“We perform a lot of concerts that are accessible to everyone, and this one is no exception,” Talbot said. “We’ve done shows that range from places like Roxbury Community College to Faneuil Hall and Jordan Hall, so we really have this broad spectrum that allows anyone to come see our concerts.”
BCC also celebrates diversity through its music selections. Their songs run the gamut, from spirituals to modern arrangements of classical pieces to Spanish songs.
Recently, the group has been focusing on Arabic tunes because they will tour the Middle Eastern nation of Jordan this summer.
“We definitely try to use our music and our community to make a change in our city’s attitude toward the Middle East,” Ferguson said. “We’ve been in touch with an Iraqi choir, and that was definitely inspired by the MLK Day celebration because we’re trying to make change within the now and not getting stuck in the past.”
Trecek-King conducts the Young Men’s Ensemble and the Premier Chorus, and chose a number of jazz and gospel songs for the choir. One group favorite is Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday.”
Trecek-King, or “Mr. T-K” to his singers, selected much of the music for the concert based on his research of a variety of popular ’60s and ’70s music.
“I wanted to find some sort of historical basis as to what was going on during that time, and then I looked at some of the stuff that’s happening now,” he said. “It’s difficult to find pieces that are accessible and well-written that work for a youth choir. We try to walk the boundary between accessible and artistically viable.”
Trecek-King says he hopes the music of the Boston Children’s Chorus will reach a very diverse audience.
“Every culture has music and everyone in some way is touched by music,” he said. “It has an inner rhythm that speaks to people beyond the words. If you sing with the intent of the piece and the emotion of the piece people get it. It’s really wonderful to be moved to tears or moved to laughter or moved to smile or moved to groove with music.”
The Boston Children’s Chorus Martin Luther King Day Concert will be held Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory. The chorus will also perform with the Back Bay Ringers this Saturday, Dec. 13, at the “’Tis the Season” concert at Faneuil Hall, which starts at 10:30 a.m.
For tickets and more information, visit www.bostonchildrenschorus.org.
