How to go
What: African Children's Choir concert
Where: Southgate Baptist Church, 2111 S. Center Blvd., Springfield
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Admission: Free (an offering will be taken)
More information: 937-325-0619
The African Children’s Choir will grace Springfield with its voices in a special performance at the Southgate Baptist Church Wednesday.
The choral group, which is in the middle of its 30th anniversary celebrations, will perform at the church at 7 p.m.
“Our auditorium holds 1,200 people and we’d love to have it packed,” said Joan Wilson, a spokesperson for the Southgate Baptist Church.
The church has a close relationship with many alumni and staff from Cedarville University, Wilson said, which helped it make a connection with the African Children’s Choir. The choir performs regularly packed shows at the university, she said.
“They’re exceptionally gifted children who have such wonderful gifts with their voices and whose personalities are amazing,” she said.
The African Children’s Choir was founded in 1984 after Canadian Ray Barnett visited Uganda on a humanitarian trip and was moved by a young Ugandan boy’s spirit to sing even in the middle of his war-torn country, according to the group’s website.
The show is free to the public, but donations will be accepted, Wilson said.
“These children serve as such special ambassadors to their countries,” she said. “You can’t help but love them and learn from them.”
Music for Life, the parent organization for The African Children’s Choir, works in seven African countries: Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Proceeds from the choir have educated more than 52,000 children and impacted the lives of over 100,000 people through its relief and development programs during its history, according to the group’s website.
The African Children’s Choir has performed for presidents, international heads of state and most recently the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, for her diamond jubilee.
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