On Sunday, May 27 the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus will sing choral music on a grand scale. “A Leader's Lament” offers an emotionally charged program of laments by and for leaders: social, political and spiritual.

The Old Testament tragedy embodied in the verse “When David heard that Absalom was slain, he went up to his chamber and wept” will be treated to two settings; one by Jacobean composer Thomas Tomkins and the other by modern composer Francis Pott. Pott's work was originally commissioned by the Chamber Chorus and had its world premiere in 2008.

Randell McGee, a senior at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, has taken the top prize, a $4,000 college scholarship, awarded at the Monsanto’s Artists-in-Training (AIT) Spring Recital.  He has been accepted to Webster University.

Established in 1990 and unique in the U.S., the Monsanto's Artists-in-Training Program sets out to identify, coach and encourage talented students from high schools across the St. Louis area with weekly voice lessons by opera professionals at one of the four area universities. The program also offers master classes with visiting artists and provides college guidance to high school graduates.

To celebrate National Poetry Month, St. Louis will showcase the results of a citywide poetry contest that involved 7th grade students from every school with a 7th grade classroom.  This school year, a pioneering educational literary arts program had 7th graders participating from all 51 schools in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, including every charter, parochial, private and public school.