Aquarium Choir
“What are you here for?”
May the Lord’s name be praised and His Kingdom come!
Across the ages, music has played an integral role in the life and growth of the Church of Jesus Christ. It’s not surprising that a summer musical festival in the beauty of the Cévennes mountains in southern France would draw a crowd, especially with the diversity of musical presentations – children’s choir, Christian rapper, cellist with vocals…… listen.
The Festival – “Aqua tu Sers?” (What are you here for?) from July 23rd - 25th, was the culmination of two weeks of the Aquarium Choir camp for 70 children, coming primarily from across the south of France. This quintessential question was addressed during the weekend festival through various workshops, devotionals, the Aquarium concert, and two other concerts featuring Christian musicians from across Europe.
The Aquarium choir was birthed from the vision of Pastor Marc Toureille, a graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin, in 2000. http://choraleaquarium1.e-monsite.com/
Why the choice of “Aquarium” as the name for the children’s choir? The image of fish in water stems from the Greek word, ICHTUS, a term used by 1st century persecuted Christians as a way of recognizing each other. The words came to signify a Declaration of Faith with the acrostic – Jesus-Christ, Son of God, Savior. The desire of those working with the choir is that these children, these “little fish” in the “Aquarium of Music” would, in turn, make this same declaration the cry of their heart.
Since 2014, the ministry of the Aquarium choir has expanded to include a two-week camp in the Cévennes mountains, under the leadership of Pastor Pascal Gonzalez, also a graduate of Faculté Jean Calvin. The impact of the choir has expanded with the production of eight CDs, and concerts in churches across the South of France, as well as in the Netherlands and Switzerland. The choir is open to any children between the ages of 4 and 16 who want to worship their Creator through song by taking a plunge into the Aquarium!
Prayer room at the Christian Conference Center in the Cévennes mountains