ERIE, Pa. — The West African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” quite literally means that it takes everyone — parents, teachers, doctors, artists — to raise a child.
The lessons from that proverb can be applied to almost anything, however, even music. That’s the idea behind “It Takes a Village,” this year’s spring concert from the Young People’s Chorus of Erie.
“Children and young people learn about the world in everyday living, and much of our music depicts ‘snapshots’ of this kind of learning: ‘Linstead Market’ and ‘Shake the Papaya Down’ are light-hearted Jamaican folk songs about work and cooperation,” said Gabrielle Dietrich, YPC’s artistic director. “‘Sto mi e milo’ comes from Macedonia and depicts a young person experiencing the first stirrings of flirtation. ‘And Nature Smiled’ uses plants and flowers to tell a story about the value of different strengths in different people. All of this makes a lot of sense and resonates strongly with most people, but we have discovered through our work with this theme that the truth communicated by this proverb is even more personal and deeply imbedded.”
The concert begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, at Luther Memorial Church, located at 225 W. 10th St. in Erie.
Dietrich will conduct the Concert Chorus, Young Men’s Chorus, Chorale and Cantare, YPC’s youngest chorus.
YPC Erie is a youth outreach organization of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State Behrend and northwestern Pennsylvania’s only comprehensive youth choral music program.
Tickets for “It Takes a Village” are available now. General admission tickets are $10, and tickets for children ages 7-12 are $5. Children under the age of 6 are free.
To order tickets, please call the YPC Erie office at 814-898-6789.