Welcome!
We are Praise Music Group, a newly formed interfaith community dedicated to sharing musical testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Children and youth in our summer program have been preparing for months, and now share their love for Jesus through uplifting vocal and instrumental music including traditional spirituals, hymns and contemporary Christian music...don't miss it!
Doors open for our Debut Concert at 6:00pm August 18th at 1720 Thayer Dr. in Richland. The Concert begins at 6:30pm. Free admission, general seating. Families welcome and light refreshments served afterward.
Join us for selections by the Children’s Choir, Youth Choir, Youth Symphony and select soloists.
*Directed by Kate Larsen & Jen Gunter. Accompanied by Marisa Sorensen.
Thank you for an incredible first season!
Summer 2024 was WONDERFUL!
Join the waiting list and be the first to know when registration is open for Summer 2025!
Connect to HIM through Music.
Hi there! You have just found an interfaith community dedicated to sharing musical testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ! Our mission is to seek Jesus, share talents, delve into music that can have a lasting impact, and have fun along the way!
We'll let hymns, traditional gospel tunes, and contemporary Christian music settle in our hearts as we work towards a culminating concert open to the community. We need you! Check out the many ways you can participate, find where you belong and praise with song!
Youth Symphony
Grades 9th-12th
We'll learn 2-3 songs.
Graduating seniors welcome.
For orchestra AND band instruments.
Children's Choir
Ages 8-12
We'll learn 3-4 songs.
Youth Choir
Ages 13-18
We'll learn 3-4 songs.
Pianists
Accompany a small ensemble.
Learn 1-2 songs each.
Small Ensembles & Soloists
Based on interest and availability,
for instrumentalists and vocalists.
Application and video audition required.
Concert Committee
Got skills? Parents and youth arrange
room set-up/take-down, tech crew, ushers, refreshments, digital and physical flyers, marketing, all the things to make our concert great!
Rehearsal Schedule
TENTATIVE DATES FOR 2025
*Weekly rehearsals June 22nd - August 16th
* Concert August 16th, 17th or 18th
Summer Praise Music Group participants will be expected to be punctual, respectful and attentive during rehearsals and be ready to give it their all! Participants should be able to commit to at least 5 of the 8 weekly rehearsals, plus DRESS REHEARSAL. Yes, we are prepping for excellence, but more than that, the youth need time with the music for the message to really settle in their hearts.
PLAN ON THE FOLLOWING TIME FRAMES FOR WEEKLY GROUP REHEARSALS
Children’s Praise Choir - 50 minutes
Youth Praise Choir - 1 1/2 hours
Youth Praise Symphony - 1 3/4 hours
Solos & Ensembles - 45 min coaching as needed
Let's Start Praising!
All groups have limited seats for our concert venue and the choirs are open enrollment, first come. Participation in the Symphony will be based mostly on instrumentation but we are hoping to take everyone. Ready to join the fun? Click below to have your name added to the waitlist and be the first to know when registration is open!
Why this music?
Hi friends! I'm Kate Larsen, the director of Praise Music Group and I'm delighted to help your kids connect with Jesus through music. As a mother of 5, my heart aches to see how Satan wants our children, but I know God wants them more and I intend to stand as part of His army using the marvelous tools He gives us to reach them. My weapon of choice? Music of course!
I first learned the spiritual power of music when I snuck into our chapel during youth group and found myself playing and singing my heart out as I improvised hymns at the piano. The Spirit moved my heart as I expressed my musical prayer and it was the first time I truly surrendered to my Savior. I cried when I realized I could put my troubles down and He would carry them for me. I had heard about that sort of feeling at church, but this was the first time I experienced it for myself. And, the fact that music was the catalyst for that experience has never been lost to me.
That connection was everything to me when I began writing music and attended college on full scholarships. When I toured the US with the Ogden Institute's top audition choir, the chords were sweet to me, but nothing was sweeter than witnessing a man call out to Jesus for the first time in a decade in the middle of one of our songs.
I had the great pleasure of serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a performer. I played lead trumpet in a re-enactment of a historic brass band in Nauvoo, Illinois. There, I marveled how God softened hearts and broke down centuries-old barriers within the community through the music of a simple band. It became undeniably clear to me that encounters with Jesus through music can happen to both the listener AND the performer. As I played day in and day out, I felt Him penetrate every fiber of MY being and testify to me of His love.
Even among all the writing, directing and teaching that's brought me joy in the 20yrs since receiving my BA in Music Education, my most favorite musical passion is helping others find Jesus again and again through music. I can't wait to get started and show your kids how!
