The ICC’s Beginning

In 1986, after experiencing the joy and artistry of a children’s choir in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Henry Leck was inspired to start a choral ensemble made up of young people from across the Indianapolis area. At the time, plans were underway for the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, and the Lilly Endowment was offering grants to local non-profits developing youth programs in connection with the Games. Leck applied for a grant, sponsored by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, to create the first all-city children’s choral ensemble. The result was $25,000 to start the Indianapolis Children’s Choir—an organization that no one guessed would grow so quickly in size and reputation.

Leck’s initial step was to organize the first ICC Choral Festival—a week-long summer camp in June of 1986. By the next fall, 220 young people had auditioned for and joined four separate ICC choirs. The singers made their debut at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in September, after only two weeks of rehearsal, but they were well-received. Throughout that year, the choir performed several other community performances, including the opening ceremony for the Indiana Pacers’ season and the World Indoor Track and Field Championship Ambassadors’ Ball at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. Some first-year concerts became ICC traditions, including the Thanksgiving Day service at North United Methodist Church and Butler Ballet’s performances of The Nutcracker. The first ICC holiday concert was held in 1986 at Garfield Park Conservatory. The first year also marked the emergence of non-musical ICC traditions and institutions, such as the Parents’ Association and ICC decals.

In August, 1987, the ICC performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pan American Games at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—a climactic experience for the choir’s first year. Many athletes visiting from abroad were so touched that they later wrote letters to the singers. “One founding choir member remarked, “It was scary at first, but soon I felt right at home. ICC was like a second family to my for almost five years.” Although the ICC has expended well beyond the original 220 founders, the feeling of “family” has remained constant over the years.