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Over the last eight years, this choir has been the “star" that has gotten me through every difficult time in my life. I will be eternally grateful to Northwest Girlchoir for being such a supportive and loving place in which to grow up.
Linnea Svensson
NWGC class of 2008
Blog
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Rocky Mountain High
Inspiration at the National Children's Choir Conductors' Retreat
What do you get when you put 180 children’s choir conductors together over a long weekend? Well, a lot of singing, of course. And laughter. And inspiration. And encouragement. And great ideas for becoming a better educator/conductor and for helping to make Northwest Girlchoir the best music education and performance organization it can be.
Last month, over the MLK weekend, I attended Peak Your Vision, the 2nd annual Children’s and Community Youth Choir Conductors’ Retreat held in Denver and sponsored by the American Choral Conductors Association. How wonderful to be immersed in an environment where every attendee and every session was a resource for exactly the work I do! There were conductors from elementary schools, universities, churches, and community choirs like Northwest Girlchoir. They came from as far away as Minnesota, Georgia, Boston, Wyoming, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. And, there was excellent representation from the Seattle area, including conductors from the Seattle Children’s Chorus, the Tacoma Youth Choirs, St. Joseph’s School, and the Rainier Youth Choirs!
What do children’s choir conductors want to learn more about? What do they have to share with each other? Here are some of the session topics: Team Building Activities for the Choral Ensemble; The Great American Folksong—Performing American Folk Music With Authenticity and Joy; The Importance of the Text in Choral Singing; Meeting Recruitment Challenges in Community Choirs; New and Classic Repertoire for Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Treble Choirs; Teaching Musicianship through Movement; Collaboration in the Ensemble Arts—Working and Playing Well With Others; Encouraging Diversity; Conducting Master Class; and Dynamic Listening. For a children’s choir conductor, this an exciting list!
We also got to hear a concert by four children’s choirs. Three from the host state, Denver: Young Voices of Colorado, Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale, and the Colorado Children’s Chorale. And, the Crystal Children’s Choir, from Cupertino, California also performed. They specialize in Chinese and Asian-American music; they are quite a special choir! These choirs performed individually and as a combined choir. Our Northwest Girlchoir singers would have recognized some of the composers on the program, including Rollo Dilworth, Paul Caldwell, Bob Chilcott, Jim Papoulis, Gwyneth Walker, and Tacoma’s own Judith Herrington. I wish that our singers could have been there to see and hear these choirs sing—they really looked like they were having fun!
I know that I speak for all of our conductors when I say that we are always striving to get better at what we do. It was so wonderful to attend this retreat, represent Northwest Girlchoir, share a few pieces in a repertoire reading session, and get rejuvenated for the work of 2012. There’s a lot to do, and so many exciting things to try. I look forward to developing as a conductor and musician right along with my choristers this year!
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The Amazing Choral Musician
Thank you for all of the kind words and positive feedback about our December concerts! I was so proud of our choristers, directors, parent volunteers, and of course, grateful to the administrative staff, volunteer board, families, and audiences whose support makes it all possible.
After these concerts, you may have been wondering—how do our singers learn such a wide variety of music, from different time periods, cultures, and languages? How do they get to such a sophisticated level of performance in such a short amount of time? How do they sing in three, four, or more parts? The short answer is, of course, practice! Really what’s going on, though, is top-notch music education. Our choristers are working with amazing conductor/teachers (welcome again, new Young Singers Program teachers, Lesley Rippee and Julia Sarewitz!). Our choristers also learn a great deal from their amazing peers—Northwest Girlchoir is full of bright, talented, and team-oriented girls, and we take advantage of this resource every rehearsal, through “singing partners,” “choir mentors,” “Amore families,” and of course, just the chance to sit/stand next to, and sing with, great friends.
As 2012 begins, choristers are “starting over,” learning new repertoire for our March concerts. From a music education point of view, however, we are continuing right where we left off in December, building upon the skills and concepts we’ve been working on since the school year began (and since each chorister began singing with us). I know that parents sometimes wonder—aren’t they just singing songs? What are they actually learning? Certainly, it depends on the age of your chorister, but every chorister is gaining valuable skills and experiences that, put together, are unique to choral singing. I’d like to give you a sampling of what our amazing choral musicians are immersed in—it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also serious work...
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Tour Experiences Welcome!
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Amore Ends Tour on a Beautiful Note
Final Concert Held in Church of the Rock
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Amore Performs in Helsinki and Turku
Enjoying Glorious Weather in a Beautiful Country
Have you noticed the blog entries are getting shorter and appearing less frequently? We’re moving at a fairly rapid pace, so my apologies for the silence. This brief entry will cover the past two days.
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Amore featured on Estonian TV!
An Estonian TV station did a segment on the Independence Day Reception held at the American Embassy, featuring Amore!
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Singing in the Haapsalu Castle
Amore Experiences a True Cultural Exchange
Amore spent the day in Haapsalu, a beautiful seaside town about a 90-minute ride from Talinn. They performed a stunning concert this evening in the cathedral of the 13th century Haapsalu Castle. It was a joint concert with a local girls' choir named Canzonetta. Amore had performed earlier with this choir in a Talinn church, but they did not have the opportunity to interact. At the conclusion of tonight's concert, the Canzonetta choristers returned to the front of the church and sang "May the Road Rise up to Meet You." Words cannot express this exchange, so I won't even try. Suffice it to say that afterwards, the choristers from each choir began spontaneously hugging and interacting ... until we finally had to leave. This extraordinary experience was followed by an impromptu game of "outdoor checkers." (You'll understand after you see the photo.
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Amore Attends the 11th Estonian Youth Song & Dance Festival
33,000 Singers on a Stage! An Unforgettable Sight (and Sound)!
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Breaking News!
Amore Featured on National Television in Finland!
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A Very Dignified 4th of July
Amore Rubs Shoulders with Ambassadors and Other Dignitaries
Descriptions to come ...
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