Pihcintu Multinational Chorus to perform April 29 at Franco Center in free concert

LEWISTON – The inspiring sounds of the renowned Pihcintu Multinational Chorus will be heard in the acoustically superb performance space at the Franco Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are still required.  

This international choral group brings together refugee and immigrant children from around the world to share their music and stories of their homelands and the experience of being a refugee in Maine. 

“Sharing music and stories is a common thread among immigrants and this includes the French Canadian immigrants and their Franco American descendants in Lewiston’s Little Canada,” said Denise Scammon, marketing director at the Franco Center. “Music and song was one tradition that kept the Franco American community together.” Local Franco Americans are known to have had many social clubs and church choirs in which they were united by their language and culture and children were expected to sing or play an instrument.  

Since its inception in 2006, the Pihcintu chorus has performed over 300,000 live and hundreds of millions via broadcast and internet media including the Today Show, National Public Radio, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Univision, UN TV and You Tube. They have appeared at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC; The National Cathedral, Washington, DC; and the United Nations, New York, New York; to name but a few of the venues. Over the course of time over 300 girls representing 40 countries have passed through the chorus with 100 percent high school graduation and 85 percent post-secondary education. 

The chorus was founded and is directed by Con Fullam, award-winning producer, musician, songwriter, and Maine native, who combined his passion for music with a deep concern for the effect of world issues on children. Fullam is interested in giving Lewiston- and Auburn-area youth the opportunity to hear these stories and discover a human connection with the experiences of these young refugees. 

War-torn villages, bloodshed, refugee camps, famine and political turmoil were devastating realities for many of these young singers before being embraced by the warmth, companionship and harmony that Pihcintu provides. 

The power of survival eases but never erases the memory of unthinkable atrocities, physical danger and personal tragedy. Portland, Maine, an ever-expanding international resettlement community, was fertile ground to bring together children from diverse backgrounds to sing as one. 

This unique chorus of young women from Cambodia, China, Congo, El Salvador, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Viet Nam, British West Indies, and Zambia, along with children whose families have been here for generations, have formed a powerful and permanent bond. 

GET FREE TICKETS HERE

Call the box office for free tickets at 207-689-2000 or order them online at www.francocenter.org/shows. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The Franco Center is at 46 Cedar Street, Lewiston. Its building is the former St. Mary’s Church, built in 1907 for French Canadian immigrants.