Choir will perform at cathedrals, tour many famous sites

The Yuma Youth Choir peformed on an ordinary stage June 17, but at their next performance the kids will be singing a sweet tune at a venue a bit more famous, international, high in the sky - and far, far away. Just for fun the choir plans to sing a few songs Wednesday from the top floor of the Eiffel Tower.

The globe-trotting Yuma Youth Choir, which toured Germany and Austria two years ago, is headed on a musical adventure June 24 through July 3 that will take them to France, Belgium and Holland. The choir's first formal concert will take place during a recital at the famed, eight-century-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The youngsters' 10-day tour amounts to a mind-blowing cultural experience, which Director Beth Tibbs says reflects one of her biggest goals for the choir. Tibbs stressed that she not only wants to train and shape beautiful voices, she wants to inspire and enrich young minds, as well.

"Students who went on the previous trip say their lives were changed forever," Tibbs said with pride. "They're never going to look at the world the same. They have been exposed to so much history, music and culture."

Then she pointed to the first timers, many of whom have never traveled abroad before.

"About half of the choir's kids generally haven't been outside of Yuma. Now they are going to see some of the greatest places in Europe," Tibbs said. "So I know they are going to be transformed."

On the last trip the choir landed in Germany and was quickly escorted to its first tour site - Dachau, the former concentration camp. On this upcoming trip, the choir will tour the attic in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Holocaust.

"Just like the experience in Germany I think the students will be profoundly affected," Tibbs said. "This was a young girl close to these students' ages. She was experiencing all the things a teenager goes through, but never had the chance to grow into an adult and have the life our kids are going to have."

Tibbs, a music professor at Arizona Western College, founded the Yuma Youth Choir in 2003.

To allow folks back in Yuma County to tag along as virtual passengers, The Sun is sending reporter Darin Fenger to Europe. Fenger will send back daily installments of articles, videos and photos, all of which will be showcased on these pages. Numerous choir students and parents will also be sharing their thoughts and photos by blogging about their travel experiences.

The choir's travel itinerary for its next trip reads like an encyclopedia listing of European landmarks. In Paris, the choir will tour various places including the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, the Left Bank and the Louvre, the largest art museum in the world. In Belgium, the choir will be treated to boat rides down historic canals, while Amsterdam will bring stops at flower and cheese markets.

In terms of art alone the choir will encounter some of the world's greatest creations, including statues like Venus De Milo and paintings such as Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Rembrandt's "Night Watch."

But the choir won't just be touring. They will be busy singing, too. In addition to a performance at Notre Dame the choir will also sing at La Madeleine, a well-known cathedral built in the image of a Greek temple to honor Napoleon's army. Tibbs said that impromptu mini performances, like the one at the Eiffel Tower, will also be given throughout the trip when time permits - especially when people they meet are curious about the choir and its trip.

The 23 students making the trip range in age from 10 to their early 20s, representing schools throughout Yuma. The students will be chaperoned by about the same number of parents. The trip will also boast two local dignitaries. AWC President Don Schoening and his wife, Louise, will be travelling with the choir.

The choir members' young ages combined with the cost of the trip - $3,200 per student - meant that Tibbs and her choir not only had to work hard to earn a major amount of money, they also had to get creative. Tibbs said she wanted kids to truly earn donations as much as they could, rather than just soliciting outright donations. She unveiled a new fundraising program called Businesses and Choir Helping Hands (BACHH) that hired out students to businesses and individuals needing a few hours of work done after school or on weekends. Choir members did office work, helped out at corporate events, baby-sat and cleaned houses.

"Some of the kids were willing to work in just any way needed," Tibbs said. "I was really impressed."

The choir also raised money as a group. Their biggest shared project had kids wrangling stray shopping carts all over town and earning a reward for their return to the right stores.

The choir also performed several formal concerts, plus about 50 community concerts throughout town at RV parks, family celebrations and Christmas parties.

Not all choir members have opted to take part in the Europe trip, but Tibbs stressed that no student is staying home because of money.

"Money wasn't an object," she said. "If someone can't afford it, I find a way for them to go. This trip is going to be exciting and I want it to be available to anyone wanting this fantastic experience."