Choir's performance slate features White House trip
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

Members of the New Jersey Children's Chamber Choir pose with New Jersey Rep. Christopher Smith (r) on the steps of the Capitol building during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., that included their performance at the White House.

In six years, the 30 members of the New Jersey Children's Chamber Choir have experienced what other people may not experience in an entire lifetime.

Ranging in age from 8 to 16, the boys and girls who participate in the choir have visited points around the globe, including Vienna, Austria; Germany; and most recently, the White House.

The choir members are from the Howell area.

The choir is directed by former Howell K-8 School District music teacher Christine Sezer. Current Lakewood School District music teacher Beverly Bishop serves as the choir's pianist.

Howell Middle School North is the group's home base.

Kathy Wisniewski is the choir's program manager and the mother of a daughter who participates in the choir. She said Sezer always dreamed of creating a children's choir.

"She is an incredibly unique music teacher," Wisniewski said, pointing to Sezer's affinity for teaching classical music to her students.

The group began by holding auditions six years ago. Once the choir was set, the group practiced and eventually held performances at local schools, churches and other venues.

The New Jersey Children's Chamber Choir spread its wings in 2004 when it was invited to practice and perform with the world-renowned Vienna Boys Choir in Vienna.

Wisniewski said that experience was memorable and the children from both music groups learned much from each other. She believes the children from New Jersey were humbled since the Vienna Boys Choir "has the world to choose from."

The trip to Austria was capped off with an evening performance that featured the two choirs singing in harmony.

Another landmark moment for the choir came when it performed at the Salzberg International Children's Festival in Germany.

"They got to meet children from around the world and the common thread was music," Wisniewski said.

Despite those worldly adventures, the choir's performance at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2 may have been the most memorable event yet. For 90 minutes, the choir filled the halls of the White House East Wing Gallery with music from around the world. The choir sang in German, Africanz and English.

"For them to be selected was an incredible honor," Wisniewski said.

U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) welcomed the choir members to Washington and gave them a private tour of the U.S. Capitol.

As the recently retired Sezer and the soon-to-be-retired Bishop continue in their leadership roles, Wisniewski said she will do everything she can to keep the choir solvent for years to come.