The Partners in Praise Girls Choir of Brooklyn Center found plenty of rewards onstage and off at the recent Golden Gate International Children's and Youth Choral Festival in Berkeley, Calif.
Gold and silver medals for Partners in Praise choir
By ANNA PRATT
The 28-member touring group includes girls ages 12 to 18 from the Twin Cities and beyond.
The choir, competing in the youth division at the July 8-14 event, achieved a gold ranking for its performance in the folk and historic music categories and a silver in the contemporary category, said artistic director Julia Fahey.
Partners in Praise also received the Choir of Angels award for global citizenship. The title was based on the choir's efforts to reach out to others, its artistic merits and its leadership qualities, said Fahey.
Additionally, Partners in Praise member Mariah Hoffman, 18, of Inver Grove Heights earned a first-place gold in the youth solo competition.
But the most meaningful part of the trip for the girls, Fahey said, was the "opportunity to hear outstanding choirs from around the world," and to join with them in song.
Each day the 20 choirs, composed of 600 children from around the world, rehearsed together and shared stories. They also got to work with internationally known conductors. Their only goal: "making music together."
In their off-hours, the girls also participated in various spotlight concerts around the San Francisco Bay area.
To learn more about the Partners in Praise Girls Choir or to listen to music samples, visit www.partnersinpraise.org.
Auditions begin this month for Partners in Praise and for another choir, the Con Brio Girls Choir for fourth- through eighth-graders. For information, e-mail Julia Fahey at juliafahey@msn.com.
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ANNA PRATT
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