BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE MISSISSIPPI BOYCHOIR
CHANGING THE LIVES OF MISSISSIPPI BOYS…
Membership in the Mississippi Boychoir is about changing lives through character development, friendship, and fun. It’s about learning new skills, listening to lots of different kinds of music, and singing… a lot of singing!
TRAINING IN LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK, AND SOCIAL SKILLS…
Members of the choir get training in leadership, teamwork, and social skills. The valuable training continues to reward the boys as they become adult community leaders and contributors. Boychoir emphasizes self-discipline, responsibility, and respect for self and others.
SUPERIOR MUSIC TRAINING AND TRAVEL…
Boychoir members receive superior musical training in fundamentals of vocal technique, rhythm, sight reading and tone quality. They attend weekly rehearsals as well as two intensive music camps each season.
HIGHER GRADES AND COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS…
A wealth of research has proven the outcomes of studying music – higher academic grades and college scholarships. According to the Children’s Music Workshop, some benefits of music education include:
- Music training helps the brain develop in the areas involved in language and learning
- Link between music and spatial intelligence
- Students of the arts become creative thinkers
- Students of the arts do better on standardized tests
- Exposure to other cultures, languages, and customs teaches empathy
- Students of music learn craftsmanship
- Music provides a means of self-expression
- Performing music teaches children to conquer their fears and successfully take risks.
FUN, FRIENDSHIP, AND TRAVEL!
More immediately, the payoff is translated into fun for the boys who need an outlet for their talents, who need friends with similar interests and whose abilities need to be recognized. Boys and their chaperones travel across Mississippi and the USA (and sometimes internationally!) to concerts and choir festivals, singing an average of 15 songs each performance!
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Wesley Speed, whose credits include playing Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors, was a soloist with the Mississippi Chorus and attended the Mississippi School for the Arts.
Aaron Conerly went on to Broadway where he played the part of Young Simba in Disney’s The Lion King.
Seth Womack graduated out of the Mississippi Boychoir with a full scholarship for his first three years of college and a half scholarship for his last two years.
James Simmons left the Mississippi Boychoir to attend the American Boychoir School in Princeton, NJ.
Charter member and former Head Choirboy Ben Mason attended a music conservatory and graduated with a degree in music and theatre.
Charter member Mark Edwards was in Boychoir for 6 years (two years as Head Choirboy) and loves and lives his music and never misses an opportunity to sing or play his trumpet at his church.
Matt Cooksey, who traveled to festivals in Minnesota and England and sang in a Regional Honor Choir, moved to another state and was soon chosen as the only soprano soloist in an honor choir.
At age 12, John Dean Puckett is an experienced wedding and church soloist and has since been featured as soloist with a college choir.
Tamarceo Shaw was selected from 450 singers as the only soprano soloist in the final concert of the 2005 World Festival of Singing for Men and Boys and seems to get standing ovations every time audiences hear his unusually distinctive voice.