Highlands Youth Ensemble
Audiences can hear all the choirs of the Mountain Empire Choral Academy in concert May 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tennessee. A reception in the Paramount lobby follows the May 4 concert. The Highlands Youth Ensemble tours France from May 28 through June 6.
Morison says, “Our theme this year is ‘What a Wonderful World.’ This is partly due to our France tour, but we are also singing about the Earth, the animals, the trees, oceans, wind, and many other nature themes. Everyone will be delighted to hear our youngest singers, the Explorers, under the direction of Emily McCraw. We will also hear performances from the East Tennessee Children’s Choir and Emory Virginia Children’s Choir, plus Da Capo and the Highlands Youth Ensemble, and our grand finale piece is a setting of ‘What a Wonderful World,’ a song made famous by Louis Armstrong.”
The Highlands Youth Ensemble’s selections include compositions by Gabriel Fauré, Susan LaBarr, Alice Parker and Jeffery Ames as well as the world premiere of Benjamin Dawson’s “The Day of Allied Voices,” a piece commissioned to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-day.
Artistic Director Jane DeLoach Morison says, “We are so excited to premier ‘The Day of Allied Voices’ and are especially thrilled to sing it in Normandy during our France concert tour. In addition to performing, we are touring Omaha and Utah Beaches, we are laying a wreath at the American Cemetery, and we are visiting the Peace Museum in Caen. We are so humbled to be in that sacred space where we will honor the heroes who fought for freedom in World War II.”
In addition to touring and performing in Normandy, the choir will also travel to and sing in the Loire region as well as Paris.
For more information about their choirs and concerts, visit www.meccacademy.org
