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The chorus, comprising disabled and typical children, began rehearsing in February. Above, as Ben Gundersheimer, also known as "Mr. G," sings to the children at one practice, Allegra Aronson joins in.

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Birdy Newman, left, and Zaida Streit share sheet music at a rehearsal in February.

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Grammy Award-winning artist Dan Zanes sings with the Whole Children Community Chorus at First Churches in Northampton Sunday. The performance was a fundraiser for Whole Children, an afterschool enrichment program in Hadley.

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The children practice shaping their mouths to make some of the sounds they'll need to sing the songs.

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Debra Glennon and her son, Mason, of Amherst sing along at a rehearsal.

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Dan Zanes and the chorus play to a full house. The performance raised $10,000.

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Joan Cornachio leads a group in a warm-up session on the day of the concert.

Music is something that every child can enjoy and participate in, regardless of ability level.

A year ago, a group of parents of children with disabilities decided to create a chorus in which half the singers would be typical kids. The goal was to raise money for Whole Children, the Hadley afterschool program serving mostly kids with disabilities that was losing its state support. The chorus was also intended to demonstrate how children of varying abilities can come together and work on a common project.

"A lot of kids like to perform and sing and don't get a lot of opportunities to do it," said Valle Dwight, vice president of the Whole Children board of directors. "This was a great equalizer."

There was some chaos when weekly rehearsals began last February for 50 children ranging in age from 5 to 15, said Carrie McGee, Whole Children's executive director. "Some kids didn't know how to sit still and didn't know how to be part of a group," she said.

But the children and their parents and supporters kept at it. The excitement went up several notches when Grammy Award-winning musician Dan Zanes, a superstar to many of the children, agreed to join the performance. He was paid with a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

On Sunday, about 600 people packed The First Churches in Northampton to applaud the chorus's first performance in a concert called "Everyone Has a Voice." Zanes, who rehearsed with the chorus for only an hour before show time, led the children in rousing performances of old classics like "Amazing Grace" and "Old Joe Clark."

"Being surrounded by all these voices is an amazing experience," he said during the show. Afterward, he added, "That was a pretty moving experience. I always get more than I give in those situations."

The concert raised about $10,000 for Whole Children, according to McGee. It also raised awareness of how children can transcend their labels and how those with different abilities can find things in common.

"They were stars onstage," she said. "They weren't struggling or singled out or different from everyone else. They were all working for this wonderful show. They were all special."