The Chorus involves more than 150 children in grades 2 through 8 by annual audition. In the first year of its existence, the Chorus performed for more than 15,000 people in events including the 1990 World Economic Summit and the UNICEF Gala with Audrey Hepburn and Michael Tilson Thomas. During the last 34 years, the Chorus has reached countless audiences through its many unforgettable performances, including Super Bowl XVIII!
Music appreciation and education is the primary purpose of the Chorus. Our goal is to teach children to achieve high artistic standards through choral singing and performance by providing the Houston community with a major children’s choral ensemble that celebrates the diversity of Houston’s population. Chorus membership encourages personal growth, teamwork, discipline, confidence and self-control.
Members of the Chorus come from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds represented in the Greater Houston area. Students come from every school district in the area, and also include students from private schools and those that are home schooled.
The Houston Children’s Chorus has performed all around the world in its 34-year existence, including concert tours to Russia, England, Scotland, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, China, New Zealand, Mexico and Taiwan. Domestically, the Chorus has performed several times at Carnegie Hall in New York City and toured a number of states. Most recently, a performance residency was held in New England with concerts in Boston, Maine, New York and the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
The Chorus has performed for the President of the United States more than 28 times, including at the 1992 Republican National Convention and the 2005 Bush/Clinton Tsunami Relief Fund Celebration. Civic performances include the Mayor’s Tree Lighting Ceremony, Thanksgiving Day Parades and numerous civic ceremonies for world leaders. The Chorus frequently performs with the Houston Symphony and has been featured in their annual Christmas Pops Concert, Carmina Burana, The Matrix and several performances of The Lord of the Rings. The Houston Masterworks Chorus, Cantare and the Rice University Orchestra and Chorale have all performed with the Chorus in various concerts through the years. Soloists from the Chorus have performed with the Houston Grand Opera, Theater Under the Stars and the Alley Theater. Alumni from the Chorus have been finalists and winners in “American Idol,” Metropolitan Opera auditions, Hollywood movies and Broadway musicals.
Celebrities calling upon the Chorus to perform include Celine Dion, The Beach Boys, Lee Greenwood, Tommy Tune, Randy Travis, Marilyn McCoo, Dionne Warwick, Peabo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Shirley Jones, Josh Groban, Larry Gatlin, Susan Graham, Sarah Chang and Maureen McGovern. Some memorable performances include the opening gala concerts for the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston, recording the BlueBell Ice Cream radio and television commercial and television, serving as the children’s choir in the touring Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and singing with Josh Groban at Super Bowl XVIII in 2004.
Fred Bock Music Company of California has printed more than one million copies of the “Houston Children’s Chorus Choral Series,” a collection of anthems for churches and schools. Several compact discs featuring the Chorus have been produced by the Fred Bock Company.
The Chorus is known throughout Houston and the State of Texas for its diversity in membership and repertoire, performing all types of music, from classical to pop – all by memory! The group is constantly in demand for weddings, gala fundraisers, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, church services, corporate events, radio and television commercials, recordings and civic events. It is the goal of the Houston Children’s Chorus to make singing accessible to every child in the Houston area regardless of race or economic status.
The affairs of the Houston Children’s Chorus are managed by its Board of Directors, comprised of individuals from a cross-section of the community. The Board oversees financial and legal aspects of the Chorus. Stephen Roddy, Founder & Director, conducts all concerts and oversees the artistic aspects of the organization.