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University Choir Director Helps Give a Voice to Dallas’ Homeless

Palant singing with the Dallas Street Choir in rehearsal

Palant singing with the Dallas Street Choir in rehearsal

UT Dallas choir director Dr. Jonathan Palant is on a mission to help people through music, but his work doesn’t stop at the UT Dallas campus. The musician also leads a choir made up of the homeless who live on the streets of Dallas.

Palant said music is an ideal way to provide respite to both students and the homeless.

“The UT Dallas student comes to choir looking for a creative outlet — to escape chemistry or mathematics for just a short while. The Street Choir member comes to escape the cold, looking to escape what lies ahead for their day — or perhaps, what doesn’t. In that regard, they are very similar,” he said.

Palant said every ensemble he conducts has a different attitude about it, because each person comes to the experience with a different journey in life.

Palant, who began working at UT Dallas in 2016, conducts the University Choir, teaches a music appreciation class and soon will lead the University’s Chamber Singers. He also leads music at Kessler United Methodist Church in Oak Cliff, the Temple Shalom Jewish congregation in Dallas and the Credo Community Choir, and serves as a consultant for the Dallas Independent School District. He previously was the artistic director of the Turtle Creek Chorale in Dallas.

Read the entire story on the UT Dallas News Center.

Other coverage of Jonathan Palant and the Dallas Street Choir:

Choir of homeless people rocks Carnegie Hall, 11/28/17, on today.com

Choir of homeless people rocks Carnegie Hall, 11/28/17, on youtube.com