Smithsonian Presents Les Petits Chanteurs (The Little Singers) in a Free Concert
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art will present Les Petits Chanteurs (The Little Singers), the renowned boys’ choir of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Music School of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, in a concert Sept. 13 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The 30-voice choir will be accompanied by a Chamber ensemble from the Holy Trinity Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will take place outdoors in the Smithsonian’s Enid A. Haupt Garden, which is located between Independence Avenue and the Smithsonian Castle. The concert is free and open to the public.
The group returns to the museum after a visit last year. “We are delighted to welcome back to the Smithsonian, and especially to our museum, this wonderfully talented group of boys and young men,” said Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the National Museum of African Art. “At our museum we are committed to supporting connections with the African diaspora, and we will continue to do what we can to keep Haiti on the minds of Americans and people all over the world.”
The Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral complex in Port-au-Prince was completely destroyed in the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake. Before the earthquake, the Cathedral’s Music School served more than 1,000 students. The visit to the Smithsonian is part of a national tour designed not only to focus awareness on the rich musical traditions of Haiti, but also to bring awareness and support the rebuilding of the Holy Trinity Music School. It is the only school of its kind in the country, and it depends on charitable support to sustain its mission of education and music training for children and young adults.
Les Petits Chanteurs is a select group of singers ranging in age from 8 to 18. Over the years, ensembles from Holy Trinity Music School have performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., at Lincoln Center in New York City, at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the Chicago Children’s Choir and at more than 90 churches across the United States.
The Smithsonian (the National Museum of African Art) and Haiti
The culture of Haiti has been featured in numerous other public programs and exhibitions at the Smithsonian, including the annual Folklife Festival. In 2011, the Smithsonian developed the Haiti Cultural Recovery Project to rescue and preserve Haitian artwork and artifacts.
In 2011, the National Museum of African Art launched an exhibition titled, “The Healing Power of Art.” Soon after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, first lady of Haiti Elisabeth D. Préval called on Haitian artist Philippe Dodard and his fellow artists, as well as psychologists, educators and politicians, to create a safe place for children to express their feelings through art. Nearly 100 paintings and drawings created by Haiti’s young people at Plas Timoun (The Children’s Place) were featured in “The Healing Power of Art: Works of Art by Haitian Children after the Earthquake” at the National Museum of African Art.
About the National Museum of African Art
The National Museum of African Art is the nation’s premier museum dedicated exclusively to the collection, conservation, study and exhibition of Africa’s traditional and contemporary arts. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Dec. 25. Admission is free. The museum is located at 950 Independence Avenue S.W., near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. For more information, call (202) 633-4600 or visit the National Museum of African Art’s website. For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000.
For more information about the concert, contact Eddie Burke at (202) 633-4660 or burke@si.edu.
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SI-353-2013
