Sixty local youth from the ANGELICA CANTANTI and ComMUSICation choirs will join Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer LESLIE ODOM JR. to sing “America The Beautiful” as part of Super Bowl LII pregame festivities at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, February 4. The performance will be televised live on NBC prior to kickoff.
The Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs (ACYC) is an award-winning Twin Cities’ children’s choir program dedicated to providing high-quality choral music education with excellence in performance. ACYC’s four conductors are professional music educators and artists who nurture and challenge the 275 boy and girl singers in grades 2-12. Young singers come from across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area to weekly rehearsals at the Bloomington Center for the Arts. The choirs perform free concerts annually at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and the Ordway Concert Hall in St. Paul.
“Our singers are honored and excited to perform at Super Bowl LII,” said ELIZABETH EGGER, ACYC conductor, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they will always remember feeling proud to represent the children of the state of Minnesota.”
Now in its fourth year, ComMUSICation (CMC) is an intensive, after-school, choral-based youth development program that serves families in St. Paul’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. CMC was inspired by El Sistema, an internationally renowned global youth music ensemble movement that uses music for social change. CMC is a highly collaborative organization, teaming up with various community organizations and artists, including Minnesota Orchestra, From the Top, Minnesota Opera, and various high school, college, and university ensembles. CMC accepts all students and strives to attain a high level of artistic excellence through frequent community performances and removing access barriers.
“Our youth perform with such joy and hope for the future. Singing at the Super Bowl is an incredible opportunity for our young singers to be seen and celebrated for their positive contributions to our community,” said RYAN LABOY, ComMUSICation founding music director. “It’s an honor to be invited to sing alongside a talented artist like Leslie Odom Jr.”
The NFL previously announced that P!NK will perform the National Anthem, ALEXANDRIA WAILES will sign the National Anthem and “America The Beautiful” and JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE will headline the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show. The pregame and halftime shows are an NFL NETWORK PRODUCTION and will be executive produced by RICKY KIRSHNER.
