African Children's Choir
Encyclopedia
The African Children's Choir is a large choir
made up of children ages 7 to 12 from several African nations. Since its inception, the choir has included children from Uganda
, Kenya
, Rwanda
, South Africa
, Nigeria
, and Ghana
. Many of the children have lost one or both parents to AIDS
and other poverty-related diseases, and all of them are victims of extreme poverty.
The Choir was founded in 1984 in Uganda
as a Christian charity and has expanded since. For each new tour, new children are selected for the choir, with each tour lasting from a year to a year and a half. The choir serves as the main fund raising branch for its parent organization, Music For Life Institute, with proceeds from the choir's work used to fund education and relief efforts for African children affected by poverty and disease. Over 7,000 children in several African nations are currently being supported through the program.
The Choir has released a number of albums and DVDs over the years, and has performed at major events and venues around the world. The Choir has appeared at the British House of Commons
and the Pentagon
, at some of the world's most prestigious halls, including the Royal Albert Hall
, the London Palladium
, the International Club of Berlin and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels
, Belgium
.
In 2005, the Choir achieved increased worldwide visibility through several highly publicized performances. They performed at the Live 8 concert in London
with Mariah Carey
and Paul McCartney
, and were featured on The Tonight Show
and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
. In 2006, they performed at an event for one.org and before the United Nations
for its UNAIDS summit. In December 2006, they made a second appearance on The Tonight Show.
The Choir has also recorded songs for the soundtracks of major motion pictures including Oprah Winfrey's
Beloved
, Hotel Rwanda
and Blood Diamond
.
The African Children's Choir currently has three choirs on tour in the United Kingdom
, United States
and Canada
, with the 30th and 31st Choirs in the organization's history touring Canada
and the United States
, respectively. These Choirs are composed of children from Uganda
.
The Choir that is currently touring the United Kingdom
, is the second Choir to be selected from the Nkomazi region in Mpumalanga
province in North Eastern South Africa
. This area on the Mozambican
border has been particularly ravaged by HIV
, as a result many of the children that are members of this choir are orphaned.
The Choir sang during the Canadian Idol season 4
finale.
On April 25, 2007, they performed as part of American Idols Idol Gives Back
, singing "You Raise Me Up" with Josh Groban
. They also performed on the finale of American Idol season 6
at the Kodak Theatre
on May 23, 2007.
The African Children's choir was featured in broadcasts and podcasts celebrating 2007 World Party Day
.
In 2007, the choir performed with the band Dispatch
for three sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden
in New York
.
The choir appears on Michael W. Smith
's 2008 album A New Hallelujah
, which was live recorded during a worship
concert in Houston.
On September 29, 2009, the Choir celebrated their 25th Anniversary at the Hotel Vancouver in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
, where the Choir held their first performance 25 years before. Special guests at the event included Bob Geldof
who used to live in Vancouver where he used to work for the Georgia Straight, Paul Rodgers
and Michael McDonald
.
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
made up of children ages 7 to 12 from several African nations. Since its inception, the choir has included children from Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. Many of the children have lost one or both parents to AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
and other poverty-related diseases, and all of them are victims of extreme poverty.
The Choir was founded in 1984 in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
as a Christian charity and has expanded since. For each new tour, new children are selected for the choir, with each tour lasting from a year to a year and a half. The choir serves as the main fund raising branch for its parent organization, Music For Life Institute, with proceeds from the choir's work used to fund education and relief efforts for African children affected by poverty and disease. Over 7,000 children in several African nations are currently being supported through the program.
The Choir has released a number of albums and DVDs over the years, and has performed at major events and venues around the world. The Choir has appeared at the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, at some of the world's most prestigious halls, including the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, the International Club of Berlin and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
In 2005, the Choir achieved increased worldwide visibility through several highly publicized performances. They performed at the Live 8 concert in London
Live 8 concert, London
The main Live 8 concert was held at Hyde Park, London, England on 2 July 2005, in front of over 200,000 people. The show's logistics were managed by famed promoter Harvey Goldsmith.The event is also referred to as "Live 8 London" or "Live 8 UK"....
with Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, and were featured on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
and The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
. In 2006, they performed at an event for one.org and before the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for its UNAIDS summit. In December 2006, they made a second appearance on The Tonight Show.
The Choir has also recorded songs for the soundtracks of major motion pictures including Oprah Winfrey's
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
Beloved
Beloved (film)
Beloved is a 1998 film based on Toni Morrison's 1987 novel of the same name. It was directed by Jonathan Demme, and was produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions. The film stars Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.-Plot:...
, Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 American drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay written by both George and Keir Pearson. Based on real life events which took place in Rwanda during the spring of 1994, the film stars Don Cheadle as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina, who attempts to...
and Blood Diamond
Blood Diamond (film)
Blood Diamond is a 2006 political thriller film co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou...
.
The African Children's Choir currently has three choirs on tour in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with the 30th and 31st Choirs in the organization's history touring Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, respectively. These Choirs are composed of children from Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
The Choir that is currently touring the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, is the second Choir to be selected from the Nkomazi region in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
province in North Eastern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. This area on the Mozambican
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
border has been particularly ravaged by HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, as a result many of the children that are members of this choir are orphaned.
The Choir sang during the Canadian Idol season 4
Canadian Idol (Season 4)
The fourth season of Canadian Idol began in February 2006 ran until September 2006. Zack Werner, Jake Gold, Sass Jordan, and Farley Flex returned to judge, and Ben Mulroney returned to host, with Elena Juatco as the new roving reporter. The season premiered on May 29, five days after the finale of...
finale.
On April 25, 2007, they performed as part of American Idols Idol Gives Back
Idol Gives Back
Idol Gives Back is the name of a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of American Idol during its sixth season. A second Idol Gives Back concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the show. Idol Gives Back was not held in 2009 due to the ongoing...
, singing "You Raise Me Up" with Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
. They also performed on the finale of American Idol season 6
American Idol (Season 6)
The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host...
at the Kodak Theatre
Kodak Theatre
The Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles...
on May 23, 2007.
The African Children's choir was featured in broadcasts and podcasts celebrating 2007 World Party Day
World Party Day
World Party Day is celebrated every year on April 3 as a synchronized global mass celebration of a better world and the active creation of desirable reality.-History:...
.
In 2007, the choir performed with the band Dispatch
Dispatch (band)
Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....
for three sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
The choir appears on Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
's 2008 album A New Hallelujah
A New Hallelujah
A New Hallelujah is Michael W. Smith's twenty-second album. This is his third album of worship music, and his fourth live album overall. This album was recorded in Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas, on June 20, 2008.-Reception:...
, which was live recorded during a worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
concert in Houston.
On September 29, 2009, the Choir celebrated their 25th Anniversary at the Hotel Vancouver in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where the Choir held their first performance 25 years before. Special guests at the event included Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
who used to live in Vancouver where he used to work for the Georgia Straight, Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
and Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
.