Mollie Stone grew up singing in the Chicago Children's Choir, which taught her how powerfully music can bridge gaps between people of different racial, religious, and socio-economic backgounds. Ever since touring with the Choir to South Africa, Mollie has been particularly interested in the ways black South African choral music has functioned throughout South Africa's history, and the ways in which music all over the world has been used as a tool to create social and political change.

Mollie is now the Associate Conductor of the Chicago Children's Choir, having received her bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 2001 and her master's degree in conducting from Westminster Choir College in 2004. She served as the graduate associate for the Amherst College music department in 2001, during which time she received a grant from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. With this grant, she created a DVD called "Vela, Vela," to choral directors how to teach black South African choral music more authentically, and to understand it within its social and historical context. Last year, Mollie and Yes is a World received another grant from Kaiser, enabling her to return to South Africa in Summer 2006 to study how South Africans are using choral music in the struggle against HIV. Mollie leads workshops on black South African choral music across the country.