By Evy Schiffman, Marketing & Communications Director Community School of Music and Arts

It’s almost show time and backstage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, the young stars are excited, giggly and nervous as they look out at an audience of a couple of thousand people. When one girl sees her parents close to the stage, cameras and videos set to roll at show time, she screams, “Awesome!” What do 500 children from the Mountain View Whisman School District have in common with Linda Ronstadt, Santana, Neil Young, Justin Bieber and countless other stars? All have performed at one of the country’s premier entertainment venues.

For the past 10 years, a one-of-a-kind collaboration among the nonprofit Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA), Live Nation’s Shoreline Amphitheatre, the local PTA Council and the public school district has made it possible for young singers to share the joy of music at an annual Choral Fest, a free community event.

As chorus members at the city’s seven elementary and two middle schools, the children prepare for the big event all year. Most of the children receive their choral instruction through the Community School of Music and Arts, which has been the primary provider of arts education at all the city’s public elementary schools for over 30 years. Major funding for these programs is currently provided by the Mountain View Educational Foundation, with additional funding from the City of Mountain View, school PTAs, California Arts Council and CSMA.

“Choral Fest represents a highly successful partnership among three different ‘worlds’ – a nonprofit organization, a business corporation and a public entity,” said Moy Eng, CSMA executive director. “The entire community benefits from this collaboration, but especially the children.” Eng adds that an important element of CSMA’s Music4Schools and Art4Schools Program curriculum is sharing accomplishments in a public performance or exhibition.

At Choral Fest, months of hard work, practice and dedication, both by the kids and their CSMA teachers, show the benefits and importance of all children receiving arts education. For many of the children the only music and art instruction that they receive is at their local school through CSMA’s in-school programs.

“The children represent the city’s diverse socio-economic population from affluent to those who qualify for the free-lunch program because their families are below the poverty level as defined by the government,” says Eng. Because English is a second language for many kids, Choral Fest incorporates culturally diverse music, clearly showing that no matter what language you speak, music is a powerful connector of people of all ages across all cultures.

“This event is a testament to how children benefit when the nonprofit, business and public sectors, supported by parents and the community at large, coalesce around a common goal — using music to educate, inspire and bring people together,” says Eng. And although few, if any, of the kids will go on to have big-time careers with recording contracts, fan clubs and public performances, on one very special night, every young singer is a star sharing an experience that will last a lifetime.