Chattanooga Boys Choir is heading to Cuba for 6-day tour

photo Vic Oakes directs the Chattanooga Boys Choir's rehearsal in preparation for their summer tour to Cuba.

The Chattanooga Boys Choir will depart Wednesday for a six-day tour to Cuba.

According to director Vic Oakes, the boys choir is the first children's/youth choir to travel to Cuba in half a century. The choir received an official invitation from the Cuban Ministry of Culture and the Cuban Institute of Music, both in Havana, says Oakes.

"We will perform in some of the most prestigious venues in Havana, interact with members of their arts education communities there and work with musicians in Cuba who are regarded as some of the most talented in the world," he says.

Chattanoogans have the opportunity to hear the boys' program on Sunday at Second Presbyterian Church, 700 Pine St., when the choir sings during the 11 a.m. worship service.

The choir will perform two concerts at venues in Florida before flying out of Miami on June 7. Their Cuban itinerary begins in Havana the next day.

June 8: Museo de la Revolución (National Museum in Havana), joint concert with the Cantoría Juvenil del Coro Nacional (Cuba National Youth Choir).

June 9: Parroquia del Vedado (Vedado Parish).

June 10: Iglesia de Paula with Maestra Maria Felicia Perez (Cor Exaudi).

June 11: National Institute of Cuban Music with Maestra Digna Guerra; Sala de Conciertos de la Biblioteca (concert hall in the National Library of Cuba).

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