‘Ambassadors’ sing, dance
By Jim Carnes
It’s hard to resist the smiling, clean-scrubbed faces and the contagious enthusiasm of the young hoofers, hooters and, well, all-round entertainers who are Galena Street East.
Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has fallen under their spell.
Galena Street East was founded in Sacramento by Richard and Jeri Clinger in 1972 to provide training and performance opportunities to developing young artists in the community. Galena Street also provides music scholarships for some members, and each year, the group’s touring company represents Sacramento on a people-to-people goodwill performing tour.
These musical “ambassadors,” as they are called, will mark their 36th year with performances this week at the governor’s tree-lighting ceremony Tuesday at the Capitol and with “Light the December Nights,” the latest of the group’s Holiday Tapestry shows, Friday and Saturday at the Hiram Johnson High School Theater.
Come summer, Galena Street East’s group of older performers will tour China as participants in a pre-Olympics music festival, American Celebration of Music 2008. They will perform in Beijing, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao, official venue sites of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – as well as at the Great Wall.
Notifying the group of its acceptance as California representatives in the tour, Music Celebrations International president John P. Wiscombe cited the group’s “excellent recommendations” and “past achievements” in performance and promised the group a “rewarding and memorable experience both educationally and musically.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger also congratulated the group, saying, “I am especially proud that one of my favorite performing groups will be delighting international audiences.”
