A Message From John Alston
Alston to retire at the end of August 2026
Dear Friends of the CCC:
Please allow me to share some personal news with you. I will be retiring at the end of August 2026. I am grateful to have taught music for so many years to so many beautiful children from Chester. I tell them all the time that I have learned more from them than they have learned from me. They are not old enough to understand, but many of you know this is true.
From Then to Now
I am proud of what you and I have built together. In 1994, I was a pony-tailed, novice music professor who started a small singing group with seven boys from one Chester elementary school. Calling it a chorus was an exaggeration; I had no idea what I was doing. We could hardly sing the simplest folk tunes, but we recognized and loved each other almost immediately.
Three decades later, I know that these beautiful children and this program have been my life’s work. From the very beginning, the children have created a profound love that has sustained and nourished us all. Experiencing their joy and watching them develop into their best selves is why the Chester Children’s Chorus is so important.
Today, the CCC has 110 boys and girls from every school in Chester who learn and love Renaissance motets, Mozart’s Requiem, Stevie Wonder, and The Beatles. In concerts, the children sing with power and sensitivity, and the audience showers them with attention, admiration, and thunderous applause. For those 60 minutes on stage, all is right with the world.
And while we’re great at music, we’re even better at math. For nearly 10 years, all of our children have practiced math before or after every rehearsal. This is the result of three CCC girls asking for help with their homework, and the team working tirelessly to create a program that rivals the math instruction anywhere. For the past four years, our middle and high school students have made two years’ progress each year in the areas they practice in our program, an extraordinary accomplishment.
I am deeply grateful to the Swarthmore College community, which believed in my vision from the start—even loaning me a college van to pick up the original seven boys for rehearsal. The College has welcomed our children, who have the opportunity to learn alongside faculty, staff, and students in science labs, art studios, Lang Concert Hall, and our on-campus building that our children affectionately call “HQ.” Our children have the unique opportunity to spend years on a college campus before they even graduate high school.
CCC 2.0 - Even Better
I am also proud to share that Dana Semos, who has served as the Managing and Education Director since 2018, will become our Executive Director. For 18 years, she was the Director of Children’s Education at the Wagner Free Institute of Science in Philadelphia and, before that, a public school teacher. She recognized and loved our children immediately, and they adore her. For many of our children, their time with Dana is the most important part of the program.
When Dana first came to the CCC, there were seven children in an informal math class. Under her leadership, the program expanded to serve all CCC children and now includes a full-time math teacher and more than 40 Swarthmore College students who serve as math coaches. She steers the CCC ship with clarity and care, leading our most recent strategic plan and strengthening relationships across the community.
Sean Tripline will become the Artistic Director. He has been our Assistant Music Director since 2013, working with the third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children.
Music pours out of Sean. With constant encouragement and humor, he instills pride and confidence in our children. He knows and loves many musical genres—classical, gospel, R&B, bossa nova—and is also a gifted composer and fluent arranger. In every rehearsal, Sean inspires our children to master unfamiliar music that they eagerly devour.
I have told Sean that he does not have large shoes to fill, as he has his own shoes, and I am taking mine with me.
Both Dana and Sean bring the highest level of teaching, artistry, and leadership. They, along with the rest of the CCC “super team,” will build on what we have created and carry it forward. The Chester Children’s Chorus will continue to grow, improve, and be the place where our beautiful children develop strong voices, strong minds, and strong spirits.
A search for an Assistant Music Director will begin in February, with plans for the new hire to begin in the spring.
Change Is Possible in Our Lifetimes
You know that our work is not yet finished. The City of Chester remains a severely underserved community, and America remains a place where justice for all remains stubbornly aspirational. With love, hard work, and a good plan, we can change that. CCC can make the world a better place for our children in our lifetime.
Thank you for supporting the children, the CCC team, and me over the past three decades. The music isn’t stopping, it’s only going to get stronger.
With gratitude,
John
