From the Artistic Director
We did it! We held our first live concert on the stage of
the Music Center at Strathmore December 8, and it was a testament to all of
you! You, choristers and families, are the heart of any children's
chorus. You give of your time, volunteerism, talents, and you make this all
both possible and wonderful.
We of course do not work alone. We need to thank:
Our countless and faithful parent volunteers, who managed the Clear to Go App, helped choristers line up in the right spot for the right time. They also come to our weekly rehearsals, checking in choristers with that app, setting up and cleaning up after each rehearsal, and helping with the tasks that arise but we never know to ask for help on.
Lauren Campbell, Vice President of Education and Community Engagement, created our run of show and logistics. Ms. Campbell also works with me on the administrative side of SCC to keep the bills paid, concerts scheduled, and rehearsals running.
Suzanne Bagheri, our SCC Administration and Singer Services Manager, who thinks through communications, newsletters, logistics, organizing volunteers and staff, and essentially running all things SCC.
Our guest musicians, Sally McLain (violin), Chris Barrick (percussion), and Joseph Cunliffe (flute and percussion), enhanced our program and collaborated with us so musically.
Dr. Alice Dillon, our SCC Vocal Coach, gave us practical exercises and food for thought to help us connect voices to breath, and to posture and resonance.
Hei Jung Kim, our SCC Principal Collaborative Pianist added ALL of SCC's ensembles to her care and piano accompaniment list. As many of you know from working for months on these pieces, accompanying the entire program, particularly when that means she cannot be at every ensemble rehearsal, is not a small ask.
Mary Hochkeppel, our SCC Associate Director and conductor for Preparatory, Apprentice and Treble Choruses this season. She always puts the needs of students as her top priority, and she demonstrates enthusiasm, commitment, hard work, and loving guidance in all her SCC interactions.
We start again with rehearsals January 3, 2022, with an aim to make our SCC Tenth-Anniversary Concert in May 2022 as festive and musical as possible. Founding and Artistic Director Emeritus, Christopher Guerra will conduct one of our combined ensemble pieces at that program, and we might even hear from one or two SCC alumni who want to share the positive impact their time with us has been.
We will revisit covid19 protocols in light of the omicron variant in addition to any updates from state and local guidelines and officials. For now, be assured we will keep our social distance while singing, we will keep our masks on, and we will be mindful of aerosol spread and the need to break up longer rehearsal stretches for room ventilation. And, we will continue to rely on the Clear to Go App to have choristers both check in and check that their health status keeps all of us safe as we rehearse in person.
Happy Holidays to each and every one of you! May the season continue to bring joy, peace, love, and hope to you and yours, and may you continue to be blessed, enriched, and confirmed in who you are through music!
With great appreciation,
Michael
Artistic Director, Strathmore Children's Chorus
Clear To Go!
Please note our new Covid Health Policy regarding student participation. All students must upload proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test weekly onto the Clear To Go app. Please remember to complete your student's SCC health screening on your Clear-To-Go! app prior to weekly rehearsal check-In! We appreciate it!
Preparatory Chorus
“We love to sing together and share our community spirit!”
During the month of November, our Preparatory Choristers have been working as a team to prepare for our upcoming Winter Concert. Recently, we had the opportunity to meet one of the composers of one of our concert pieces: “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”, written by Ms. Deanna Wehrspann, via Zoom during our rehearsal time. Many of our choristers asked questions and shared their love for her work. Here are some of the questions that were asked by our choristers:
“Ms. Wehrspann, we love singing the song you wrote, what inspired you to compose the song, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”? Answer: “I love birds and the poetry of Emily Dickinson.
“Are you famous?” Answer: “I have many compositions that are published, so in that regard, I guess you can say I am famous.”
“When did you start composing music?” Answer: “I started composing when I was 16 years old”.
“How did you learn to write music?” Answer: “I studied composition in college and then, entered and won Composition Competitions”.
In addition to studying the music, each chorister has been invited to share and discover ways to get to know each other better. They have shared their favorite places to travel and fun activities that they do with their families. They are thankful for the opportunity to sing together and share our community spirit each other every week.
Way to go, Preparatory Chorus!
Apprentice Chorus
“SCC is one of my favorite places to be!”
During the month of November, our Apprentice Choristers have been preparing for our upcoming Winter Concert and how they practice at home. Many choristers shared:
“I like to find a quiet place in my house, where I can listen to the rehearsal tracks and sing along with them by memory.”
“I find it helpful to play the track of another part, and then, challenge myself to sing my part while another part is playing”.
In addition to studying their music, each chorister has been invited to share and discover ways to get to know each other better. We asked our choristers to share what they like about SCC and here are some of their responses:
“SCC is a nice group of people working together to create beautiful songs. I like SCC because I use my singing voice to sing with other people. I enjoy singing and find it fun to sing with others.”
“I like SCC because it’s really fun and I love singing. Also, I love the concert so I can show my parents what I learned. SCC is the best and one of my favorite places to be!”
Way to go, Apprentice Chorus!
Treble Chorus
Treble Choristers are Discovering the Essential Elements of Choral Performance for our Winter Concert!
During the month of November, our Treble Choristers are discovering the essential elements of a good choir performance such as intonation, diction, rhythm, and balance.
· Intonation is the ability to sing in-tune with other members of the choir.
· Diction is demonstrating the proper pronunciation of the words where each vowel creates a unified sound, and the consonants make the sense of what is being sung.
· Rhythm defines which pitches should be sung and how long they should be sustained.
· Balance is where the performers sing parts in a blended sound, and each group of voices has the same and/or appropriate volume.
They are recognizing that the conductor is responsible for shaping the music while the performers are responsible for knowing parts, following the conductor, and singing in tune. We appreciate our Treble Choristers’ ongoing team effort, as we work together to prepare for our upcoming winter concert.
