CON FULLAM: "Knowing that, for me, music has always been a very powerful healing thing, I thought it'd be a great idea to invite as many different refugee communities as possible."

Mr. Fullam says the chorus evolved into a girls' group when boys did not come to practice.

The group's performances might have limited to Maine if not for the involvement of Patrice Samara. Ms. Samara is a producer for Alphabet Kids, a company that sells multicultural children's books and CDs. A lawyer for the company suggested that she fly to Maine to check out the chorus. She liked what she heard. In October, Alphabet Kids released a Pihcintu CD.

Ms. Samara has begun to schedule performances outside of Maine. The first took place in August in Washington. She hopes the idea behind the chorus will lead to more such groups in other communities.

PATRICE SAMARA: "Many, many towns have immigrants, so we're hoping that this model will be embraced around the country."

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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Faiza Elmasry, Josie Huang and Susan Logue. I'm Shirley Griffith.

STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. English learners can read, listen and learn with our programs and new activities at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also watch a video about Tim MacWelch's wild edibles class. And you can join us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.