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African Children's Choir rocks Rainey Street at Lustre Pearl

Updated: Friday, February 10 2012, 02:31 PM CST
Austin musicians Carolyn Wonderland, Guy Forsyth and Patrice Pike will join the internationally-acclaimed African Children's Choir on Jan. 19 for a benefit concert at Lustre Pearl, one of the premier hotspots located on Rainey Street. 

All proceeds from this event – generously hosted by Lustre Pearl owner Bridget Dunlap – will go toward offsetting the African food crisis that has adversely impacted Music for Life schools due to skyrocketing food prices.
For almost three decades, the Music for Life Institute - the parent organization of African Children's Choir - has educated more than 50,000 vulnerable children and has directly impacted more than 100,000 people through their relief and development efforts. The programs help children in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Sudan.

After a trip to Africa, helping with choir music camps in some of the country’s poorest slums, Austin resident Scott Lambie returned a changed man.   Almost three years ago, Lambie quit his Fortune 500 company job and moved his entire family to Uganda to become part of the prestigious program.

“It was clear that this organization was significantly transforming the lives of children from some of the most extreme poverty on earth," Lambie said. "After making the decision to move, everything just fell into place."

While still in Africa this past summer, the Lambie family home was destroyed in the recent Central Texas fires. 

“We were considering returning (to Austin) next year, but when our house in Austin burned down, we felt that was a sign that we should stay," Lambie said

The concert event will provide the Austin community an opportunity to meet some of the children directly benefiting from Music for Life’s work in Uganda, where the Lambies now live.  The African Children’s Choir has been working with the most vulnerable children in Africa, raising awareness of the plight of Africa’s orphaned and abandoned, but also showing the beauty, dignity and potential of each African child. 

Many choir children go on to attend university or vocational schools and go on to become doctors, lawyers and leaders in their home countries.  Many have also given back to programs that were so instrumental in changing their lives.

The Choir has performed on some of the world’s greatest stages including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden and the White House.  They have performed with legendary entertainers like Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Tony Bennett, and Alicia Keyes. They have also performed for several U.S. presidents, Queen Elizabeth II and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and $1,000 VIP group packages are available.  A donation is suggested for children 12 and under. 

Lustre Pearl is located at 97 Rainey Street.  For more information and advance tickets, visit AfricanChildrensChoir.com/AustinShow.

By Rob Faubion, Austin On Stage
(Photo courtesy African Children's Choir)African Children's Choir rocks Rainey Street at Lustre Pearl