Milwaukee Children’s Choir in the News
April 17, 2021: Fox News Milwaukee, Hannah Jewell
Featuring celebrity guests from ”Sesame Street” to Broadway, the Milwaukee Children’s Choir virtual performance will raise money for Give2Sing. Read the full article here.
April 16, 2021: TMJ4, Ubah Ali
Milwaukee voice teachers start social media campaign to boost singing organizations. The four-week campaign comes to a close Friday. Read the full article here.
December 1, 2020: Spectrum News 1, Ryan Burk
‘It’s Been an Uphill Battle’: Cash Strapped Non-Profits Need Help on Giving Tuesday. Read the full article here.
September 24, 2020: Spectrum News 1, Maddie Burakoff
Safer Singing: How Can We Make Music During The Pandemic? Read the full article here.
2019
June 22, 2019: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Elaine Schmidt:
“Lecce-Chong’s Reunion with Milwaukee Symphony a Must-Hear Event” Read the full article here.
May 2019: Milwaukee Youth Chorale selected to perform at the 2019 Wisconsin Stat Music Conference
News from the Wisconsin State Music Conference: Congratulations! This is to inform you that the Milwaukee Youth Chorale has been selected to perform at the 2019 Wisconsin State Music Conference at the Monona Terrace Conference Center in Madison in October. After a blind review by our committee two choirs from across the state at the middle school, high school and collegiate level were selected to perform at the 2019 conference. We look forward to having you in Madison!
The Wisconsin State Music Conference is presented by Wisconsin Music Educators Association in collaboration with Wisconsin School Music Association.
May 2019: Milwaukee Children’s Choir Celebrates 25th Anniversary
MCC celebrates 25 years in a special anniversary concert titled A LEGACY of SONG. MCC’s Founding Director Emily Crocker was named Music Director Emeritus. The chorus performed the world premier Who Is There Like Me written by Ms. Crocker and commissioned by the Board of Directors to honor this special occasion. Watch the performance by the combined choruses.
March 2019: Milwaukee Children’s Choir was a finalist in the Footlights People’s Choice Awards
Milwaukee Children’s Choir was a finalist for Most Outstanding Performance by a Professional Group. Thank you Milwaukee and Footlights Awards for this honor! The concert, TRIBUTE to the AMERICAN BLACK COMPOSER, featured local artist and historian Dr. Wallace Cheatham and jazz artists Donna Woodall and Ethan Bender.
February 20, 2019: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tails Shelbourne:
“Milwaukee Children’s Choir to Honor Black Composers in Classical, Jazz and Other Music Genres” Read the full article here.
2017
August 5, 2017: WISN “Arts Avenue: Children’s Choir Lake Country”
July 29, 2017: WISN “Kids Welcome to Audition for Milwaukee Children’s Choir”
April 28, 2017: Milwaukee Magazine, Anna Miller: “Milwaukee Children’s Choir To Hold Annual Gala” Read the full article here.
March 4, 2017: Milwaukee Courier Online, Danielle Miller: “Milwaukee Children’s Choir Team Up with The Four Tops for Pabst Theatre.” Read the full article here.
February 24, 2017: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Piet Levy: “Not the ‘Same Old Song’: Four Tops since with 200 choir kids in Milwaukee.” Read the full article here.
February 16, 2017: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jon M. Gilbertson: “6 must-see shows this week.” Read the full article here.
February 9, 2017: Milwaukee Courier Online: “The Milwaukee Children’s Choir Partners with Motown Legends, The Four Tops, for Special Milwaukee Performance.” Read the full article here.
January 4th, 2017: Bizjournal Online: “New Hire: Darcie K.G.Warren, Executive Director at The Milwaukee Children’s Choir.” Read the full article here.
2016
October 4, 2016: Tyler Langan: “Teacher takes reigns of new Lake Country Children’s Choir.” Read the full article
May 21, 2016: WISN.com, Thema Ponton: “Milwaukee Children’s Choir is holding auditions. Artistic Director Marco Antonio Melendez sits down with WISN 12 News with details on how your child can audition with no experience necessary”. Read the full article
January 3, 2016: JSOnline, Karen Herzog: “Milwaukee Children’s Choir Executive Director Paula Bell has jumped at opportunities to offer paid internships through the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp. grant…Bell said she hires three to five unpaid interns per semester for IT/web administration, marketing, public relations, social media, graphic design and event planning.” Read the full article
2014
December 12, 2014: Fox6Now.com, Laura Langemo: “We’ve got 140 childen from the Milwaukee ballet school in the production, we’ve got the Milwaukee Ballet orchestra playing live in the orchestra pit, Milwaukee Children’s Choir singing, and then all of the dancers,” said Pink. Read the full article.
December 3, 2014: Dial Urban Milwaukee, Claire Nowak: On Dec. 6, MSO teams up with the Milwaukee Children’s Choir for an orchestrated retelling of the classic Christmas tale, “The Polar Express.” …The show is part of MSO’s family series, which includes several shows throughout the season aimed at kids and their parents. But the effort and talent from the Milwaukee Children’s Choir puts it on par with the orchestra’s regular season performances. Read the full article.
October 31, 2014: WUWM Public Radio, Lake Effect: Bonnie North and Audrey Nowakowski: Milwaukee Children’s Choir: Teaching Lessons Beyond Music. Recently Lake Effect interviewed Milwaukee Children’s Choir Artistic Director Marco Antonio Melendez. “In that 21 years they [Milwaukee Children’s choir] have made quite an impact, both on the children singing in the choirs and on the audiences who hear them.” Read the article. Hear the full interview.
May 27, 2014: Shepherd Express, Amanda Sullivan: Sing Out With Milwaukee Children’s Choir: Choral group celebrates 20 years of music making. Milwaukee CChildren’s Choir (MCC), a nonprofit choral organization touching the lives of nearly 700 children with in-school and afterschool programming, will celebrate 20 years of music making with a concert. Read Ms. Sullivan’s full article.
January 15, 2014: Ozaukee Press, Carol Pomeday: Fifth-grader Daniel Voigt has a gift for singing, one that he showcased with the Milwaukee Symphony and one that he’ll refine as a member of the country’s most prestigious boys choir. Daniel Voigt was just 3 years old when he began singing with the children’s choir at his Port Washington church. By age 7, he was performing with the Milwaukee Children’s Choir, and in December, at age 10, Daniel was a soloist for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s children’s concert. Next week, just two days after his 11th birthday, he will enter the American Boychoir School in Princeton, N.J., and perform with the country’s most prestigious boys choir. Read Ms. Pomeday’s full article.
2013
December 7, 2013: JSOnline, Elaine Schmidt: The combined voices of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir and the Milwaukee Youth Chorale brought an angelic sound to such pieces as John Rutter’s “Angel’s Carol” and three Hanukkah songs. More than just a collection of pretty voices, these are disciplined, polished young singers who perform with musical conviction and a beautifully cohesive sound. Read Ms. Schmidt’s full review.
December 7, 2013: Tom Strini: MSO Holiday Pops: Joy to Milwaukee: Guest conductor Stuart Chafetz out-jollied St. Nick, vocalist Mike Eldred jazzed up the holiday with some rat-pack, ring-a-ding, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chorus sounded festive, and the Milwaukee Children’s Choir looked and sounded adorable, and thanks to the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble, “The Carol of the Bells” finally had enough bells in it. Read Mr. Strini’s entire review.
September 3, 2013: Dr. Anton Armstrong Brings His Talents to the 1st Annual Milwaukee Choral Conference: Internationally acclaimed choral conductor and choral pedagogue, Dr. Anton Armstrong, brings his unique talents to serve as clinician of the 1st Annual Milwaukee Choral Conference on Saturday, September 14, 2013 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Click here to read the entire press release.
2012
August 16, 2012: Milwaukee Children’s Choir Hires New Artistic Director: Milwaukee Children’s Choir has hired Marco Melendez as its new artistic director, beginning with the 2012-2013 season. Mr. Melendez, who showed exceptional musical talent when he began conducting at the age of fifteen, takes the reins as the choir’s artistic director on Sept. 3, 2012 at the age of 27. Click here to read the entire press release.
September 22, 2012: Third Coast Digest, Tom Strini: Music director Edo de Waart led his first concert of the season. Even by his and this orchestra’s high standard, the MSO played and Lee Erickson’s MSO Chorus sang extraordinarily well. Transmigration, with its dense, fragmented choral parts, must be a monster to make ready. But Erickson and the MCC’s Jason Clark prepared them well. Young and old alike hit those cues with great confidence and infused the rhythms with vigor. Thirdcoast Digest Review.
September 22, 2012: JSOnline, Elaine Schmidt: The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, its music director Edo de Waart, a soprano Miah Persson, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and the Milwaukee Children’s Choir “Jubilate” joined forces Friday evening in a deeply moving program that used orchestral, choral and solo vocal sounds to express consuming joy, shattering grief and innocent delight. JSOnline Review
“…The first half of the program ended with John Adams’ deeply moving “On the Transmigration of Souls,” written to commemorate the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The piece uses orchestra, organ, adult chorus, children’s chorus and a recording of sounds and spoken words to give voice to the shock and grief felt by those who lost loved ones in the terrorist attack.”
January 21, 2012: JSOnline, Elaine Schmidt. MSO’s ‘Carmina Burana’ draws cheers, standing ovation: The young Jubilate singers brought pure, strong sounds and cleanly executed lines to the performance, as well as a little theatrical fun to the piece’s last lines. JSOnline Review.
2011
December 2, 2011: JSOline, Elaine Schmidt: At Uihlein Hall, MCC celebrated the season with carols, sing-alongs and the Milwaukee Symphony Pops – Milwaukee’s favorite holiday musical tradition. The ever-charming Jeff Tyzik glimmered with this sparkling holiday celebration. JSOnline Review.
December 3, 2011: Journal Sentinel Review: The disciplined, young voices and scrubbed faces of the Jubilate and Youth Chorale singers, prepared by Elizabeth Egger and Jason Clark respectively, added a fresh, pure sound the concert, particularly on their touching contributions to “Silent Night.” JSOnline Review.
December 3, 2011: Third Coast Digest Review: Kids singing “Silent Night”, and singing it well, over soft string accompaniment and the gentle tolling of handbells–who within earshot of such music wouldn’t yield to the spell of the season? Third Coast Digest Review.
November 28, 2011: Reviewing Kenny Rogers’ Christmas & the Hits concert at the Riverside on November 27, OnMilwaukee.com’s John Schulze wrote: “Although it was just a few days past Thanksgiving, Christmas cheer was in the air, and after a quick break we were treated to the second half of the concert, an outstanding selection of Christmas music featuring numerous songs with six children from the Milwaukee Children’s Choir and a finale with the local Holy Redeemer Choir….Rogers and Dean delighted in harmonizing with the young singers. The children did exceptionally well, and appeared pretty comfortable on the big stage. I can only imagine how proud their parents must have been.
…The concert began to wrap up with “Joy To The World,” and the Holy Redeemer Choir, Children’s Choir, Billy Dean and Kenny Rogers all took their places onstage. It was a very impressive display of some of the finest voices Milwaukee has to offer, and a really unique way for Rogers to share his experience with each city on his tour. The children will have quite a story to tell their classmates this week, and lifetime memories of performing with a legend.” Read John Schulze’s review
2010
December 4, 2010: Reviewing the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Pops concert, Third Coast Digest critic Tom Strini wrote: “Carol Storck’s Milwaukee Children’s Choir Jubilate and Jason Clark’s Milwaukee Youth Chorale sang well and charmingly.” Read Tom Strini’s review.
December 4, 2010: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Elaine Schmidt wrote: “The Milwaukee Children’s Choir was also represented in the evening’s festivities, with the MCC Jubilate chorus, prepared by director Carol Storck, taking the spotlight with clean, disciplined performances of ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and ‘What Child Is This.’ The MCC Youth Chorale, prepared by director Jason Clark, joined the MSO chorus for the Handel and for ‘Holiday Moods’ (Suite No. 3) by Tyzik – a sparking medley of carols.” Read Elaine Schmidt’s review.
November 21, 2010: Reviewing MCC’s Jubilate at the November 21 Present Music Concert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Elaine Schmidt wrote: “The young singers of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir’s Jubilate Choir gave disciplined, polished performances of Srul Irving Glick’s ‘Psalm 92’ and ‘Psalm 47,’ singing with a musical maturity and focus that made it easy to forget their tender ages.” Read Elaine Schmidt’s review.
November 21, 2010: Third Coast Digest critic Tom Strini wrote: “The Milwaukee Children’s Choir, led by Carol Storck, joined the string quartet in Srul Irving Glick’s Psalm 92. The children’s utterly sweet and impressively disciplined sound matched Glick’s easy 3/4 lilt and pastel harmonies. Later in the program, Storck and children tripped lightly through Glick’s equally charming but more complex Psalm 47, with its beguiling rhythmic play of three against four.” Read Tom Strini’s review.
September 14, 2010: Milwaukee Children’s Choir Executive Director Deborah Patel announces her retirement effective October 31, 2010. MCC General Manager Paula Bell is promoted to become MCC’s second Executive Director.
June 5, 2010: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra — Mahler’s Third Symphony. Third Coast Digest critic Tom Strini writes of the “innocent voices of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir,” and declares that opening night concertgoers “took a long, hard, thrilling journey Friday, and we arrived at the mountaintop weary, glad and somehow changed.” Read Tom Strini’s review.
June 5, 2010: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Elaine Schmidt writes “the singers of the MSO Women’s Chorus and the Milwaukee Children’s Choir delivered a blended, disciplined sound and an expressive performance.” Read Elaine Schmidt’s review.
May 1, 2010: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Symphony of Psalms by Stravinsky. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Elaine Schmidt states “Milwaukee Symphony, Children’s Choir, Chorus in fine voice with ‘Requiem,’ Stravinsky,” and writes that “[t]he massed voices of the adults and children brought precise, controlled singing to Stravinsky’s angular writing.” Read Elaine Schmidt’s review.
May 1, 2010: Third Coast Digest critic Tom Strini writes that Stravinsky’s unusual chords as sung by the MSO Chorus and MCC members “drifted through Uihlein Hall like glowing angels.” Read Tom Strini’s review.
May 14, 2010: Milwaukee Ballet Peter Pan: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Elaine Schmidt declares Milwaukee Children’s Choir “part of the magic” of Peter Pan. Read Elaine Schmidt’s review.