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The Children's Festival Chorus of Pittsburgh (= CFC), a non-profit organization founded in 1983, is one of the premier choral ensembles of young people in the country. These engaging children are skillfully guided by Artistic Director Christine Jordanoff, Chair of the Music Education Department of Duquesne University and associate conductors Elaine Goldsmith and Lisa Johnson.
Dedicated to discovering, educating, nurturing, and providing opportunities for talented youths to express their artistic abilities, the Children's Festival Chorus includes singers from eighty-seven different schools, eight counties and two states. CFC has developed performance relationships with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Pops, Pittsburgh Opera and the Mendelssohn Choir among others. The Chorus has been featured on WQED-TV, KDKA-TV, WTAE-TV, WPXI-TV, various radio stations and has been heard internationally on "Voice of America". They have recorded two compact discs: Ten Years in Harmony and A Children's Classic Christmas.
CFC rehearses at Duquesne University where it provides a "living laboratory" for Music Education majors…our future teachers. With the possibility of subsequent passage into the Junior Mendelssohn and Mendelssohn Choir, the children are a vital link in the choral education concept called TRIAD, which was developed in 1988 by Robert Page and Christine Jordanoff.
Noted for its versatility in all styles of music, the chorus has hosted several talented artists including the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, the New York Voices jazz ensemble, Elisabeth von Trapp, and folksingers Ann & Will Schmid. Throughout CFC's 18-year history, the choristers have sung from memory in over 22 foreign languages. The Children's Festival Chorus continues to receive many invitations to appear at prestigious conferences. As reviewer Mark Kanny wrote in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Here in Pittsburgh, the Children's Festival Chorus is also a world class ensemble, as can be heard nearby at the Benedum Center, performing in "Carmen" with the Pittsburgh Opera".
CFC is committed to making a contribution to the community through its program in choral education, and through outreach activities with area schools and communities. CFC choristers, representing many cultures, races, and socio-economic backgrounds, continue to delight audiences with their broad range of singing styles. Marvin Hamlisch, Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops, enthused after a recent concert, "The Children's Festival Chorus…came to the rehearsal fully prepared…their talent and sound was a joy. I look forward to working with them again and again". |
