The Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) is hosting its largest Big Sing event ever since its inception in 2023. Approximately 700 young singers from 10 schools across Boston neighborhoods, including Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, Roxbury, and South Boston, will come together for a vibrant performance. These students, ranging from grades 2 through 6, will join special guest artist Tamar Greene, who is currently starring in the Broadway company of Hamilton, for a celebration of music and culture.
This year, BCC has expanded the program to 6 new schools, making it possible to bring together a substantial number of students for the Big Sing performance, thanks to the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture’s Neighborhood Activation Grant program established to fund community-focused arts, cultural, and creative activations in public spaces that foster joy, strengthen community wellbeing across the city, and advance placemaking in Boston neighborhoods.
Led by BCC’s Conductor of In-School Programs Robert McFletcher-Jones, this year’s concert is the culmination of a series of workshops at all BCC-affiliated schools throughout the 2024-25 school year. Students participating in the program met weekly to rehearse for four weeks, beginning in May. The concert will be the first time the 700 students perform all together as part of a BCC program.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://bit.ly/BCCBigSing25
In a stirring tribute to the 1963 Children’s Crusade and Boston’s pivotal 1974 busing decision to desegregate public schools, students from across the city will come together for a special performance titled Better Together! The program, which features a six-piece live band, will spotlight songs of triumph, joy, and unity—drawing from a wide range of musical traditions that reflect the city’s diverse cultural heritage.
The 1974 busing decision, a federal mandate to address racial segregation in Boston’s schools, marked a critical—and controversial—moment in the city’s civil rights history. Paired with the legacy of the Birmingham children who marched for justice in 1963, the performance serves as a powerful reminder of young people’s enduring role in social change.
Participating Schools:
Mildred Avenue K-8 School
Samuel W. Mason Pilot Elementary
The Oliver Hazard Perry School
Higginson Lewis School
The Mather School
Codman Academy
Grew Elementary
Bradley Elementary School
Ellison Parks
Ellis School
About Boston Children’s Chorus
Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) was founded in 2003 by Hubie Jones, a civic leader who has worked for six decades to address the social problems facing Boston’s underserved children and communities. Named Boston’s “Ambassadors of Harmony” by The Boston Globe, BCC harnesses the power of music to connect Boston’s diverse communities, cultivate empathy, and inspire social inquiry. BCC after-school choral programs include 11 choirs with singers from 110 different zip codes in and around Boston. BCC is also proud to partner with schools to provide in-school choral education in Mattapan, Roxbury, South Boston, East Boston, Allston and the city of Chelsea. BCC presents over 50 performances per season in a wide range of public and private events. They have performed in venues from Boston Symphony Hall, and Royal Albert Hall in London, to Sydney Opera House, and the White House.
BCC is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.
About Tamar Greene
Tamar Greene is currently starring in the Broadway company of Hamilton playing the role of George Washington. Prior to becoming Broadway’s longest-running George Washington, Tamar played the same role in the Hamilton Chicago company through the end of its run. Other favorite theatrical credits include the Broadway National Tours of Love Never Dies (the sequel to Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera), The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Ragtime (where he received a Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Performer in a Musical for the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr.), and Broadway’s celebration of Harlem’s Golden Age, After Midnight. Tamar was also seen as the Crab Man at the Spoleto Festival’s production of Porgy and Bess and as a featured singer in the PBS broadcast of Show Boat at Lincoln Center.
Tamar performed as a featured soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. He was recently seen in Sondheim on Sondheim with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, as the soloist for the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra and in a special orchestral performance airing on Comedy Central for the 25th Anniversary of South Park. Later this season, he will be featured with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony Pops Series.
As a voice-over and commercial actor, Tamar has appeared on Audible, WEtv, Netflix Jr Jams, and can be heard on all streaming platforms with his single, Soaring.
Tamar holds a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music, and two bachelor degrees from SUNY Oswego; a B.A. in Music with a focus in Vocal and Piano Performance and a B.A. in Computer Information Systems from SUNY Oswego. Of all of these accomplishments, Tamar is proudest to play the role of husband and new father alongside his wife to their 1 year old son. @Tamar.Greene. www.TamarGreene.com
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
