Children might say the darnedest things, but on occasion, they sing the most amazing songs. This weekend will be filled with the voices of area youth choirs during Houston Chamber Choir’s 23rd annual Hear the Future invitational choral festival Sunday at South Main Baptist Church.
The festival holds significant importance for Houston Chamber Choir Founder Robert Simpson.
"The choral world for schools can be very isolating in the sense that they work really hard together, but they very seldom get to hear their counterparts at other schools,” he said, referencing the span of elementary-aged students through high school seniors. “It makes the younger students feel so much more excited about what they're doing because they can see where it leads.”
This year’s three participating choirs are North Houston Children’s Chorus, Seven Lakes Junior High School and Montgomery High School. They will be joined by the Houston Chamber Choir during part of the performance.
To help decide which choirs to invite to the annual event, Simpson notes that the organization solicits recommendations from two educational consultants: Sally Schott and Eddie Quaid.
“They're among the most celebrated educators in this area who intimately know the choirs throughout the whole region. We take their advice, and we rely on that very heavily,” Simpson said.
Simpson says the choir works to make the list of candidates a geographically inclusive group year after year. In the past, it has welcomed choirs from as far as Conroe ISD, Dickenson ISD, Lamar Consolidated ISD (Richmond/Rosenberg) and Goose Creek ISD (Baytown). Community choirs are also eligible for consideration.
In addition to the public performance on Sunday, Hear the Future also includes a Saturday workshop for eight schools led by Jennaya Robison, director of choral studies in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory.
“[For the clinic,] we selected choirs that are very strong and have been particularly identified as those that can benefit from some intensive training with this extraordinary conductor. They are schools that have lots of promise but are still looking for ways that they can bring their promise to full power,” Simpson said.
The clinic packs a punch in terms of impacting the students and their teachers. Melissa J. Cox, director of Dekaney High School’s choir shared her thoughts from a previous clinic.
“The Dekaney Choir learned so much and loved the clinic. On a personal level, it was a joy to observe, listen and watch all of the clinics and learn from other schools and directors,” she said. “It was refreshing to leave Saturday and know there are hard-working students and adults all over Houston who love singing."
She also described the uniqueness of the event was that it focused not on winning but on collaboration and the delight of making music.
Simpson expects that the coming clinic and concert will continue its impact.
“Hear the Future is designed to showcase these extraordinary singers and their talented conductors. It brings them into the community in a way that they are not often able to be seen so that they can have the appreciation and visibility that they deserve,” he said.
Houston Chamber Choir’s Hear the Future takes place 4 p.m. Sunday, January 29 at South Main Baptist Church, 4100 Main Street. For information, visit houstonchamberchoir.org. Free.