Community Corner

BG Singers to Present Donation Friday on Windy City Live

Choir members will present more than 15 musical instruments to Barry Manilow for his Health and Hope Fund charity.

Members of the BG Singers will appear on Windy City LIVE Friday morning to present donated musical instruments to Barry Manilow’s Health and Hope Fund, which supplies instruments to school music programs.

Manilow will be the show’s featured guest.

The donation is part of the choir’s 2012 charitable program, which has benefitted such organizations as the American Cancer Society and in 2011 helped send musical instruments to Guatemala through the .

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It’s part of being what I like to call 'the choir that cares,'" said BG Singers conductor Linda Rosen.

This year’s program came together in just the last week. The BG Singers collected $1,000 by passing around an envelope at Tuesday’s rehearsal, which was attended by 68 singers. They also received a $500 donation through the Larry Berkowitz Fine Arts Fund, established by the choir in memory of one of its original members.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The choir partnered with Buffalo Grove’s to purchase 15 new instruments with the money. Those instruments, along with the secondhand ones collected by choir members, will benefit students at two inner-city schools, Rosen said.

The BG singers who will present the donation to Manilow on Friday are not scheduled to sing live on the show, Rosen said, but a clip of the choir singing Manilow’s “One Voice” from this week’s rehearsal is expected to be aired. Rosen said it’s only a coincidence that the choir plans to open its 20th anniversary show in September with that song.

“It’s like all the pieces just came together. It’s amazing,” she said.

Windy City LIVE airs at 9 a.m. on Channel 7.

For more Buffalo Grove news, subscribe to Patch's daily email newsletter and "like" us on Facebook.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here