable spirit that inspired Barnett. While in Uganda in 1984, Barnett was transporting an orphaned boy from one village to another. As he drove, the little boy sang.

“This little boy sang the whole journey to the other village in the middle of all this turmoil and trauma,” said Trumer.

That experience prompted Barnett to form the first African Children’s Choir that same year. Thirty-one children were selected from the orphaned and vulnerable in the Kampala and Luwero areas of Uganda. After the choir was trained to perform and readied for living in new and different cultures, the children traveled from Uganda to tour North American Church communities.

In North America, the choir resides in the Triangle area of North Carolina and receives funding for living expenses from the King’s Park International Church in Durham. All money raised by the choir’s performances is used to support programs in Africa.

It was during a performance in his native Winnipeg, Manitoba when Trumer first heard the group and decided immediately that he had to become involved.

“I really didn’t know anything about it or had even heard of it,” said Trumer. “I know it sounds cliché, but it really was a life-changing experience. They sang with this raw, obvious joy. It’s not something you can fake.”

According to Trumer, the runaway success of the first choir prompted Barnett to keep it going, helping more children each year and raising awareness through the performance of traditional African songs and dances. The proceeds of the first African Children’s Choir tour also funded the building of an orphanage back in Kampala from which a second African Children’s Choir was selected.

Trumer said that children are selected for the choir based primarily on their personal needs through a screening process that includes teachers, social workers and pastors in Africa.

“We’re really looking for kids who stand to benefit from this experience,” said Trumer. “It’s actually an incredible experience for them.”

After they are chosen to participate in the choir children must audition, although Trumer explained that the audition process focuses more on the children’s ability to learn and less on their ability to perform.

“It’s not really like the American Idol-style audition,” said Trumer. “It’s really just to make sure that we can teach them the music.”

For their performances, the children, all between the ages of 8 and 10 years old, perform songs and dances from various parts of Africa.

“This is not a singular African culture or style of dance,” said Trumer.

For their show at ASU, The African Children’s Choir will perform a new program entitled “Journey of Hope.” Trumer said that the new program is much more elaborate than the choir’s normal performances and features bigger singing and dancing numbers, as well as more elaborate production.

With the great emphasis the choir places on education, new members are selected every year so previous members may return to Africa and have their schooling completely funded by the African Children’s Choir. These determined children work toward the goal of attending university programs and becoming valuable, productive citizens of their homelands. Choir members also serve as ambassadors for all children in Africa who have become orphans because of the AIDS pandemic.

“Not only will these kids from the jungles and slums grow up and have the opportunity to be doctors, lawyers and teachers, they’ll be influential doctors, lawyers and teachers,” said Trumer.

The African Children’s Choir has performed at many prestigious events, including for Kofi Annan at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York, at the White House for President George W. Bush, for Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England, with Sir Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey in London and at Nelson Mandela’s AIDS awareness concert in South Africa.

“On a deep level, it’s an incredible time of development for the kids. They develop so much self-confidence and esteem. They develop pride in their own cultures,” said Trumer.

Originally from Uganda, Prossy Nakiyemba was a member of the choir in 1995, and like many, decided to give back to the organization by coming to work for the African Children’s Choir in 2006. She now serves as a cinematographer and music director for the group.

“That experience changed my whole life,” said Nakiyemba. “It also showed me that there is life beyond my borders and beyond walking to receive the daily meal.”

Thanks to her involvement in the choir, Nakiyemba went to school following her tour and graduated from university. For her, it was like coming home.

“It’s just like family; you move out of the house, but you can always come home,” said Nakiyemba.

With an indescribable spirit that no other performance could match, the African Children’s Choir shows the world that its members, like the millions of abandoned and traumatized children in Africa, have beauty, dignity and unlimited potential.

For more info on the African Children’s Choir, click to www.africanchildrenschoir.com. To purchase tickets for the group’s show in Boone, call the Farthing Auditorium box office at 828-262-4046 or click to www.pas.appstate.edu.

LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST

LATEST COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS

TOP NEWS ACROSS THE NATION

HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE