¡Cantaré! in Worthington

In the 2010-2011 school year, Mexican composers Jesús Echevarría and Diana Syrse Valdés will make three separate trips to Worthington to work with elementary, high school and community choral singers, exploring Mexican cultural and choral music traditions and writing new music for each performing group.  The composers will spend a total of four weeks in Worthington.

The new music will be premiered at the ¡Cantaré! Community Concert at Memorial Auditorium in Worthington on April 28, 2011.

The composers will also participate in other aspects of the community through teacher professional development events and a community sing/cultural presentation, which will be free and open to the public.

VocalEssence will provide partner schools with a Teacher Resource Guide and companion CD to address social, historical and cultural contexts of Mexican choral music. The teachers can use the Resource Guide as a springboard to integrate ¡Cantaré! into the school curriculum before, between and after residencies.

The Worthington Daily Globe recently featured Diana Syrse in the classroom - read the full story here.

About the Participating Choirs

• Prairie Elementary School, Worthington: 200 third graders
• Worthington Middle School: 60 fifth graders
• Worthington Senior High School: Trojan Choir and Concert Choir
• Worthington Chamber Singers, directed by Eric Parrish