The young singers of the Miami Choral Academy will not forget soon the standing ovation they received Wednesday, Mar. 28, at the New World Center on Miami Beach. MCA’s 200 members — all in elementary school — sang beautifully at Keep the Music Alive, a benefit concert of opera arias for the Miami Choral Academy.
The Miami Choral Academy, now in its second year, is an initiative of Miami’s professional choir, Seraphic Fire. Based on the belief that music is a powerful tool for social and academic growth in children, MCA provides a tuition-free after school music education to students in four public elementary schools located in economically disadvantaged communities of Miami- Dade County.
By involving the students’ parents and making links to other subjects such as math, science and history, MCA aims to affect positive academic and social change in participating students’ lives.
In their own set, the 26-member MCA Honors Chamber Choir made its Miami Beach debut with a moving performance of The Greatest Love of All.
The finale brought to the stage all 200 members of the Miami Choral Academy alongside the professional vocalists of Seraphic Fire. MCA first accompanied soprano Misty Bermudez to perform the famous Habanera, from Bizet’s opera Carmen. From there, and with Seraphic Fire’s artistic director Patrick Dupré Quigley at the piano, the children sang Quigley’s stunning arrangement of Steal Away with countertenor Reggie Mobley. The evening concluded with the children accompanying soprano Kathryn Mueller for a magnificent performance of The Way Old Friends Do.
The Miami Choral Academy presents its final concert of the year, the Miami Choral Academy Spring Choir Festival, on June 1 at St. Martha’s Church in Miami Shores. The event is free to the public.
Seraphic Fire will continue its 10th Season Apr. 18-22 with performances of “Dances of the Americas: The Pulse of a New World” by its Firebird Chamber Orchestra. The program will feature Aaron Copland’s stunning Hoe-Down alongside works by John Adams.
Local performances are: Wednesday, Apr. 18, 7:30 p.m., St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, 126 SE 15 Rd., Miami; Friday, Apr. 20, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 536 Coral Way, Coral Gables, and Sunday, Apr. 22, 4 p.m., Miami Beach Community Church, 1620 Drexel Ave.
