Kid Power! School choral groups to sing for peace

January 23, 2013 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

children peace concert.JPG

Share this:

Out of the mouths of babes comes … great songs!

Youth choral groups from Brooklyn schools will be performing together in a Bay Ridge concert to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims in the U.S. and in Haiti this weekend.

The Children’s Choral Festival for Peace/Hurricane Sandy Relief Benefit Concert will take place on Sunday, Jan. 27, 3 p.m., at Good Shepherd Church, 7420 Fourth Ave.

Participating schools include: Saint Saviour Catholic Academy in Park Slope, Leif Ericson Day School in Dyker Heights, Bay Ridge Preparatory School, and the Children’s Chorus of Bay Ridge, composed of kids from various schools.

Admission is free. Concert organizers are asking those attending the event to make a $10 donation per family.

The proceeds from the concert will be divided up among three charities: the Super Storm Sandy Educational Relief Fund administered by the Futures in Education for Brooklyn and Queens; Lutheran Disaster Response designated for Hurricane Sandy Relief in New York; and Children in Need Haitian Project designated for Hurricane Sandy relief in the L’Espinasse region of Haiti.

“Sandy ravaged Haiti, too,” said Rita Pihra-Majurinen, music director at Leif Ericson Day School. “The earthquake devastated that country. And now, they’re coping with the hurricane damage. Those poor people never get a break.”

The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Haiti suffered immense damage from the huuricane.

Each of the schools involved in the concert selected a charity to receive funds, Pihra-Majurinen said. “It’s kids raising funds for kids,” she said.

The St. Saviour Chorus will perform the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” The kids from Leif Ericson will sing “Catch a Falling Star,” a 1950s hit made famous by Perry Como.

A similar concert took place last year and was a success, according to Pihra-Majurinen. The children from the various choruses enjoyed meeting each other. “The kids were mesmerized by each other. For many of them, it was the first time they realized that there are kids from other school who enjoy doing what they do,” she said.

Concert organizers are hoping to make the show an annual event.

The event will feature more than just music. There will be recreational activities in the concert hall, including face painting, arts and crafts, and an exhibition of paintings by Bay Ridge Preparatory students. Pihra-Majurinen said she is also trying to book a storyteller for the day.

While it should be a day of fun, the concert has a serious purpose, Pihra-Majurinen. “We need to talk about peace and how to get along with each other,” she said.

There’s only one thing that could dampen the turnout, she admitted. “The flu is going around. We hope people will be healthy enough to come to the concert,” she said.