More than 200 boys will join in song at free boychoir fest

The third annual Cincinnati Boychoir Festival will bring upwards of 200 boys from more than 80 different schools together Saturday to sing at Memorial Hall.

Most boys will see the music for the first time Saturday morning, but for those involved with Cincinnati Sings!, it’s a culminating performance and a chance for students to showcase their efforts from the past six weeks.

“It had become primarily a suburban institution, but we wanted to make sure we were reaching boys of all parts of the city, of all economic levels, of all talent levels,” says KellyAnn Nelson, festival director.

Nelson directs Cincinnati Sings!, which is a volunteer choir for elementary school students in five Cincinnati Public Schools.

“We’re getting feedback from their teachers and finding out it’s something they look forward to each week,” Nelson says.

In fact, the biggest problem the choir has, Nelson says, is singing too loud—they have passion.

The festival is a way to give a one-day experience to any boy from around the city.

“We have boys coming from Mason, we have boys who have never sang in a choir in their life, we have boys who are black, Hispanic, white—all together, singing together for a day, wearing the same T-shirt, eating the same pizza and singing the same music,” Nelson says. “The boys are really in love with it.”

Do Good:

• Attend the free concert at 1 p.m. Saturday.

• Check out the full events schedule, and attend a Cincinnati Boychoir concert.

•  Support the Cincinnati Boychoir.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a project manager for Charitable Words. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.