The Battle Creek Boychoir began in 1980 as an outgrowth of a church music program. Its repertoire emphasizes the great works of the sacred tradition, but also includes samplings from many other musical styles. The boys of the choir, ages eight to 14 years old, represent many school districts in Southwest Michigan. As a choir of treble voices, the Boychoir has sung throughout the Eastern United States and Canada, in concerts, in church services. They have also served as guest artists in such works as Tosca, Turandot, Carmen, La Boheme, and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony
The Boychoir has performed twice at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and twice as well at the Stratford Festival of Canada. The Boychoir’s overseas tours have included performances at London’s Westminster Abbey, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, the International Eisteddfod in Wales, and concerts with Japan’s Gumma Symphony Orchestra and Australia’s Sydney Youth Philharmonic. Most recently, the choir sang at the Royal northen College of Music in Manchester, England, and at Winchester Cathedral, and the University Church, Oxford.
The Boychoir is featured on two CD recordings, Mathias and Britten: Music for Christmas and Beyond, and The Glories of Shakespeare. The “Glories” recording was a joint project with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, and the Battle Creek Girls’ Chorus, and was conducted by the composer, Sir David Willcocks.
The Boychoir is a program of the The Music Center - Choruses, funded in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the Battle Creek Community Foundation.
Music education can be one of the key ingredients to developing an individual as a whole person, and learning Music contributes to a child's achievement in four important areas:
1. success in society
2. success in school and learning
3. success in developing intelligence
4. success in life
There are endless reasons why music education impacts student learning. Some of the reasons include active rather than passive involvement in learning. Learning music also sharpens critical thinking and problem solving skills, and it enhances teamwork. Music education offers children the ability to express themselves creatively, and it builds personal attributes such as planning, persistence, perseverance, and time management. These key ingredients to success are acquired by most musicians throughout their music education.
One key importance of music training is learning the intrinsic value of music, which in turn helps to shape and mold a person’s character. Data a research support the idea of music instruction for improving a child’s intelligence. Behavioral studies and neurological research show how music study can actively contribute to brain development meaning a child’s memory will be enhanced with music education.