This is an interview for the German magazine Chorzeit following a concert in Berlin last summer. With all of the immigration issues that have arisen in Western Europe, their interest in Social Justice is timely. You can find a link to both the PDF and a translation at the link below.
“We are not colorblind”
At the Boston Children’s Chorus, music helps overcome the boundaries between races, religions, (ethnic) origin, and social status. “Chorzeit” met with Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King (Chorzeit is Germany’s Choral Music Magazine)
Mr. Trecek-King, how was the Boston Children’s Chorus founded?
The Chorus was founded in 2001 by social worker and civil rights activist Hubie Jones. His idea was to create a chorus which would act as a catalyst for social change. In Boston, as in many other American cities, the divisions of different segments of the population play an increasingly larger role. The issue is how to overcome this social divide. Jones maintained that a chorus is a great way to do this because there is singing in almost every culture.
How does that look in practice?
We bring children with different social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds together and give them a musical training, teach them about music, and have them perform. Over the years, a socially active model has developed along side the music. Our motto is: Because we do not live in a colorblind society, as for ancestry (origin, heritage), we also don’t want to suppress that. Just the opposite. We want that the society values different colors. That’s precisely what we want to attain with the Boston Children’s Chorus.
How do you get children for the Chorus?
Recruitment for students is one of our primary tasks (missions). We try to recruit for our project as many public and private school students as possible. This has become a close cooperation, which is based on mutual trust. The enrollment process itself is easy. Almost every interested child is accepted. Then it is about finding in which of our participating choruses is the right one to optimally challenge the child. Read more…