Voices Without Borders

Voices Without Borders, a non-profit 501(c)3, was founded in Petoskey in 2009. Its mission is to promote, support, and sponsor choral music, dance and other related activities for young people in our schools and communities throughout greater northern Michigan and to offer similar opportunities for children from around the world.

VWB supports the Great Lakes Youth & Treble Choirs, formerly Little Traverse Youth Choir and presents the Children of the World in Harmony International Choir & Dance Festival. The 2021 Festival will be the 8th hosted in Northern Michigan and the 25th such festival worldwide. Previous festivals have been produced in Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Europe. Past participants include Argentina, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Ireland, Mexico, Mongolia, the People’s Republic of China, the People’s Republic of Congo, Slovenia, Siberia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States (AZ, CA, MI, TX, WI). Singers from around the world also participate in the Voices Without Borders International Festival Choir.

The Great Lakes Youth Choir (GLYC) is the host choir and performs at the Festivals. GLYC is a premiere international opportunity for Northern Michigan youth. VWB’s Little Traverse Youth Choir toured Canada in 2013 and attended the Dublin Choral Festival and traveled to Ireland and Scotland during the summer of 2018. GLYC was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in June 2020, a trip that was unfortunately cancelled due to the novel coronavirus. This past year, GLYC has been performing virtually and the 2021 Children of the World in Harmony Festival will be a virtual event held on June 24, 2021.