students take stage May 17 students take stage May 17 (May 14, 2004)

Children from 9 schools will perform at Shoreline

By Julie O'Shea

More than 500 Mountain View-Whisman students will "Celebrate in Song" at the third annual Choral Fest at Shoreline Amphitheatre on May 17.

The free event will begin with a picnic at 5 p.m. The concert will start at 6:30 p.m. when choral groups from each of the district's nine elementary and middle schools take the stage. Each school will perform one song each with all coming together at the end for the musical finale. The event -- a partnership between the school district, Shoreline, the Community School of Music and Art (CSMA) and the Los Altos/Mountain View PTA Council -- is expected to draw a crowd of at least 2,000.

"It is absolutely amazing when you see 500 kids on stage singing the same song. It just comes off beautifully," said Michelle De La Ossa, a Bubb PTA member and this year's master of ceremonies.

The theme for this year's festival is "Celebrate in Song," which organizers say is a testament to everything the district's been through over the last three years.

"We are celebrating the children," De La Ossa said.

Mountain View-Whisman is the product of two city school districts that merged into one in 2001. Choral Fest started the same year as a way to not only help create a sense of camaraderie between the children of the two districts but also as a way to promote arts education.

"Music was the best way to bring these two districts together," said Evy Schiffman of CSMA. "It's been a tremendous success. It blows (the audience) away."

The festival is the culmination of a year of planning and the succinct coordination of some 25 parent volunteers from each of the district's schools.

"I feel like we are very, very prepared," De La Ossa said. "Everything kind of pans out in the end." She added that she hopes to sit down with Shoreline officials shortly after the May 17 show to pencil in a date for next year.

The event has always been open to the public, free of charge.

"We don't want it to be a forum for anything. We want it to be a forum for the kids," De La Ossa said, explaining why organizers decided to make the festival free admission.

Audience members will be able to enjoy pre-show entertainment from the Crittenden and Graham Middle School jazz bands, which will play from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Shoreline is located at 1 Amphitheatre Parkway. For more information about the festival call 917-6800 Ext. 307.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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