Strategic Staffing Solutions sponsorship of the Mosaic Singers trip to Latvia to compete in the World Choir Games paid off … in gold and silver and an experience of a lifetime for 26 young artists.

Mosaic Singers at the US embassy

The Mosaic Singers, part of the Mosaic Youth Theatre, spent the last two weeks in Latvia competing in the World Choir Games with a side trip to Lithuania to meet the US ambassador to Lithuania and to sing in phenomenal places such as the St. Kazimieras Church in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and the Concert Hall at the Marijampole House of Culture in the town of Marijampole. Both were standing-room only.

The concert at St. Kazimieras was broadcast live on the internet. It benefited the ExCel high-school exchange, a program that S³ also sponsors. That program brings Lithuanian high school students to study in the US and live with an American host family for one school year.

At Marijampole the audience stood and applauded non-stop for several minutes at the end until the choir did not one, but two encores.

“We got the response from many that “Mariajampole has never seen anything like this before,” says the Mosaic Facebook page.

As invited guests of the US Ambassador to Lithuania, Deborah A. McCarthy, they toured the US Embassy and put on a short concert there.

Cindy Pasky enjoying the concert in Marijampole

The Singers even performed the Lithuanian national anthem … in Lithuanian … perfectly on Good Morning Lithuania. That show reaches one million people.

“The Mosaic Singers were awesome,” said Cindy Pasky, CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions, who travelled to Lithuania to see the choir perform in Marijampole and Vilnius. “They showed the world what tremendous talent we have in the USA and Detroit. S³ was proud to sponsor them. They represent everything we stand for … determination, quality, professionalism and setting the bar high for success.”

Twenty-six young Mosaic singers, ages 14-18, made the trip and sang their hearts out every day … including impromptu concerts in the airport, on buses, public spaces and many other places.

“We have to thank Cindy Pasky, Paul Huxley and everyone at Strategic Staffing Solutions for their incredible generosity in making this once-of-lifetime opportunity possible for the young artists of Mosaic,” said Rick Sperling, CEO of the Mosaic Youth Theatre. “In addition to the World Choir Games in Latvia, it was an incredible experience having Strategic Staffing Solutions bring Mosaic to Lithuania as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. and Detroit.”

This World Choir Games competition is a big deal. Singers came from five continents and 73 countries. There were 460 choirs and 27,000 participants competed. Awards were presented in 29 categories.

“These accomplishments (of the Mosaic Singers) are the result of our emphasis on setting high expectations for Detroit youth and giving them the support and training needed to reach them,” said Sperling. “What these young people accomplished was not just a result of talent, but of incredible hard work, determination, resiliency and professionalism — qualities that will continue to serve them in whatever path they choose to pursue in life.”

Here’s a rundown of the medals won by the Mosaic Singers:

• Gold in the Pop category
• Gold in Gospel … Mosaic ranked 4th in the world overall in choral gospel
• Silver in Spiritual
• Silver in the Mixed Youth Choir Open Competition

The Mosaic Singers first won two silver medals but were not content. They wanted gold and vowed to get it. When the announcement came that they won the gold chants of USA, USA, USA could be heard drowning out the applause. Remind you of the Olympics? It should this competition is often referred to as the Olympics for Choirs.

During the Mosaic’s World Choir Games Qualification Concerts in Pop they quickly had the European audience clapping (unsolicited) and hooting and hollering. These are not the easiest performances because there is no audience, just three judges staring at you and taking notes. These young artists came through like pros.

“We are so proud of how the Mosaic young artists represented Detroit and USA at the World Choir Games,” Sperling said. “While we are proud of all of our awards, the Gold Medal in Gospel and Silver Medal in Spiritual are especially meaningful because they came in the Champions Competition where our 14-18 year old young artists were competing against the best choirs of all ages from all around the world.”

The Mosaic Singers also joined all the thousands of other singers at a major concert in the “Mežaparks,” a neighborhood in North Central Riga, Latvia, and other “friendship concerts” in Latvia.

The Mosaic Singers are no strangers to travel. They have performed in more than 25 states, at The White House and The Kennedy Center. Internationally, they have represented the United States at the World Festival of Children’s Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, performed at The Millennium Dome in London England, and participated in cultural exchanges with Dakar, Senegal and Singapore.

Since the Games were created in 2000 the worldwide operating organization INTERKULTUR from Pohlheim has been in charge of the program. The event takes place every two years in alternating cities. It was last held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2012. Previous hosts included Austria, South Korea, Germany and China.

We thought we would share some videos with you.

Singing Lithuanian National Anthem