Concert repertoire includes the premiere of Ramsey’s “And Joy is Everywhere”, a setting of a text by Rabindranath Tagore, commissioned by the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music for this concert. Other selections emphasize diversity and community harmony. Dr. Andrea Ramsey enjoys a national presence as a composer, conductor, scholar, and music educator. Her teaching experiences range from work with adolescent and children’s voices to high school and collegiate voices. She enjoys regular opportunities to conduct all-state and divisional level honor choirs, festival events at Carnegie Hall, and serves as a principal conductor for the Pacific International Young Women’s Choral Festival in Eugene, Oregon. Before leaping into full time composing and guest conducting, Andrea held positions in choral music education and conducting at The Ohio State University, and the University of Colorado Boulder, respectively.
As a composer, she has approximately 90 choral works in publication. A native of Arkansas, she has experienced in her own life the power of music to provide a sense of community, better understanding of our humanity, and rich opportunities for self-discovery. www.andrearamsey.com

The Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus’ most experienced choir, the Touring Choir, thanks the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music and Andrea Ramsey for the opportunity to perform this new work while creating inspiring music together. Made up of an auditioned ensemble of middle and high school children under the artistic direction of Fred Sang, the Touring Choir has collaborated with every major musical organization in Kalamazoo and performed with many of the artists who visit Kalamazoo.
Singing a varied repertoire of sacred and secular music, the Touring Choir has sung throughout Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan.

www.kalamazoochildrenschorus.org
Fred Sang is both the Artistic Director of the Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus and Director for the Touring Choir. Mr. Sang retired from Portage Public Schools after thirty-two years of teaching. During those years he taught in London, England, Constantine, Hartford, Paw Paw and Portage, Michigan. His public school choirs received consistent Superior ratings at District and State Choral Festivals. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and Chorus America and the recipient of the Greater Kalamazoo Arts Council Arts Leadership Award for 2015.