The moment you hear WomenSing, you know you are in for something special. Such precise, pure and deep-felt singing is breathtaking. Under the direction of conductor, Martin Benvenuto, WomenSing is eager to bring their audiences “Stepping Westward.” On Sunday, June 5th at 4 pm at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley (2345 Channing Way) and on Wednesday, June 8th at 8 pm at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (49 Knox Drive, Lafayette), WomenSing will perform music from Europe, journey to North America, and end up in the Old West. The program will feature composer Libby Larsen’s “Stepping Westward,” written for women’s chorus, oboe, handbells and marimba, and celebrating the resourcefulness and strength of women. Audiences will also enjoy authentic American folk music drawn from pioneer experiences, and a set of traditional yet unexpected miniature love songs. Acalanes High School’s Bella Voce and Miramonte High School’s Women’s Ensemble will join WomenSing in unveiling its third annual Youth Inspiring Youth premiers by Lauren McLaren and Nick Norton. Tickets can be purchased at www.WomenSing.org, or by phone at 925-974-9169.

Having just returned from their Youth Inspiring Youth Tour, in Washington, D.C., WomenSing will also be performing for this years annual Chorus America Conference, in San Francisco on June 10th. WomenSing was awarded the 2010 “Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award” by Chorus America. WomenSing was also recently the recipient of the “Arts Commission of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors 2010 Award for Artistic Achievement.”

Youth Inspiring Youth is WomenSing’s outreach program. It provides opportunities for young composers to create new choral music, and mentoring by Grammy Award-winning composer Libby Larsen. This year’s winners, Lauren McLaren and Nick Norton, have written choral works based on the children’s poetry winners from the River of Words project. McLaren, 21, earned a Bachelor of Music in composition from USC, and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Teaching at USC. Norton, 24, graduated from UC San Diego. He continued his studies at L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and later in London, earning a Master of Music degree from King’s College.