Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus will host a joint choral event with three UCSB a cappella groups this Sunday to raise money for its scholarship program.

“An Evening of A Cappella & Jazz” will feature 15 members from the Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus, UCSB student groups VocalMotion, Naked Voices, Brothers From Otha Mothas and Ventura’s award-winning barbershop group Pacific Sound. The Santa Barbara Jazz Collective will also perform between the various acts from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Marjorie Luke Theatre.

According to Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus Executive Director Paul Freeman, the Children’s Chorus performance will showcase eight- to 14-year-old participants’ new a cappella skills.

“For the spring, we decided to introduce a cappella to the kids, and we have been highlighting it all term,” Freeman said. “The event brings together what the kids have been doing and shows off all that they have been working on.” Each group will perform four to five songs from their repertoires, leading up to a collaborative performance of the Children’s Chorus anthem, “It’s Up To You and Me.”

VocalMotion Performance Manager Alex Platt, a fourth-year communication and global studies major, said the culminating event will combine the broad-range of participating vocal talents. “There will be a whole range of musicians, young and old, with their own musical styles, all performing together with the larger goal in mind of supporting the arts in Santa Barbara,” Platt said. “I love this collaboration and I think this is going to be not only an entertaining show but also a meaningful one because of the message that we are trying to send. It is not just some fun evening entertainment. It is for a purpose.”

The concert will also feature an art display from the Incredible Children’s Art Network — founded in 2010 for local youths to have access to art programs — and a raffle.

Third-year biology major and VocalMotion President Kirby Welsh said the event allows participants to work with younger musicians.

“When we did the workshop back in February, it was so awesome to see how passionate the children were in singing,” Welsh said. “They look up to college students in a cappella groups and are eager and excited to perform. This is their big night, and I could not imagine it to be any other way.”

Freeman said the chorus will help finance the Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus scholarship program.

“The scholarship program helps to pay for financial aid for students who wish to join our concert chorus program,” Freeman said. “65 percent to 70 percent of our kids are on some form of financial aid, and it is important for them to be able to get some help in participating in our program.”

Naked Voices member Megan Gibbs, a third-year communication and Spanish double major, said the musical event inspires young musicians through song.

“It is not just about the music; it is about a common interest,” Gibbs said. “It is so great that they have a program where they can tap in to their creative side. As a singer, I think it is important [for the kids] to hone in on skills early, have an outlet to express creativity and go to a place where they can sing with other people of similar ages.”

The Marjorie Luke Theatre is a newly renovated venue inside Santa Barbara Junior High School and can hold about 850 guests.

Tickets are available online at www. sbchildrenschorus.com/tickets for $12 or $15 at the door. Call (805) 512-9840 for more information.

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