Princeton NJ Non-Profit Press Releases

Voices Chorale's Young Composers Project

Voices Chorale NJ’s award-winning Young Composers Project held its annual concert last week at Music Together in Hopewell, NJ. Eleven budding composers, aged 6 to 13, premiered their original pieces. The program, which reflects VCNJ's core mission of providing music education and community engagement, offers a unique and exciting opportunity for children in grades K-7 to create compositions, develop them in workshops, and receive mentoring from local composers.

This year, composer and producer Ken Guilmartin, founder and artistic director of Music Together, collaborated with accompanist-mentors Joseph Woodhull and Joyce Kay, to bring the young musicians’ creations to life. The compositions spanned a wide range of themes: spring, birds, “snuggly” farm animals, echoes, twilight, and the universe. Among the notable arrangements was a setting of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Eagle”, a piece about relationships titled “Truce”, “Days”, which focused on friendship, and the inclusive “I Love You and I Love Me”. An ensemble of over twenty Voices Chorale singers lent their voices to most of the performances, accompanied by a variety of instruments including piano, bass, violin and cello.

After a seven-year-old sang his composition “Spring Beats”, Ken Guilmartin encouraged Voices Chorale and the entire audience to joined him for a rousing encore to wrap up the evening. The concert was an unforgettable experience for the participants and their families.

The Young Composers Project is set to reconvene in the 2025-2026 academic year. If you know a creative child who loves music, enjoys singing, or has a story to tell through music, contact Carole Moore, VCNJ Young Composers Project Administrator, at carolekmoore@outlook.com or 609-658- 2636. To stay up-to-date on our future projects you can join VCNJ’s mailing list at voiceschoralenj.org.