Partners in Praise Girls Choir to Perform in Woodbury

After singing throughout the Twin Cities area, on the national stage and internationally—including last summer’s performance on the stage of the Sydney Opera House in Australia—Partners in Praise Girls Choir (PIP) is marking its first performance in Woodbury.

PIP will present a free public concert at 7 p.m. this Saturday, May 19, at , 4125 Woodbury Dr.; they will also lend their voices to St. Ambrose’s 4 p.m. Mass that day.

Six of the girls in the choir are from Woodbury: Elena Cressy who attends St. Ambrose of Woodbury School; Christina Ippoliti who attends ; Kirsten Mayer who attends the ; and Suzanne Melin, Ellie Musser and Julia Reimann who attend .

Every Monday evening, the girls meet at on Valley Creek Road to carpool to Minneapolis for two-hour PIP rehearsals. The choir, comprised of 44 girls in grades 8-12 from the greater Twin Cities metro area, sings a broad range of music, including both sacred and world music.

“The thing I enjoy the most about singing with PIP is the sense of fullness I get when I make music with other incredible singers; just singing warm-ups gives me chills,” says Ellie Musser, a three-year member of PIP. “It’s so rewarding to watch our passion and energy permeate through as we perform, and see that our audience feels it too.”

PIP was formed in 1994 by Julia Fahey, middle school choir teacher/department chair at Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights, specifically for the Broadway production of starring Donny Osmond. The choir consisted of 23 members (both boys and girls); after intense tryouts and rehearsals, they performed in over 52 shows at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. Since Joseph, Fahey established Partners in Praise Girls Choir; girls are chosen each August by audition.

The choir performs at numerous concerts at churches, events, for the American Choral Directors Association and the Minnesota Music Educators Association. PIP competes and performs internationally as well. This summer, they will compete at the Golden Gate International Children’s and Youth Choral Festival and Competition July 8-14 in San Francisco.

“Through PIP, I love sharing our music in concert settings, in church worship services and through touring the world, encountering other cultures and meeting wonderful people,” says five-year PIP member Julia Reimann. “I enjoy the challenge of tackling difficult music and a broad range of genres, and performing at a high level.”

In addition to PIP, Saturday’s performance will include selections from the Con Brio Girls Choir, PIP’s younger counterpart (grades 4-8), also directed by Fahey. Woodbury’s Hannah Melin, who attends Lake Middle School, is a member of Con Brio.

For more information: www.partnersinpraise.org

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