PRINCETON, NJ Restaurant Dining Guide Announcement

 

The idea that "everyone can make a difference" is the inspiration behind the PGC's 8th annual Children Making a Difference benefit concert.  Associate Director Melissa Malvar-Keylock started the tradition of the benefit concert in memory of her mother Adrienne Todd Keylock, who died in 1998.  According to Melissa Malvar, her mother "spent her professional life as a social worker, and her free time at church singing in the choir, so helping others and singing were her great joys. To honor her memory, I combined her lifelong passions, and began the Children Making a Difference benefit concert to help teach our singers that everyone can make a difference by using their time and talents to help others."  Each year, the benefit concert raises money for a different charitable organization in our community, and educates audiences about services the non-profits provide.

 

This year the concert will raise funds for KIVA, non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.  The children will experience first-hand how to use their beautiful, powerful, communal voices to help others and make the world a better place.  Since the first Children Making a Difference concert seven years ago, approximately $18,000 has been raised for area non-profits.  Singing and Service is thus joyfully and jointly brought together in these choirs and their collaborative efforts.  The connections and partnerships that Princeton Girlchoir values and promotes in its singers, with the goal of social empowerment, are also evident in KIVA's idea of "social performance," which allows for positive outcomes, in communities it serves. This year's CMAD will no doubt demonstrate to the choristers that the connections we forge will go a long way in making the "big world" seem like a "little village."

 

To be held on November 14, 2015, 5:00 pm, at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, the 8th annual Children Making a Difference benefit is one of Princeton Girlchoir's signature concerts.  Admission is by donation, with a suggested donation of $10 per person. All donations directly benefit KIVA.

 

Another concert to look forward to at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, is a performance titled, Songs from the Soul. Taking place on Saturday, October 24, 2015, 6:00 pm, the evening promises a musical and historical journey of African American folk songs with uplifting messages of courage, faith, and hope. PGC's own Quarter Notes, Concert Choir, and Ensemble will be joined by celebrated mezzo-soprano Deborah Ford in this impressive collection of music.

 

For further information, please contact the Princeton Girlchoir office at 609-688-1888, or visit www.princetongirlchoir.org.

 

For more information on KIVA, visit www.kiva.org.

 

Deborah Ford is an award winning Mezzo-soprano who has traveled the world performing in various venues. Some of her awards include the gold medal in Savannah's On Stage American Music Competition, first prize at the New Jersey State Opera competition and the AIMS European Vocal Competition in Graz Austria. She holds degrees from Westminster Choir College in Performance and Sacred Music and completed post graduate studies at the European Seminars Vocal Institute in Germany, as well as the American Institute for Musical Studies in Graz Austria. Currently, Ms. Ford is the Music Director at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Trenton, NJ and is the music teacher for Trinity Academy, an Abbott preschool housed at Trinity Cathedral.  She has been newly appointed to the board of the Capital Singers of Trenton New Jersey. Recently, Ms. Ford was a participant in the Concert of Spirituals featuring Kathleen Battle. In addition, in July of 2015 she was honored by the Gospel Music Workshop of America of Central Jersey for her contribution to Gospel Music. Deborah is committed to sharing her music with everyone and she is pleased to support the efforts of this evening of song.

 

 

Fueled by the power of a girl's voice, Princeton Girlchoir presents extraordinary performances at home and throughout the world, while educating the musician, building confidence, and fostering a life-long love of singing together. Founded in 1989 as an after-school activity for girls interested in choral music, Princeton Girlchoir has grown into the area's premier training and performance choir for girls, with over 270 choristers participating each year.  The organization is made of six choirs, with girls in 3rd through 12th grade.  Choristers come together each week from September through May to rehearse, and perform some four to twenty concerts throughout the year, depending upon their choir level. The choirs present music from a wide array of genres, conductors and composers.  While honing their musicianship, our choristers begin life-long friendships, enjoy professional performance opportunities, and travel the world.

 

The Princeton Girlchoir has been honored to perform in a wide array of venues for audiences both nationally and internationally. Notable performances include the swearing-in ceremony for New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt in Washington, DC; singing in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center with Yo-Yo Ma in the North American Premiere of Tan Dun's Symphony 1997, singing for dignitaries such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jeb Bush, and Sandra Day O'Connor; performing the national anthem at several professional sporting events; and debuting at Carnegie Hall as guests of the New York Choral Society in 2014. The Princeton Girlchoir has performed at several professional conferences, such as the American Choral Directors Association Eastern Regional Conventions, the Kodály Eastern Division Conference and the New Jersey Music Educators Association Conference.