Children from around the world celebrate music with Songs of Hope, Sunday, July 14 at 2 pm at Zumbrota's State Theatre. The concert is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. A freewill offering box will be at the theatre entrance. The Zumbrota Area Arts Council and Crossings are sponsoring the performance.
The children, ages 9 to young adult, are participants in a six-week performing arts summer camp in St. Paul. This is their third appearance in Zumbrota.
The performers entertain with songs and dances from their native countries, plus some special numbers providing fun summer entertainment. The concert program often includes a few modern hits as well as traditional songs from around the world.
More than just a performing arts camp, the nonprofit Songs of Hope™ offers participants a unique opportunity to live in community with kids from other cultures while learning and performing music from many countries. Campers learn to look past prejudices, misconceptions and newspaper headlines as they live, sing and dance together. They practice six hours a day, six days a week for six weeks. Then, they take these songs of peace, love, and respect into neighboring communities in a joyous celebration of cultural unity, delighting their audiences along the way.
The whole company performs on every song, which means the performers from more than a dozen countries will be singing in several languages that may be entirely new to them. An additional pleasure is the chance to see rich and beautiful traditional costumes of many cultures.
“We are really excited to be returning to the State Theatre. It is such a small, cozy venue. The audience is near, and filling the stage with 55 performers will guarantee a high energy show with great acoustics. Many thanks to Crossings and the Zumbrota Area Arts Council for working with us,” said camp founder Tom Suprenant.
All ages will enjoy this inspirational concert, making it the perfect family event for a summer afternoon!
Zumbrota's State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. For additional information, call Crossings at 507-732-7616.