Description
The Wilmington Children’s Chorus is an exceptional and diverse children’s choir for the Greater Wilmington Community of Delaware.
The mission of The Wilmington Children’s Chorus (WCC) is to nurture and develop an exceptional children’s choir for the Greater Wilmington area, and to share a love and desire to excel in choral singing, performance and musical knowledge. We join our voices to spread hope and harmony throughout our city, state, and world through a dedication to artistry, teamwork, and service to others. The Wilmington Children’s Chorus is committed to uniting diverse youth and families by providing free and open access to any qualified child, regardless of financial or social background.
The WCC faculty are respected professionals with a wealth of experience in music education, voice pedagogy and performance. WCC interns assist the staff by providing mentoring to younger choristers while gaining valuable leadership and education experience.
As “The Singing Ambassadors of Wilmington,” the organization has shared its music, principles and accomplishments with tens of thousands of people throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
About WCC
- WCC was founded in 2002 through a collaborative partnership with Cityfest, Inc., led by Tina Betz under the administration of then Mayor James M. Baker and founding artistic director David Christopher at the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew.
- The choir remains a project of Cityfest, Inc., the non-profit arm of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, under the Mayor Michael S. Purzycki. It is supported, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts and other civic, private, and corporate sponsors.
- WCC is comprised of over 300 male and female singers, ranging in age from 5 to 18.
- The WCC curriculum emphasizes music literacy and beautiful singing as well as building life skills including commitment, teamwork and, leadership.
- WCC has collaborated with major performing arts organizations and artists, including the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, OperaDelaware, First State Ballet Theatre, Delaware ChoralArts, Newark Symphony Orchestra, Cartoon Christmas Trio, the Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble with Marcel Khalife and Rima Khcheich, Hyde Park Neighborhood Chorus of the the Chicago Children’s Choir, American composer Robert Powell, renowned Arabic music artist Simon Shaheen, and the Youth Chamber Orchestra of Fulda, Germany.
- WCC appearances have included Holst’s The Planets, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Verdi’s Falstaff.
- WCC has performed at Barack Obama’s campaign rally in Rodney Square, the reopening of the Wilmington Train Station with Vice President Joe Biden, The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Fox 29 Philadelphia, Longwood Gardens, the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of the Colony of Jamestown, Williamsburg, VA, the 375th Anniversary of New Sweden with the King and Queen of Sweden, and benefits for community causes such as DFRC, Habitat for Humanity, Pacem in Terris, and the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition.
- WCC engages in international exchanges with young musicians from Wilmington’s Sister Cities across the world.