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Kellond Choir Sings at Mall
Shoppers at the Tucson Mall on Tuesday discovered a bargain they weren't looking for--children singing holiday tunes in front of the lower level of Macy's.

The 24-member Good Choices Choir from Kellond Elementary School sang that "Everything is possible with music" and that "a heart full of music and a world full of love" come during the holidays. Beside them, the escalator carrying customers to the second floor dwarfed them where they stood on risers, dressed in black-and-white outfits.

Margie Rotler, a retired church organist, heard the children's voices from down the hall and came to listen. After the choir ended the performance with a rousing rendition of "Deck the Halls," she said, "Thank you for some real music. This music is wonderful. I was very impressed with the quality of their music."

That was music to the ears of Melissa Callahan, the Opening Minds through the Arts Integration Specialist, who directs the second- through fifth-graders after school as part of the OMA enrichment program. Before performing at the mall, the choir practiced for eight weeks

"We are lucky to be a fully integrated OMA school," Callahan said. "We wouldn't have this without OMA funding. The caliber of the program wouldn't be what it is without the training the students receive from kindergarten up. When they come to me in the second-grade, they can already sing in tune and read music."

The choir is the most popular choice among Kellond's after-school activities. There's no plan to cap the size, Callahan said, because she welcomes as many children as possible to participate, especially boys, who are outnumbered in the choir.

She said Kellond requires all fifth-graders to join either the orchestra or band with the school providing enough instruments for all students. Fourth-graders learn to play the violin and third-graders learn to pay the recorder.

"It's been shown that getting exposed to music every year improves their academic achievement," Callahan pointed out.

But the children who sang and the dozen adults who came to listen weren't focused on that advantage. They simply enjoyed the music. Diana Gilmore, mother of fourth-grader Taylor, said it was a great idea to bring children out to sing. "It's something fun for them to do and it gives them confidence," she said. She took Taylor out the night before to buy the reindeer ears Taylor insisted on wearing at the concert.

Melissa Callahan, Gilmore said, is an awesome teacher.

After the performance, second-grader Faith Knight ran over to collect hugs from her grandmother, Sheryl Thompson; her father, Steven Knight, and her younger sister, Kyla. "You did a great job," they told her.

With a successful performance just completed, Callahan said, "There's a difference between teaching in an OMA school and in a school without OMA. These kids are exposed to music at an early age and music becomes part of their lives."

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations