The mission of Voices Without Borders, Inc. is to promote, support, and sponsor choral music, dance, and other related activities for young people in our schools and communities throughout Greater Northern Michigan and to offer similar opportunities to promote friendship and understanding through music and dance between children and youth from around the world who are invited to participate in VWB programs. Voices Without Borders, Inc. sponsors the Great Lakes Youth Choir (formerly Little Traverse Treble Choir) and the Great Lakes Treble Choir (formerly Little Traverse Treble Choir) and presents the international Children of the World in Harmony Choir & Dance Festival.
On Saturday, February 20, Voices Without Borders (VWB) virtually presented the 3rd annual “A Time to Shine’, celebrating the bridge-building joy of music with our friends in Northern Michigan and around the world.As COVID-19 illuminates the importance of the arts to our well-being, VWB was pleased to be able to share an evening of hope, love, and inspiration during this challenging time.
VWB extends sincere gratitude to the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Arts Midwest, the Northwest Michigan Arts & Culture Network, the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation and “Adopt A Star” donors for helping to keep music alive for our youth and communities.
This year’s program includes performances by Emma Leah, Isabella & Lilliana Richards; Anna Herrell & Aaron Matthews; Jed & Mandy Scott Family; Gaeyle Gerrie-Boss; Amber Merrow & Luke Graham; Thomas Tafoya; Jack Callaghan; Julie Pierpont; Avery McCreadie; Tony Manfredonia; Ruby O’Kelly; Indigo Moon (Lee Anne Whitman and John and Julie Podulka); The Lonely Lovers (Mark Blaauw-Hara and Jen Schaap); Hannah Harris & John Warstler; Grace Hayhurst & Aaron Matthews; and The Accidentals. The show also includes performances by Voices Without Borders’ Great Lakes Youth & Treble Choirs with musicians from the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Gluais; and the Voices Without Borders International Virtual Choir. VWB is grateful for the narration of Tim Nixon and Scott MacKenzie and for the editing abilities of Mikayla Cerrudo.
Streaming of the event is free. Donations support Voices Without Borders programming, including the 25th Children of the World in Harmony virtually live, globally inclusive Festival Gala on June 24, 2021 featuring nearly 400 youth singers and dancers from around the world. If you would like to help fund Voices Without Borders’ mission to spread peace and harmony through music, please text “GIVE” to 231-202-2818 or visit www.vwbchoir.com. VWB is a northern MI nonprofit and donations are tax-deductible, as allowed by law.
Voices Without Borders would like to extend its gratitude to Jason Helen of Little Bay Boards and to all who purchased a raffle ticket in support of VWB!
Missed the celebration? You may still view by clicking here!
"The Borders Disappear" by Timothy C. Takach & Lyrics by Julia Klatt Singer
Voices Without Borders has added a simple, secure way of giving through Txt2Give.
YouTube Video
A special thank you to the National Endowment for the Arts, the Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Arts Midwest, Northwest Michigan Arts & Culture Network and the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation for their generous support of Voices Without Borders during the global pandemic. We are so grateful for their support during these challenging times.
Celebrate the bridge-building joy of music with a donation of support today!
On October 1st, the Great Lakes Youth & Treble Choirs will be going virtual and we're inviting friends around the world to join us for an exciting international opportunity leading up to the 2021 Children of the World in Harmony Festival!
When the Little Traverse Youth Choir began in 2010, it consisted of singers from predominantly the Little Traverse Bay Area. Our membership now spans from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, with singers from the northern MI communities of Alanson, Boyne City, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Cross Village, Harbor Springs, Levering, Petoskey, Traverse City, Vanderbilt and Wolverine. We felt it important that our name reflect our membership. Voices Without Borders began the 2019-20 season by introducing the Great Lakes Youth and Treble Choirs, formerly Little Traverse Youth and Treble Choirs!
This fall, we're so excited to extend our offer to sing to singers around the world! Singers, ages 7-13 years, are invited to join the Great Lakes Treble Choir under the direction of Monica Pavel-Kissinger, and piano accompanist, Cynda Coleman. Singers, ages 13-20 years, are invited to audition for the Great Lakes Youth Choir under the direction of Monica Pavel-Kissinger, and piano accompanist, Phillip McLellan. Dr. William Skoog, Artistic Director for the Choirs, arranged for VWB’s directors to receive valuable training in virtual rehearsals and performances that will allow youth to continue their vocal training and to make beautiful music together. Both choirs will be using “My Choral Coach”, a software that is free to singers, user-friendly and a terrific tool for the interactive teaching of music. We are excited modern technology will allow VWB to bring the world together in song several months before the 2021 Children of the World in Harmony Festival which is being planned as an exciting Virtually Live Globally Inclusive Festival. Tuition is waived for the first semester and will resume in January 2021. A highlight from this fall includes a virtual collaboration with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra String Quartet, as the choirs prepare "Christmas Canon", originally performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We are inviting singers from around the world to join in this special opportunity!
VWB is anticipating an increased need for scholarship support for singers due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. If you are interested in sponsoring one or more singers, donations are being gratefully accepted to the Sara Kukuk-Russell Scholarship Fund. Checks made payable to “VWB” with a “scholarship” notation in the memo may be mailed to Voices Without Borders, 320 Crown Point Drive, Petoskey, MI 49770. Donations may also be made at Square. Voices Without Borders is a nonprofit located in Petoskey, Michigan.
Voices Without Borders is extremely grateful for the continued support of Sir Franc D'Ambrosio and Michael Porter Tilley of our Little Traverse Youth Choir and the Children of the World in Harmony Festivals. We learned so much during the masterclass and were honored to be included in Franc D'Ambrosio ~ Hollywood: Songs from the Silver Screen at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts.
Carnegie Hall Update
Voices Without Borders was beyond thrilled when its Great Lakes Youth Choir received an invitation to perform in New York City's Carnegie Hall in June 2020. The choir had been making preparations and was excitedly looking forward to performing John Rutter's "The Sprig of Thyme" with Ballard High School Concert Choir from Louisville, KY, Lakeland Chorale and Chamber Singers from Wanaque, NJ, Poteau High School Choir from Poteau, OK on June 15, 2020 at 8:00pm. Sadly, this event was cancelled due to the novel coronavirus. We are so grateful to all who were helping to make this dream come true and know you share in our disappointment. As we look forward to the day when we can sing safely together again, we continue to explore ways to celebrate the bridge-building joy of music with youth from Northern MI and around the world. We are so grateful for your continued support.
2018 Dublin Choral Festival & the American Celebration of Music in Scotland!
The Little Traverse Youth Choir performed at the prestigious international Dublin Choral Festival and the American Celebration of Music in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland from June 12-21, 2018! It was truly life-changing and we are so grateful for the support that allowed ourvoices to soar across the Atlantic! We were honored to be joined on tour by Mid-Maryland Performing Arts Center's Dance Unbound and plans are in the works for their participation in the 2019 Children of the World in Harmony Festival in Northern MI. Our tour culminated in performances at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts Community Open House in Bay Harbor on July 8 and at the Cheboygan Opera House on August 5.
Thank you for helping A Time to Shine shine bright!
On February 8, 2020, the 2nd Annual A Time to Shine brought together outstanding artists from across northern MI, the Great Lakes Youth and Treble Choirs for a sparkling celebration at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts. Nearly one-third of the performances were original compositions! We extend our gratitude to the artists, volunteers, attendees, donors and all who helped to make this year's event a success, raising nearly $6,500 to support the mission of Voices Without Borders! Stay tuned for a "Save the Date" for the 3rd Annual A Time to Shine.
“Thank you so much for the incredible experience last night. I really enjoy the setup, and I’m thrilled it gives so many people the opportunity to sing/play/dance/perform on stage.” Tony Manfredonia, 2020 A Time to Shine Star
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this event is so powerful. A Time To Shine is amazing in that it offers a wide variety of performers the opportunity to share music together, and in so doing, help inspires the next generation of musicians." Alex Iglinski, 2019 A Time to Shine Assistant Stage Manager
