African Children's Choir to perform at Clovis church

CLOVIS - A musical performance over 30 years and more than 8,000 miles in the making will come to Clovis tonight as the African Children's Choir performs at Central Baptist Church.

The choir, made up of 18 children ages 8 to 11 from Uganda, will give an approximately 80-minute performance of ethnic worship music, Gospel inspirational music, contemporary Christian music and traditional African dancing and drumming, Choir Manager Tina Sipp said.

"They're outstanding musically. It's inspirational to see the kids sing and see them using their gifts to honor God," Central Baptist Church Worship Pastor Damon Pearce said. "So it's a great music program, it's fun and it gives us an opportunity to experience a culture that we couldn't experience any other way unless you went to Africa."

The concert begins at 6 p.m. at Central Baptist Church, 2501 N. Norris. The show is free to attend though donations to the choir will be accepted.

The African Children's Choir was organized in 1984 and provides educational opportunities for the children that they might not otherwise have in order to create the next group.

"When they go back home they will be financed through the college level for their education and so any of that potential that's secretly hiding in there we hope to tap," Sipp said.

Sipp described the current choir, which is in its 48th iteration and wraps up its tour in September, as an especially loving group.

"Each choir has kind of its own rhythm and personality and I would say this one, they're very generous, they're very quick to love, they just hug easily," Sipp said. She recalled a recent trip to a fast-food restaurant in which all 18 choir members filed in and hugged a man waiting for his order.

"They never met him before but they just love people and they just exude a wonderful spirit, a very uplifting spirit, and they're a very, very kind group of children," Sipp said.

The choir has performed in Texas and Oklahoma in recent weeks and will be heading off to Ruidoso following tonight's show.

Pearce encouraged the residents of eastern New Mexico to come check out this "inspirational, powerful, wonderful evening."

"I can promise they'll be blessed by the excitement and joy and energy that these kids have," Pearce said. "For a small group of 15, 20 kids, they produce more sound, more energy on stage than you can imagine. Folks have said, "I think I lost 5 pounds just watching them.'"