MONTPELIER — A summit of school chorus groups will highlight the importance of arts in the schools and be a display of state pride. 

Independent U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders has invited choruses from eight schools, from North Clarendon to Newport, to perform Saturday night at Montpelier High School.

“We have what we think will be a great event,” Sanders said. “What we want to do is give support to music programs in the state. There are many wonderful choruses in the state, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no one event that brings them together to perform and to learn from each other.”

Sanders noted the event is intended to highlight a sometimes overlooked segment of the student population.

“Every Friday night, we have football games and basketball games, and it’s great the players are recognized for their achievements, but we want to offer the same recognition to those students in the performing arts,” Sanders said.

Terry Frey is a music teacher and choral director at Barre City Elementary and Middle School, which is sending 18 students to Saturday’s event.

“I believe the job of educators is to educate the heart as well as the mind, and I think the arts does this better than anything else,” said Frey, who wrote a song for the occasion in honor of Sanders called “Coming Home to Stay.” 

“He’s looking it over and we’d be thrilled if he sings it with us,” Frey said. “We are very grateful to the senator for promoting the arts, even as the arts are being slashed from school budgets.”

Kristin Cimonetti is the choral director at Mill River Union High School, which is sending a whopping 60 students to Montpelier.

“I’m really excited about this. I’m able to bring my entire senior chorus,” Cimonetti said. “Usually, there is an entry fee for chorus events, so it’s great to be able to do this for free.”

Cimonetti’s chorus is going to perform two pieces she described as “Really challenging.” The first is “Lux Aurmque” by Eric Whitacre. The second, by Brian Tate, is based upon text from a Buddhist mantra.

Cimonetti discussed the importance of arts in education.

“So much of what we do is about character development and collaborative learning,” Cimonetti said. “Your performance directly affects the performance of the person beside you. If you don’t do your math homework, the only one who suffers is you.”

Mill River has a strong music presence, with 30 percent of students involved in some sort of music program.

The concert will conclude with members from every chorus on stage to sing Vermont’s state song, “These Green Mountains.”

“To have that many voices raised, singing our state song, will be a great show of patriotism,” Cimonetti said.

Other participating schools include Barre Town Elementary and Middle School, and Champlain Valley Union, Harwood, Montpelier and North Country high schools. The show begins at 6 p.m. It is free and open to the public.