East Hills Singers Sound Out Hope And Transformation

A new documentary film, Conducting Hope, featuring a men's singing group from Lansing Correctional Facility, premiered at the Kansas International Film Festival on October 5. Celebrating the East Hill Singers, it was shown for the

Hear the East Hills Singers at this link

first time at a local theater, with the choir performing  immediately afterwards. Conducting Hope has since aired on numerous television stations across the nation.

The East Hill Singers was founded in 1994 by Elvera Voth, a retired Mennonite choral conductor, who then helped form the Kansas City-based non-profit organization Arts in Prison as a way of promoting "responsibility, accountability, and leadership", according to their website.

Hearing about such programs makes you wonder what kinds of resources our community could offer local citizens who are locked up in our jails and prisons. In Kansas, a collaboration of both community groups and prison personnel is making this extraordinary miracle happen. As one example, security officers volunteer their time to escort the choir members to their programs, and prison administrators support it as making a positive difference in the lives of their inmates.

Check this link for more posts on prison and jail reform.