WESTMINSTER — The 40 young singers in the Kurn Hattin Homes for Children's Select Choir have been tapped to compete on the third season of the public television series “Together in Song,” the choral competition series produced and aired by public television station WGBY in Springfield, Mass.
“Together in Song,” hosted by Springfield Symphony Orchestra Maestro Kevin Rhodes, will air on WGBY on Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. beginning March 23. The Kurn Hattin Homes choir will compete with 37 other choral groups in 10 categories according to age and musical genre.
Each week, viewers and a panel of judges vote for the best group in each category. The competition culminates in a live, final performance at the historic Paramount Theater in Springfield, Mass., airing Sunday, April 28 on WGBY.
Kurn Hattin's group, under the direction of Lisa Bianconi, is the first chorus from Vermont to be selected to compete in the series that highlights non-professional children's and adults' choirs in various musical genres.
Kurn Hattin Homes co-Executive Director Connie Sanderson announced the choir's acceptance at the school's winter Family Day celebration when the children's parents were visiting campus.
“They are in orbit,” she said of the children's reaction. “And it's even more special that they got to share the excitement with their parents here.”
Music has played an essential role at Kurn Hattin Homes since the school's beginnings in the late 1800s. Today, all 100 students participate in one or more aspects of the music program, and all students in grades 4-8 learn and perform on band instruments.
“This is going to be an amazing adventure,” said Bianconi, Kurn Hattin's music director since 1985. “The children have such talent and poise and have demonstrated that they are ready for a competition. We look forward to the first round.”