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This is a text-only version of an article first published on Tuesday, 2 June 2020. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
The African Chidlren's Choir.
www. africanchildrenschoir. org A choir made up of, and dedicated to helping, Africa's most vulnerable children is on its way to Deddington. The African Children's Choir will arrive in the village on Wednesday, April 30.
During their two night stay, when they will be hosted by local families, the 16 young people from Uganda will be performing at both the local primary school and the parish church. The youngsters, aged between seven and ten years old, will deliver a programme comprising well-loved African children's songs, hand clapping, traditional spirituals and contemporary tunes. Over the past twenty years, children from successive African Children's Choirs have appeared in thousands of concerts around the world, including concerts at the Pentagon and the United Nations.
They have featured on popular television and radio broadcasts such as GMTV and Blue Peter and performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. More recently they performed at the Commonwealth Observance Day in the presence of The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey.
Already on this tour, which sees them appear at venues throughout the UK, they have met the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, at her residence in Dublin and Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont Castle, Belfast. This will be the third time the Choir has performed in Deddington in recent years.
Doors open at 7pm and admission is free, although a collection will be taken up during the concert. The primary goal of the Choir is to raise awareness of the need of destitute and orphaned children in Africa and to raise funds for continued development and support of the African Children's Choir programmes, delivered through the Music for Life charity in seven African countries - Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan and Ghana. The Choir's international educational endeavour provides unique training for the children.
Once Choir members have completed a concert tour, they return to their homelands with the tools necessary for bettering their future. Deddington Vicar the Revd Dr Hugh White, said: "'We are delighted to have the Choir with us again.
The previous occasions have been great and this one will be even better, since our Primary School will be involved in the concert this time around.
It's wonderful to be able to support a good cause and have a great evening as we do so. "African Children's Choir event organiser Stephen Robinson said: "The choir is really excited about returning to Deddington on this year's tour as members had such a fantastic and inspirational experience the last time they performed at St Peter's and St Paul's. "Note to newsgatherers:To arrange interviews and photographs/footage of the African Children's Choir, please contact Vicar Hugh White on 01869 349869 or African Children's Choir event organiser Stephen Robinson on 028 9266 6611.
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