National Children's Chorus Receives $1 Million Anonymous Gift

In a dramatic and generous gesture today, a philanthropist wishing to remain anonymous contributed $1 million to the National Children's Chorus (NCC), a unique performing arts program for students between the ages of 5 - 18, soon to be making its debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The gift, payable over the next four years, will help provide vital, college-level musical education for youth in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

"The National Children's Chorus is quickly becoming one of America's cultural treasures," said NCC Artistic Director Luke McEndarfer. " This generous endowment-one of the largest gifts of its kind to a children's chorus-will sustain the NCC's outstanding programs and world-class performances. We are immensely grateful for this investment in the dreams and aspirations of our talented students."

Over the past few years, NCC students have been praised for their excellent music reading capabilities, and have been accepted at prestigious voice and composition programs nationwide, including Tanglewood Music Festival, Idylwild Musical Festival, Interlochen and the LA Philharmonic Associate Composers program. Currently, the NCC is pioneering new ways to enrich the learning experience for all of its students, and will be rolling out novel initiatives in the coming seasons.

"We are humbled and honored that our donor believes so deeply in our educational mission, and is willing to partner with us in our future growth," said Executive Director Cristina Demiany. " In 2009, the chorus consisted of a single class, geared solely towards learning music for concert appearances. Today we offer a comprehensive educational platform that includes sight-singing, musicianship in the Kodály Method, private voice training, composition and conducting instruction."

On March 13th, the NCC will make its debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall in collaboration with the American Youth Symphony, singing Tan Dun's Heaven Earth Mankind (Symphony 1997). Presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the performance will serve as the Los Angeles premiere for the work. Other events this season include the NCC's Regional Auditions for students wanting to apply to the program, set to be held on April 16th in Los Angeles, May 9th in New York and May 12th in Washington D.C. Season finale performances will take place on April 29th at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, and on May 7th at Carnegie Hall in New York both with music tracing the diverse cultures found along the ancient Silk Road. In July, the NCC will travel to Hong Kong and Mainland China for its 2nd international tour with performances in Beijing and Xian.