Concert benefiting SONG gives Northumberland kids and audience members something to sing about

Choir! Choir! Choir! show at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre on Nov. 2 will support charity that provides free music programs for children

Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG) is a free socially inclusive after-school music program for children and youth in Northumberland County with a focus on social development through the pursuit of musical excellence. Students sing in choir and play in a strings ensemble up to four times a week, with all instruments, music, uniforms, and healthy snacks provided for free. (Photo: SONG / Facebook)
Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG) is a free socially inclusive after-school music program for children and youth in Northumberland County with a focus on social development through the pursuit of musical excellence. Students sing in choir and play in a strings ensemble up to four times a week, with all instruments, music, uniforms, and healthy snacks provided for free. (Photo: SONG / Facebook)

In what’s anticipated to be an “epic” and engaging show, Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG) is hosting an upcoming concert in Northumberland County to fundraise for children’s music programs.

Kawartha Metals is sponsoring Choir! Choir! Choir! at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope. The sing-along concert is the fourth annual main event that features a well-known act performing before a Northumberland crowd to benefit SONG, which is a not-for-profit organization that offers children access to free music education.

Led by Toronto’s Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, Choir! Choir! Choir! is a fully interactive show that turns the audience into performers who sing “epic anthems” such as Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and more. After providing audience members with lyric sheets, Goldman and Adilman lead a rehearsal of the various harmonies and then, with Goldman on guitar and Adilman conducting, the entire audience raises their collective voices to perform the rehearsed song.

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“SONG is thrilled to announce the return of the annual headliner concert in support of our free programming for kids and youth in Northumberland,” said Miles Bowman, executive director of SONG, in a note to media.

Bowman told kawarthaNOW the best thing that could happen would be for SONG to sell enough tickets to offer a second show of music-making with Choir! Choir! Choir!, “or, alternatively, we would allow the community to feel what SONG students feel every practice when then connect with each other through collective music-making.”

“There really is no feeling quite like it.”

Sponsored by Kawartha Metals, Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG) is hosting its fourth annual benefit show with two Choir! Choir! Choir! performances on November 2, 2024 to raise funds for the not-for-profit organization that offers children access to free music education. (Graphic: SONG)
Sponsored by Kawartha Metals, Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG) is hosting its fourth annual benefit show with two Choir! Choir! Choir! performances on November 2, 2024 to raise funds for the not-for-profit organization that offers children access to free music education. (Graphic: SONG)

SONG uses music “as functional art,” Bowman explained. “It is the best and most affordable tool to help kids (and adults) do and feel better. Among other things, evidence shows that exposure to music leads to healthy brain development.”

“Students in music have more and more diverse connections in their brain, they show higher achievement and, we think most importantly, show better emotional regulation. In a world where we seem to find more and more reason to disconnect from each other and ourselves, SONG’s use of music helps young people regulate themselves and connect with their peers and their community.”

In March, SONG received the 2024 not-for-profit sector award for “Northumberland’s Best Not-for-Profit” from the Northumberland Central Chamber of Commerce at its 26th annual business excellence awards.

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During SONG’s 11th and most successful season to date, the organization brought music into the community in “unprecedented ways,” the chamber noted.

The charity reached more than 7,500 audience members and involved 350-plus children and youth in local music activities, contributing to cultural enrichment through more than 35 public performances.

“This year our programming is moving to the Port Hope High School for a centralized experience,” Bowman said. “This will allow students to easily access our after-school programming in a safe space for free. We are able to open the doors to any student because the community helps prioritize music making for all Northumberland students.”

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SONG is also able to pay working artists to be the students’ instructors.

“Our instructors are professional musicians with advanced degrees and the funds we raise means students not only get free music education, but high-quality free music education,” Bowman noted.

Registration for the 2024-25 season is now open. All classes will take place at Port Hope High School, which is located 130 Highland Dr. For more information about registration, volunteering, and music programming, visit SONG’s website at songprogram.org.

Tickets for either Choir! Choir! Choir! benefit concert are $65 for adults or $45 for students, and are available in person at the Capitol Theatre’s box office at 20 Queen St. in Port Hope, by phone at 905-885-1071 or online at capitoltheatre.com.