Lenox — Berkshire Children’s Chorus will perform a winter concert on Saturday, January 25, at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School. From the Festival Latino in Great Barrington to the Lessons & Carols at Williams College, the group has been busy lately with concert appearances across Berkshire County.
Their program for the 25th features a mix of highlights from their fall and winter performances, along with several songs they have been developing expressly for this event. They describe the program as “a celebration of the music, milestones, and energy that have made this season unforgettable so far.”
Following the concert, singers in grades three through eight will be invited to join the chorus for the second half of the season, which begins on January 29 in Sheffield, and January 30 in Pittsfield.
At the end of the spring semester, Berkshire Children’s Chorus will perform a 35th anniversary concert at Tanglewood. No previous experience or auditions are required.
Founded in 1990 by Nancy Loder, Berkshire Children’s Chorus provides choral music education to young people in grades three through 12, without consideration for their families’ abilities to pay. They explore the music of various cultures, continents, and time periods, while giving children throughout the Berkshires a chance to make new friends.
Weekly rehearsals are intended to boost students’ self-confidence and teamwork skills, as well as music reading, ear training, and vocal technique.
Singer, conductor, and educator Ryan LaBoy has led the Berkshire Children’s Chorus since 2021, having served for three years as Director of Choirs and Voice at North Hennepin Community College, where he conducted Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and led the Voice Studio. Prior to that, he served as founding music director of ComMUSICation—an El Sistema-inspired choral youth-development program in St. Paul, Minn.
Ryan holds degrees in choral conducting and music education from the University of Minnesota and Westminster Choir College. He moved to the Berkshires from the Twin Cities in May 2021 with his husband Joel, who is pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Pittsfield.
Berkshire Children’s Chorus is a nonprofit organization supported by grants from local cultural councils and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, as well as donations from individual members of the community.
Hear the Berkshire Children’s Chorus’ winter concert at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School’s Duffin Theater on Saturday, January 25, at 4 p.m. Admission is free.
