Embargoed until September 9, 2019. For media passes to this event, please see below.
Santa Barbara, CA, (September 4, 2019) Santa Barbara Bowl announced today that, in collaboration with the Children’s Creative Project, they will present The Kingdom Choir, a London-based gospel choir, as part of Kids at the Bowl, a program of the Bowl’s Outreach initiative.
The Choir will present their infectious joy and inspiration, performing popular songs from their upcoming album, to 2,500 local students during a one-hour performance at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Monday, September 9 at 10:45 AM.
Founded in 1994 by award-winning conductor Karen Gibson, the choir draws from various traditions and is dedicated to creating a sound that reflects the community they share through their warm energy and enthusiastic performances. The Choir’s rendition of Ben E. King’s 1961 hit track “Stand By Me,” at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in May 2018, was broadcasted to a global audience of over 2 billion people, and became an instant hit, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart.
“We are grateful for our partnership with the Santa Barbara Bowl, a community jewel that is deeply committed to its educational outreach to students throughout Santa Barbara County,” said Dr. Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools. “This performance, coordinated by the Children’s Creative Project in collaboration with the Bowl Foundation, provides unique access to exceptional art and culture for students throughout the county.”
This performance marks the first time that both North County and South County schools are able to attend a free field trip at the Santa Barbara Bowl together. Elementary and secondary schools from Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, and Santa Maria will be participating.
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation Outreach provides support and funding for performing arts education in Santa Barbara County and dedicates one dollar of every ticket sold at the Bowl to this end. Outreach, part of the Bowl’s core mission, creates 20,000 touchpoints with students each year and provides funding to artists, schools, and nonprofit arts programs to advance performing arts education in our area.
Generous donors, including Michael Hammer and Armand Hammer Foundation, the Léni Fé Bland Performing Arts Partnership and an anonymous donor, have underwritten the entirety of the performance costs. The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture provided a grant to assist with bus transportation costs.
The Choir’s performance is not open to the public. For a media pass to this event, please contact Kai Tepper at Santa Barbara Bowl Outreach: 805-308-9787; kai@sbbowl.com
About Children’s Creative Project
A program of the Santa Barbara County Education Office, Children’s Creative Project presents visual arts and performing arts instruction by resident artists and touring artist performances in 92 schools serving more than 50,000 students in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties each year. The Children’s Creative Project also presents the annual I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival to support, in part, their arts education programs including the Kingdom Choir event.
About Santa Barbara Bowl
The Santa Barbara Bowl is a 4,562-seat outdoor amphitheater, located in Santa Barbara, California. Constructed in 1936 as a WPA project, the Bowl, as it is affectionately known, is one of the most scenic and intimate amphitheaters in the world, attracting the biggest names in music with its unique ocean and city views from its landmark stage, The Pavilion. Recently, the Bowl was voted Best Live Music venue in Santa Barbara by both the Santa Barbara Independent and Santa Barbara News-Press, respectively. To learn more, visit www.sbbowl.com.
Kids at the Bowl is an essential program of Santa Barbara Bowl Outreach that hosts large-scale, cultural performances for Santa Barbara County students. Benefits extend far beyond the performance—they educate students on how to be a part of an audience; provide a cultural experience at a historic, community landmark; and create an opportunity to imagine careers in the arts.
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