14 Songs in 9 Languages

14 songs in 9 languages. Fifty children from the Valley will be taking on this challenge this summer as they prepare for the Pacific Rim International Children’s Choir Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir, under the direction of Julia White, will participate in the international festival July 13-23.

White calls it “no small accomplishment.” Well, that may be an understatement. I’m struggling to remember how to say “How’s the weather?” in French (per my Rosetta Stone French language learning software). Fourteen songs in nine languages would certainly be a stretch. But young minds, they say, grasp languages quicker than we older folks do.

Practice, practice, practice. That’s what the children have been doing all spring. And they will have a week of intense practice the week before they leave for Hawaii.

But singing and learning language are not the only challenges they have accepted. According to White, several of the children have been earning money to pay their expenses for the trip. And for others, says White, the adventure will start when they board an airplane for the first time in their young lives.

While I would love to see the performance in Honolulu, we’ll all have an opportunity to share in this big adventure when the choir performs Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at EMU’s Lehman Auditorium, Harrisonburg. They will present the songs and dances (in costume) that they learned for the Pacific Rim festival.

For more information about the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir, visit the website: www.emu.edu/svcc