PORT TOWNSEND — The 18th annual Fort Worden Children’s Choir Festival will bring together some of the top children’s choirs from throughout the nation for a two-day festival capped by a concert at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The concert will be at McCurdy Pavilion in Fort Worden State Park.
Admission is $15. Tickets are available online at www.fortwordenfestival.com, by calling 360- 271-8086 or at the door one hour before the concert begins.
Today and Saturday will be filled with joint rehearsals, shared meals and social activities, including a dress-up themed dance.
Rehearsals prepare the singers for Saturday’s concert.
Each choir works throughout the year on selected festival music and well as preparing songs that the choirs will present individually during the concert.
The Fort Worden Children’s Choir Festival was founded in 2000.
This year’s festival will feature internationally-known children’s choir director and composer Henry Leck of Indianapolis.
2019 Fort Worden Festival participating choirs are:
• Spectrum Choral Academy – Youth Chorus & Children’s Chorus, Gig Harbor; directed by Stephanie Charbonneau.
• Seattle Children’s Chorus – Intermezzo Choir, Seattle; directed by Kris Mason.
• Rainier Youth Chorus – Bella Voce & Colla Voce Choirs, Kent; directed by Leora Schwitters and Amy Ballard.
• Alaska Youth Choir, Juneau, Alaska; directed by Richard Moore.
• Campbell River Children’s Choir, Vancouver Island, B.C.; directed by Jennifer Abbott.
The concert will feature each choir performing individually before taking the stage together under the baton of the guest conductor, Leck, for the final six combined songs.
Julie Cole Mandery, an accompanist from Port Orchard, will accompany the combined choirs.
Leck is a professor emeritus in choral music at Butler University, where he served on the faculty for 27 years.
He is the founder and conductor laureate of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, where he served as artistic director for 30 years.
The touring choirs of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir have performed regularly for national conferences for the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, Organization of American Kodály Educators and American Orff-Schulwrk Association.
Additionally, the ICC tours internationally every year and has sung throughout the world.
Leck recently arranged and conducted the national anthem for Kelly Clarkson and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir at the Super Bowl XLVI.
He has conducted Mixed, Men’s, Women’s, Junior High and Children’s All-State choirs and festival choirs in nearly every state.
For 22 years, he has conducted National Youth Choral Festivals in Carnegie Hall annually.
He is widely known as a specialist in choral techniques, the child’s voice, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Laban and the boy’s changing voice.
He has produced four teaching videos, has authored several textbooks and is the editor of two nationally known choral series published by Hal Leonard Corp. and Colla Voce Inc.
