Princeton Girlchoir is hosting a benefit concert for Trenton Children’s Chorus and the Trenton Community Music School on Sunday, November 21, at 3 p.m. in Trinity Cathedral in Trenton. The concert will feature the Grace Notes (51 choristers) and the Semi-Tones (45 choristers), directed by Melissa Malvar-Keylock and accompanied by Jack Cleghorn and Fred Meads, as well as the Training Chorus of the Trenton Children’s Chorus. Donations to the scholarship funds are encouraged in lieu of ticket cost.
The program, “Children Making a Difference,” has become an annual Thanksgiving-season tradition for the Princeton Girlchoir, who in past years has held this concert for the benefit of the UN World Food Program, the Trenton Food Pantry, the American Cancer Society and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. This year the Girlchoir has selected Trenton organizations that provide rich arts education programs to at-risk children. The Trenton Children’s Chorus will use the funds received to support full scholarships to Camp Albemarle at the American Boychoir School, and the Trenton Community Music School to provide scholarship assistance to families with financial need.
West Windsor and Plainsboro singers in the Grace Notes include Trisha Ghotra, Millstone River School; Katie Kuharsky and Aditi Mehndiratta, Stuart School; and Christa Niver, Maurice Hawk School.
WWP singers in the Semi-Tones include Asmita Baskar and Ann Xu, Millstone River School; Penelope Benkard, Grover Middle School; Aly Carminati and Susanna Kim, Community Middle School; Madeline Day and Alona Mostowy, High School North; and Jenna Venturi, Stuart School.
The Princeton Girlchoir, a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1989 by Janet A. Westrick, has grown from a small after-school choir into a training and performance choir for more than 200 girls ages 8 to 18.
There are more than 400 alumnae, many of whom continue to sing in their schools, churches, communities, and on professional stages around the world. The six choirs range from third to twelfth grade students from central New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.
Auditions for prospective choristers are individual or in pairs. All girls sing “America the Beautiful” and simple tone patterns as part of their audition so that directors can ascertain a girl’s range. Although the 2011 audition dates have not yet been announced, they are usually held in the late spring.
“The Princeton Girlchoir believes that people of every age can make a difference in the world,” says Malvar-Keylock, the concert’s organizer. “We are teaching our singers that regardless of age or financial situation, we can join together with our neighbors to make the world a better place. The performers at this concert will combine their musical talents to help provide music training to other young people in our area through the funds earned at the benefit concert. We look forward to joining hands with other local arts organizations to help make music education opportunities more accessible to all children.”
— Lynn Miller
Benefit Concert, Princeton Girlchoir, Trinity Cathedral, 801 West State Street, Trenton. Sunday, November 21, 3 p.m. Free-will donation.. 609-688-1888. www.princetongirlchoir.org.
