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Neighborhood
Choir Program
The
Neighborhood Choirs project is an outreach initiative with the goal to
provide access to choral music as an art form and to provide a means of
self-expression through music in a non-competitive group setting.
The CCC joined forces with two established community
partners’ afterschool programs, the McCrory YMCA and the Charlotte
Mecklenburg School After School Enrichment Program at Tuckasseegee
Elementary School, to implement the programs at their locations.
Children meet weekly
with
the CCC Neighborhood Choir Director to study choral music, basic music and
vocal skills, as well as choral performance techniques over ten weeks, the
project culminates with a final concert for families and the community.
The Neighborhood Choir Director, along with our
partners monitored participating students’ academic progress throughout the
ten weeks. Students involved in Neighborhood Choirs developed attributes
such as self-esteem, social skills, community involvement, and enhanced
academic skills.
While we are aware of other after school programs for
this population, we are not aware of a comprehensive choral music initiative
that provides opportunities for children in at-risk neighborhoods to
participate in weekly choral arts program combined with an opportunity to
perform for an audience.

The most compelling aspect of this project is that it
uses art as a tool to partner with
agencies that have identified a need for cultural enrichment and provides a
common goal of community enrichment.
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