Helping kids find their voice [Corrected]
The Bruins and Trojans will go head-to-head Feb. 26, but residents won’t need to look far for front row seats.
FOR THE RECORD:
An earlier version of this story had the incorrect date for the concert, the wrong name for the venue and a missing digit for the phone number.
Fans can stay in Newport Beach for an a cappella sing-off between the USC SoCal VoCals and the UCLA Medleys, hosted by the Young Singers of Orange County between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2200 San Joaquin Hills Road.
The two universities will get a chance to show their stuff while working together to put on a workshop for the Young Singers of Orange County, a nonprofit children’s choir. The children will also get to perform “Paradise” by Coldplay and “Everybody” by Ingrid Michaelson.
“I’m really excited to meet all the college people and sing with them,” said 9-year-old Maggie Morton, a third-grade student at Klein School.
The show goes up against the red carpet of the Academy Awards, but that can be Tivo’d, said Holly Smith, the Young Singers vice president and mother of nonprofit founder Samantha Smith.
“You will not see USC and UCLA compete again like this in a public forum,” she said.
The show benefits the Young Singers of Orange County, which gives students aged 5 to 14 the chance to improve their musicality and self confidence. The group is also involved in many community service projects from singing at retirement homes to the Roosters Foundation Holiday Food Drive.
The money raised will help offset the $2,000 a year it takes to run the organization, Holly Smith said.
The chance to sing alongside the college students will be inspiring for the students, who can see what will happen if they stick with singing, said music director Jasmine O’Hea, 17, a senior at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine.
Newport Heights Elementary School third-grader Allison Ridley, 8, said she’s a little nervous about the performance — she’s never sang with college students before — but it’s going to be fun.
“I’m excited,” she said. “It’s going to be really loud because there’s going to be a lot of people.”
Twitter: @britneyjbarnes
If You Go
What: Youth Singers of Orange County is hosting an a cappella sing-off between USC and UCLA
When: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26
Where: St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2200 San Joaquin Hills Road, Newport Beach
Tickets: $5 for children, $10 for adults at the door, or online at https://www.youngsingersoc.org
Information: Call (949) 463-6691