Creston Children's Choir

2011-12-31T10:38:00.000-08:00

January 2012 - These talented youngsters pulled off 5 concerts in the space of three weeks at the end of 2011. At the end of November, they performed at the music teachers' concert Dance to the Music. A lively rendition of "Cripple Creek" was the first foray into two-part music, which the children handled very well. They sang as two choirs, keeping their parts with great confidence. Then they formed a circle to perform a hora dance to the music of "Hava Nagila". Dressed in their lovely party dresses, they whirled and hopped and grape-vined with excellent co-ordination.

December brought a new challenge, as the choir joined the Blossom Valley Singers on the auditorium stage for Singing in the Christmas Trees. Their voices soared clear and true in O What a Wonderful Gift. With a complete shift of focus, they then showed excellent synchrony in the complicated riser choreography of Frosty Hand-jive (to enthusiastic audience applause). The 60-voice community choir then filled the risers to sing a 3-choir round Jinglin' Bells, with the Children's Choir leading.

Because of their excellent presentation, these kids were invited to perform again at a concert for the public schools, where they again presented the Christmas repertoire, as well as the Hava Nagila. As with all choirs, however, there is an occasion when something can go wrong, and this performance of the dance presented several moments of entertainment that were unplanned, as one child's Santa hat fell off, another child lost her shoe, and at the end, the director called the cue to go off-stage at a very confusing part of the choreography. Ah well, just smile and wave as you head off down the aisle!

January is open for new applicants to audition. Please call Anita Stushnoff 250-428-5272 to make an appointment. Rehearsals begin on Tuesday December 10.

2011-09-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

Creston Children's Choir begins again -- audition for new singers on Tuesday September 13 at PCSS Band Room -- right after school as usual.

I very much hope that all the singers from last year are planning to join us again. Our first rehearsal is Tuesday September 20, right after school.

Some plans for this fall are to join the "Aladdin" show that Footlighters is going to do in December. It is intended to feature a group of children who will act, sing, and do some choreography, as part of the musical show about Aladdin and his magic lamp. I have made arrangements with the director, Mr. Goodsir. The children's choir will learn the music on Tuesday rehearsals. Any of these singers who wish to perform in the show will have the opportunity to go to Wednesday rehearsals at ARES after school.

The other show for which we will be rehearsing is the Teachers' Concert in November. The theme is "dance", so we will be working on some singing with choreography.

Because these two shows are so close together, we will not be joining in the Singing Christmas Tree this year.

Please invite your friends to come and sing with us. Kids who have not been in the choir can make appointments (428-0602) to audition on Tuesday Sept. 13 at 3:30 at PCSS Band Room, or they can phone me at 428-5272, and I can audition them whenever it is convenient for us to make the arrangements.

May 2011

2011-05-23T11:30:00.001-07:00

We have had a very, very busy 2010/11 season. The choir performed a colorful variety of singing games at the CVMTA Teachers' Concert in November 2010. Three weeks later, they joined the Blossom Valley Singers for three performances of the Singing Christmas Tree. Their unisons were beautiful, and these young children performed with poise and confidence.

After Christmas, the choir was featured at the "Garden Party" - a spring tea hosted by the Blossom Valley Singers. Here we sang "White Coral Bells" as a round, "The Garden Song", and then added "New Potato Polka" with a bit of choreography highlight in the middle. Audiences were very enthusiastic about the precision and enthusiasm of the young singers.

Three weeks later, the choir provided the finale for a week of 16 concerts at Focus on Youth 2011. This time we added the "Octopus's Garden" to the garden theme set. The season closed with a visit to Swan Valley Lodge, and then an appearance at the May assembly of Erickson Elementary School.

With ten concerts to their credit, the twenty-one singers have grown into a polished group of performers who provide pleasure to young and old in the community of Creston.

Auditions are now open for the 2011/12 season. All students grades 2 to 7 are welcome to try out for the choir. Please phone Anita Stushnoff 428-5272 for an interview during the summer, or plan to attend the audition session on Tuesday, September 13, at 3:30 at the PCSS Band Room.

September 2010

2010-09-02T08:59:00.001-07:00

Sunday, August 1, 2010

September 2010

The singers
This primary choir (grades 2 - 7) provides a child's first exposure to choral music. Singers are introduced to basic concepts of vocal production, sight singing, ear training and theory. Through the use of folk songs, musical games, unison and 2-part songs, young singers will develop an understanding of their individual musical and vocal abilities and how to use these skills in a choral context.

The Schedule
The choir season runs from September to May.
Rehearsals are Tuesdays, 3:15 to 4:30 in the Band Room at Prince Charles Secondary School, beginning with a snack

Performances
* Canada Music Week in November
* Singing Christmas Tree - join the Blossom Valley Singers
* Creston Festival of the Arts in February.March
* Focus on Youth week in May
* other events by invitation

The Parents
Parental involvement is a vital part of the choir program. Parents are invited to attend one rehearsal during the year to assist with supervision and to provide the after-school snack. Other areas of involvement are open to volunteers.

Auditions
will be in 10-minute slots on Tuesday, September 15, 3:30 to 5:00 in the PCSS Band Room. You will be asked to echo melodies and clap rhythms. You will also be asked to sing any song of your choice. If you wish to arrange an audition at this or at a different time, please call Anita Stushnoff 250-428-5272 for an appointment.

Singing Class:
If students have not yet mastered the skills for the performing choir, Anita is offering a singing class at 5:00 on Tuesdays. Students in grade 1 who wish to enroll are also welcome. This class will NOT duplicate the music sung in the performing choir. Instead, the class will explore action songs, learn solfege patterns, and include a lot of rhythm experiences to establish basic music competency skills.

Fees:
A full season of Children's Choir is $125.
A 10-session block of the Singing Class is $70.

Winter 2010

2009-12-10T18:54:00.001-08:00

The singers

This primary choir (grades 2 - 6) provides a child's first exposure to choral music. Singers are introduced to basic concepts of vocal production, sight singing, ear training and theory. Through the use of folk songs, musical games, unison and 2-part songs, young singers will develop an understanding of their individual musical and vocal abilities and how to use these skills in a choral context.

The Schedule

The choir season runs from September to May.

Rehearsals are Tuesdays, 3:15 to 4:30 in the Band Room at Prince Charles Secondary School, beginning with a snack

Performances

* Singing Christmas Tree - Dec 11, 12, 13

* Creston Festival of the Arts in February

* Focus on Youth week

* other events by invitation

The Parents

Parental involvement is a vital part of the choir program. Parents are invited to attend one rehearsal during the year to assist with supervision and to provide the after-school snack. Other areas of involvement are open to volunteers.

Director

Anita Stushnoff * 250-428-5272 * www.myc.com/teacher/astushnoff

Auditions

will be in 10-minute slots on Tuesday, January 5 at 5:00 in the PCSS Band Room. You will be asked to echo melodies and clap rhythms. You will also be asked to sing any song of your choice. If you wish to arrange an audition at a different time, please call Anita Stushnoff 250-428-5272 for an appointment.

Singing Class:

If students have not yet mastered the skills for the performing choir, Anita is offering a singing class at 5:00 on Tuesdays. Students in grade 1 who wish to enroll are also welcome. This class will NOT duplicate the music sung in the performing choir. Instead, the class will explore action songs, learn solfege patterns, and include a lot of rhythm experiences to establish basic music competency skills.