Claflin choir continues fund-raising for China trip
By GENE ZALESKI, T&D Staff Writer Saturday, April 12, 2008The Claflin University Concert Choir needs about $30,000 more in order to travel to China as part of the choral tribute and prelude to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
"We are very close," said Dr. Isaiah McGee, choir director. "The community has been very generous and supportive of the students. We have received a couple of major donations."
In order to have the opportunity to go on the tour, which is the largest and most significant the choir will have performed to date, they will have to raise the $30,000 by mid-April, McGee said.
As of April 2, students had been able to raise about $110,000 through car washes, hot dog sales, bake sales and movie nights. The total cost of the trip is $140,000.
McGee said he is hoping for a final push from area businesses to help reach the goal.
About 35 members of the concert choir have an opportunity to take the 10-day June tour of China with stops and performances in Xi'an, Shanghai and Beijing with other choirs across the state and nation in what is called a "Stunning Choral Tribute to the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Perform in Harmony with Olympic Spirit."
The Olympic games begin Aug. 8 and run through Aug. 24.
The choral tour will be June 8-18 and include stops in Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China and the ancient Warriors Museum, a collection of 8,100 larger-than-life terra-cotta Chinese figures of warriors and horses dating to the third century B.C. The students will also be able to experience Chinese culture through the viewing of a Chinese opera.
The university received the invitation to participate in the tour from Dr. Larry Wyatt, director of choral studies at the University of South Carolina, during a spring concert the two participated in together. Wyatt is leading the festival.
McGee said the trip would fit in well with the vision of Claflin University to open the doors and walls of the university globally and expand its programs.
The Claflin University Concert Choir tours annually and has performed across the United States, including in New York, Detroit, Ohio and Florida.
T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.
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