The traditional music and dance of Kenya, Congo, Rawanda and Uganda will be featured on the Chilkat Center stage when the world-renowned African Children’s Choir performs 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8.
A performance at the Presbyterian Church also will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7.
“The show has lots of energy, movement and rhythm, and lots of African dances,” said choir director Tony Were. The group also sings contemporary songs such as, “This Little Light of Mine.”
The choir visiting Haines is one of two traveling worldwide. The group started in 1984, and has performed here twice previously. “They’re energetic and happy. They always please the crowd,” said resident Crystal Badgley.
The group performs for donations. Its concerts are the fund-raising arm of Music for Life Institute, which funds schooling and relief efforts for African children suffering from poverty or disease.
The group visiting Haines includes 14 girls and seven boys between the ages of eight and 11, from impoverished areas in Kenya and Rawanda.
There have been 35 choirs since the group’s inception. The group’s earnings also pay for health care, housing and private school education for choir members, including college. Director Were sang as a member of the choir in 1991.
The program serves 7,000 children in African nations. The choir has performed at the United Nations and on The Tonight Show, and alongside such musicians as Mariah Carey and Paul McCartney.