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The World Children's Choir brought their message of hope and world friendship today to the Lincoln Memorial, where they honored American veterans with patriotic tunes, and celebrated the peaceful transition of political power in the U.S. An ensemble of the Choir gathered at that historic location to sing in ten different languages, including 'We Must Dream,' their vision of "a world safe for children [where] every child can be free."
The Choir was invited to participate by AVAAZ, a global organization whose mission is to close the gap between the world we have, and the world most people everywhere want. The event was the closing ceremony for AVAAZ's 24-foot Global Message Board which, along with the group's Web site, has gathered more than 250,000 messages of hope and congratulations from 224 countries and territories to President-elect Barak Obama and the American people. 'AVAAZ' means 'voice' in many Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European languages. The Choir sang 'America the Beautiful,' The American Anthem, 'I'm Part of the Rainbow,' 'My Heart Sings,' Sibelius' 'A Song of Peace' and 'We Must Dream' in English, and 'Awah Awah Awah' (a song of welcome from Ghana), 'Siyahamba' (a Zulu freedom song), 'Hatirla Ey Peri' (from Turkey), 'Amani' ('peace') in French and Swahili, 'Tafta Hindi' (a Middle Eastern song), 'Alma Llanera' ('soul from the plains') from Venezuela, and 'Niska Banva' (a Serbian wedding song).
In the past year, the Choir has sung at the America's Promise Alliance awards dinner at the White House with 'American Idol' finalist Melinda Doolittle, at Wolf Trap, and at numerous other venues with prestigious orchestras and other musicians. Next month they will travel to New York City for a concert to benefit Mission Schools International (MSI), which is building educational facilities in Rwanda. The Choir recently launched the I Can Be Nice campaign to collect stories and pictures from children around the world about how important it is to treat one another kindly. Photo credit: Christopher Bonanti
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World
Children's Choir Sings at Lincoln Memorial
"We sing for children who cannot be
heard," said WCC founder and artistic director Sondra Harnes.
"These young singers serve as a voice for all children around the world, but especially those who suffer because of poverty, war, or political
dissent. We thank AVAAZ for making it possible for millions of people from around the world to have their voices
heard."
The World Children's Choir serves as a voice for children worldwide
- giving voice to the interests of all children, celebrating cultural diversity through music, promoting positive international relations, and asking people to work together to create a peaceful, healthy world for children. Through singing, WCC members explore musical content, and use music, art, and special activities to mediate cross-cultural differences and become peacemakers. The children learn how music and art express emotion, create shared experiences, bridge differences, tell stories, produce beauty and enrich others. 
