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. 6 from 12 to 1 p.m. The 30-voice choir will be accompanied by a string 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 be hosting this wonderfully talented group of boys and young men at the National Museum of African Art,” said Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the museum. “The museum wishes to reinforce its connection with the African diaspora as well as keep Haiti in the forefront of the minds of Americans and people all over the world.”
The Holy Trinity 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 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 Childrens 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.
For more information, call (202) 633-4600 or visit the National Museum of African Art’s website at: http://africa.si.edu/