"From Sea to Shining Sea: An American Song Sampler" received its North American premiere at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 20, 2007, and will be included in The American Boychoir repertoire this winter.

The Boychoir will be performing this new medley for a benefit concert on Sunday, Jan. 28, at Owens Auditorium on the campus of Sandhills Community College.

Tickets are by donation and are available by calling 910-692-6241. If the concert is not sold out, tickets will be available at the door the night of the concert.

The American Boychoir performance is to raise money for the new Pope John Paul II Catholic School.

The Boychoir's Litton-Lodal Music Director, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, commissioned noted composer and arranger Bruce Saylor to create a unique medley of songs together with verses from "The Mystic Trumpeter," a poem by the American poet, Walt Whitman.

This arrangement is the initial performance example of the Boychoir's American Spirit Initiative, the artistic vision of Malvar, which seeks to unify and interpret our national experience in song, accessible by the general public through the lens of the American Boychoir's 70-year tradition of the highest quality musical, academic and character education.

Boys, grades 3-7, who love to sing, are invited to audition after the concert.

More information about The American Boychoir can be found at www.americanboychoir.org. No preparation is necessary.

The American Boychoir opened its 2006-2007 tour season with a singular honor -- performing for President Bush at the Presidential Prayer Service at St. Paul's Chapel to commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11.

The American Boychoir is the United States' premier concert boys' choir and one of the finest boychoirs in the world. For 69 years it has been dazzling audiences worldwide with its unique blend of musical sophistication, effervescent spirit and ensemble virtuosity.

In addition to maintaining an active national and international touring schedule, The American Boychoir performs and records regularly with world-class artists and ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic opera superstar Jessye Norman, pop diva Beyonc, Bobby McFerrin and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Comprised of boys in grades four through eight, and representing 24 states in the U.S., as well as Colombia, South America, and Korea, The American Boychoir offers a unique and rigorous musical and academic curriculum, and fellowship for young people. Founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1937, the choir has been located in Princeton, N.J., since 1950.

The programs offered by The American Boychoir School are made possible in part through a grant by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.