World Music Group to Perform at Valens

A musical assemblage featuring 47 young people from 47 nations will sing, dance and convey a message of global unity Thursday night in a free concert at Ritchie Valens Recreation Center.

Now in its third season, the World Visions Youth Ambassador program brings together musically talented youth from Australia to Zimbabwe each year for a monthlong international performance and goodwill tour.

On Thursday, the tour will stop at the Valens center, where the ambassadors--dressed in their native costumes--will perform and engage the audience in a discussion about shared values, said Sheryl Watkins, a World Visions spokeswoman.

World Visions is a Christian agency that provides emergency relief and works to alleviate the conditions of poverty in more than 100 countries, a spokesman said.

The ambassadors program was started by the director of World Visions Taiwan, who wanted to use music as a means of bringing people from different cultures together, Watkins said. Prior to the tour, ambassadors spend five weeks practicing and participating in educational seminars.

“A lot of these young people come from war-torn countries with ethnic and political divisions,” Watkins said. “The program helps them learn how to get along.”

Valens recreation director Chuck Chavoor is pleased that the ambassadors decided to make Pacoima one of their tour stops. Others will be Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

“We have a diversified community and I think this kind of program fits in perfectly with Southern California and what our recreation department tries to bring to people. And, they are really great singers,” Chavoor said.

Thursday’s concert will begin at 7 p.m. at the center, 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Pacoima.