A special concert “Shine On Me” will be presented by the beloved Trenton Children’s Chorus and the revered Westminster Choir College Jubilee Singers this coming Thursday, February 6th, at the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton (61 Nassau Street). It’s part of the Chorus’ tradition of singing beautiful and enjoyable vocal works with an African-American pedigree that reflects the inspirational aspect of the Month. The concert will commence at 6:15 p.m., and there will be an open Reception in the adjacent parish hall immediately following the concert.
Trenton Children’s Chorus (TCC) is an award-winning nonprofit organization offering exceptional musical, academic, social and personal opportunities for young people in the Greater Trenton Area. Founded in 1989 as an outreach project of Nassau Presbyterian Church by Sue Ellen Page and Marcia Wood, TCC began as an entirely volunteer-run organization with 11 children in its first year. Under the leadership of Executive Artistic Director Patricia Thel, the program serves 140 singers in grades K-12.
TCC offers choral music education and performance opportunities as well as drumming instruction, music theory instruction, tutoring, homework assistance, SAT prep, college application help, and summer camp scholarships. Tuition is on a sliding scale; no child is ever denied participation because of limited resources. In an urban area where the high school drop out rate of nearly fifty percent, 100% of TCC’s graduates attend college.
Patricia Thel is also the founder and current director of the Westminster Conservatory Children’s Choir Program, the Conservatory children’s choir program founded in 1989. Previously she has served as an adjunct instructor in the music education department at Westminster Choir College and at Ithaca School of Music. Before moving to Princeton, she served as assistant choral conductor and children’s choir director at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, in the Fulton County schools in Atlanta, and in Fairfax County schools in the Washington, D.C. area. She sang in the Atlanta Symphony Chorus under the direction of Robert Shaw.
“My biggest goal in life is putting people together. If there’s some way I can make that happen, I will. In particular for those students whose heads are buried in their cell phones and iPads, if they can stand together and sing, it’s a good day.”
– Patricia Thel, Artistic Director