{"id":224809,"date":"2026-04-09T13:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224809\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:19:08","slug":"childrens-chorus-marks-20-years-sets-sights-on-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224809\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s Chorus marks 20 years, sets sights on the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 When we talk about growth in Jacksonville, the conversation usually turns to new buildings, new jobs, and new development. But a city\u2019s future also depends on institutions that build talent &#8211; and help define its reputation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Jacksonville Children\u2019s Chorus is celebrating its 20th year, and Artistic Director Darren Dailey says the organization has grown into what he calls a world-class children\u2019s chorus for the city. He points to invitations to perform internationally &#8211; from Italy to Greece and Turkey &#8211; and repeat appearances at Carnegie Hall as proof that Jacksonville\u2019s youth arts scene is being noticed far beyond Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">PREVIOUS EPISODE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/this-week-in-jacksonville\/2026\/04\/02\/this-week-in-jacksonville-business-edition-how-a-new-platform-aims-to-cut-weeks-off-permitting-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/this-week-in-jacksonville\/2026\/04\/02\/this-week-in-jacksonville-business-edition-how-a-new-platform-aims-to-cut-weeks-off-permitting-process\/\">How a new platform aims to cut weeks off permitting process<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Dailey also emphasized the practical impact on students. JCC draws singers from roughly 160 schools across multiple counties and school types, creating opportunities for kids who may not be able to fit chorus into their schedules elsewhere. And for older singers, the payoff can extend beyond performance: Dailey says colleges are increasingly interested in students with strong music-reading skills, and scholarship offers can be substantial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The chorus\u2019s new home base in downtown Jacksonville reflects that ambition. Dailey describes downtown as \u201ceverybody\u2019s neighborhood,\u201d and says the facility was intentionally designed with natural light, secure rehearsal spaces, and features aimed at keeping students safe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Looking ahead, JCC is pushing to build long-term financial stability, including an expanded endowment. Dailey calls the goal \u201c10 million in 10 years\u201d &#8211; a big target that matches the organization\u2019s evolution from a small nonprofit to a civic asset with international reach.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 When we talk about growth in Jacksonville, the conversation usually turns to new buildings, new&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7364,116,118,117,7363],"class_list":{"0":"post-224809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-business-edition","9":"tag-jacksonville","10":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","11":"tag-jacksonville-news","12":"tag-this-week-in-jacksonville"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}