Rexburg Children's Choir
 | |
| Formation | February 6, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Benjamin Watson |
| Headquarters | Rexburg, Idaho |
Region served | East Idaho |
| Members | 100 |
Director | Benjamin Watson |
| Website | www.rexburgchildrenschoir.com |
The Rexburg Children's Choir is a community children's choir headquartered in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2018, the choir is composed of 100 children ages 9 to 17. Since its founding, the choir has regularly produced choral music videos and other productions in collaboration with notable artists. In 2020, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Inside Edition highlighted one of the choir's productions in their national broadcasts. In 2024, Oxford University Press included the Rexburg Children's Choir as a case study in the Oxford Handbook of Community Singing.[1]
Founding
[edit]The Rexburg Children's Choir was founded as a 501(c)3, non-audition children's choral ensemble by Ben Watson on February 6, 2018, with the historic Rexburg Tabernacle as its residence for rehearsals and performances.[2][3][4]
The motto of the choir is "Seek to express, not to impress."[5]
Notable projects and collaborations
[edit]
Music videos
[edit]- "Silent Night" with American Idol winner Iam Tongi[6][7]
- "From a Distance" with American Idol alum David Archuleta[8]
- "We Don't Talk About Bruno" with Disney Encanto star Adassa[9]
- "Give Me Jesus" with DOVE-award winner Fernando Ortega[10]
- "Believe" with No. 1 Billboard artists Mat and Savanna Shaw[10]
- "Do You Hear What I Hear" with No. 1 Billboard artists GENTRI[10]
- "Christ Is at the Helm" with Australian Broadway star Patrice Tipoki[11]
Live concerts
[edit]The choir has performed live concerts in Rexburg with the following artists:
Covid-19 green screen choir
[edit]
In 2020, while the choir was not meeting together for rehearsals or performances during the Covid-19 pandemic, choir director Ben Watson developed a means whereby the choir would perform an arrangement of "For unto us a Child is born" from Handel's Messiah, using green screen technology. Watson recorded each child from the 100-person ensemble, one-at-a-time, singing in front of a green screen. Afterwards, the choir's videographer edited together the 100 video tracks into one video track superimposed over a background image of the interior of the Rexburg Tabernacle. What resulted was a video performance that gave the impression that there were 100 singers standing side-by-side on stage at the Rexburg Tabernacle, singing "For unto us a Child is born", when in fact they were all recorded individually, and edited to make it appear as if they were standing side-by-side.
When the video was published, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Inside Edition highlighted the project in national broadcasts that week.[20][21][22][23]
In 2024, the project was included as a case study on innovation in children's choral programming by the Oxford Handbook of Community Singing.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Bendall, Cole (May 22, 2024). "5. Virtual Choirs and Issues of Community Choral Practice". In Norton, Kay; Morgan-Ellis, Esther M. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Community Singing. Oxford University Press. pp. 86–105. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197612460.013.5. ISBN 978-0-19-761246-0.
- ↑ Eaton, Nate (May 23, 2018). "He moved to Rexburg and thought he'd start a small children's choir. Then 100 kids showed up". East Idaho News. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Rexburg Children's Choir making impact in eastern Idaho". Local News 8. November 17, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Rexburg Childrens Choir | Charity Navigator Profile". www.charitynavigator.org. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Home | Rexburg Children's Choir". RexburgChildrenChoir. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "American Idol winner Iam Tongi releases Christmas music video with Rexburg Children's Choir". MSN. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ↑ "Watch: American Idol winner's soul-stirring rendition of 'Silent Night'". LDS Living. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Watch: David Archuleta and the Rexburg Children's Choir perform 'From a Distance' in new music video". Deseret News. August 6, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' (with Adassa from Encanto) on YouTube
- 1 2 3 Rexburg Children's Choir's channel on YouTube
- ↑ "Australian Musical Star Records Song with US Children's Choir". news-pacific.churchofjesuschrist.org. September 2, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ Eaton, Nate (November 4, 2019). "Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four to join Rexburg Children's Choir again for Christmas concert". East Idaho News. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "About the Choir". RexburgChildrenChoir. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ Eaton, Nate (October 16, 2023). "Rexburg Children's Choir welcomes GENTRI for annual holiday concert". East Idaho News. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ Eaton, Nate (December 2, 2022). "Adassa, star in Disney's 'Encanto,' surprises local kids at school for Feel Good Friday". East Idaho News. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Rexburg Children's Choir to be joined by 25th Army Band for special patriotic concert". Rexburg Commons. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ Rexburg Children's Choir to Sing with Lincoln Highway, retrieved December 31, 2024
- ↑ Eaton, Emmy. "Daddy-daughter singing duo Mat and Savanna Shaw answer 7 Questions with Emmy". EastIdahoNews.com. Retrieved December 31, 2024 – via ksl.com.
- ↑ "Iam Tongi to accompany the Rexburg Children's Choir in Christmas concert". BYU-Idaho Radio. November 21, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ Eaton, Nate (December 14, 2020). "Rexburg Children's Choir featured on national news broadcast". East Idaho News. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Rexburg Children's Choir Releases Green Screen Christmas Video". soundcloud.com. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ "In the News". RexburgChildrenChoir. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ↑ Smith, Lisa (December 16, 2020). "NBC's 'There's Good News' features East Idaho children's choir". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved December 31, 2024.