Fort Wayne’s Voices of Unity Youth Choir To Be Celebrated at The Unity Victory Celebration
The community is invited to celebrate the success of Fort Wayne's world renowned Voices of Unity Youth Choir and their outstanding success at the 2014 World Choir games in Riga, Latvia. The Unity Victory Celebration will showcase the choir and highlight their major accomplishments. The Allen County Board of Commissioners and other community partners are sponsoring this event on Sunday, October 12, 2014, 4:00 PM at the Rhinehart Music Center.
The public is highly encouraged to attend this free event to cheer the choir's outstanding victory and representation of our community on the world stage. There will be a performance by the Voices of Unity Youth Choir and the members will receive individual gold medals for their acclaimed victories at the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. Also, the choir will be recognized for their history making, exceptional performance, at the esteemed Carnegie Hall in New York City. Additional attention includes recognition of major donors. Community attendance at this Unity Victory Celebration will show community-wide support for these amazing youth who are shining examples of excellence in our local and area youth. Plan on attending and bring others to share in this event designed to recognize our gold medal champions on Sunday, October 12, 2014.
Community leaders participating at the Unity Victory Celebration include:
- Tom Henry, Mayor
- Nelson Peters, County Commissioner
- Terra Brantley, News Anchor
- Tim Ash, Ash Brokerage
- Deborah Faye Robbins, Fort Wayne Community Schools
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Unity Performing Arts Foundation will take this time to honor and highlight the companies, business professionals and individuals who gave funds to support the Gold for The City Campaign.
Victory Celebration Ceremony Goals
- Empower our youth to feel special and celebrated for their outstanding accomplishments
- Engage the broader community in honoring our victorious Voices of Unity Choir
- Experience highlights of the 2014 World Choir Games and Carnegie Hall performances
- Honor major donors who made this incredible experience possible and acknowledge campaign volunteers
- Unite families and community in a public celebration that supports and encourages our youth to strive for excellence in all areas of their lives
The Voices of Unity Youth Choir
The Voices of Unity Youth Choir (VOU) was founded in July 2000 under the leadership and direction of Marshall White. This unique and exciting soulful choral group is compromised of young people ages 7-19 from various backgrounds in the Fort Wayne community and beyond. They are exposed to an educational platform that inspires them to learn, study, and perform mainstream soulful music, such as blues, jazz, spiritual, gospel, R&B, pop, country, hip-hop, neo-soul, and some rap. Students learn the historical significance of mainstream soulful music and are taught to perform each style in its authentic form. The overall objective of the program is to shape and develop natural artistic talent and through youth development tools, build character, teach life skills, and empower youth for the world before them. This preparation helps youth become successful leaders who will give back to their society and make a difference in their college life, adult life, and their professional careers.
VOU has established a reputation locally, regionally, nationally and internationally for their standards of excellence on and off the stage. Accomplishments include endorsements by the Indianapolis Colts since 2007, performance at the National Football League 2007 Kick Off Celebration with Keisha Cole, and performance at the opening celebration of the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The choir was invited to participate in three World Choir Games competitions, in Shoaxing China, Cincinnati, OH and Riga, Latvia, where they won 5 gold medals and 1 silver medals. This summer they were invited to participate and perform at the Choir of America Nationals in New York, NY at the prestigious Carnegie Hall.
For mere information about the Unity Victory Celebration or about the Voices of Unity Youth Choir, contact Helga Portela at 260-481-6719, hportela@upaf.com.
