About WLPAA
The Dream Was Born 30 Years Ago.
The Beginning of a Dream…
A single chance encounter inspired the creation of The West Louisville Performing Arts Academy. It is incredible how an unplanned incident I witnessed while teaching as a JCPS music teacher would result in so much 30 years later. One day as I was walking down the hall, I saw a little Black boy sitting at his desk in the hallway outside a classroom. Banishment from the room for some real or perceived office was a common way teachers of that day punished children. I never did know his alleged crime or offense.
What struck me was how this child, who would one day be a man, strained to see into the classroom from which he had recently been exiled. He stared intently, looking at what the other children were doing, wanting to be a part of, but was locked out. His predicament saddened me and pricked my heart. At that moment, the thought came to me to start a Boys Choir.
I had one significant challenge. Though I am a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Music, I was an instrumentalist, a trumpet player, with little choral training. But that child impacted me. So I went to my pastor seeking his support to form a Boys Choir. The vision began to take shape, and the newly minted choir was named the Moore Temple Boys Choir from 1988-1989. We rehearsed at Moore Temple Church of God in Christ, where Bishop A. T. Moore served as pastor. In 1990, the choir’s vision expanded and was renamed the West Louisville Boys Choir (WLBC) and became a 501
c 3 organization. The West Louisville Boys Choir became a home, a place for the disenchanted and broken.
Over the years, thirty (30) now and counting, the West Louisville Performing Arts Academy (WLPAA), through television engagements, radio broadcasts, local and statewide performances, national and international tours, has touched the lives of thousands. In 2002 the choir that started as a safe place and sanctuary for boys became home to girls with the West Louisville Girls Choir (WLGC). It was in January 2004 that the WLBC and WLGC officially became the West Louisville Performing Arts Academy. Today the WLPAA is a community choir for every girl and boy, color or creed, and more.
Our mission is still the same: to train and develop talented boys and girls, ages 8 to 18, to create opportunities for expression through music and art and share a world of beauty with underserved children and families to inspire them to become productive, empowered women and men. For thirty years, the WLPAA has enjoyed the privilege of doing what we love most; positively impact and transform the lives of children and their families through the discipline of music.
The West Louisville Performing Arts Academy addresses youth’s artistic, academic, and social development through the performing arts.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato
Our Mission
The West Louisville Performing Arts Academy (WLPAA) is a year-round vocal/instrumental organization that creates artistic opportunities for young people.
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The WLPAA trains and develops the talents of young boys and girls, ages 8-18, in a spiritually sound healthy environment.
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We address the artistic, academic, and social development of youth through the performing arts.
Photo Credit: Breshia Summers
Our Vision
To Equip, Inspire and Empower Youth To Learn, Grow and Develop Their Personal Capacity for Personal Greatness and Community Impact For A Lifetime.
We Need Your Support Today!