Category: Arts
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The Olympics and Choral Music
The Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics are often a great occasion to demonstrate fun and unique choral music. In celebration of the Opening Ceremonies of the XXII Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, here is a look at some of the great choral music from the Olympics! Calgary Winter Olympics 1988 – Can You Feel It:…
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A Brief History of Folk Music
Come and check out our annual Folk Concert on March 8th, 2014 at the Rozsa Centre, and hear some great examples of Spanish folk songs! Folk music has a long history, and because of the nature of the music, it has no definitive historical date of origin. It is widely considered to be the ‘music…
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The Value of Touring
Tour is just one of the many exciting benefits of joining a choir. The Calgary Children’s Choir tours every two years, and we carefully select touring destinations that enhance our music knowledge, and our cultural experiences. Here are three reasons why going on tour is such a valuable experience: #1. Exposure to new cultures:…
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Classical Era Music Versus Classical Music
The term “classical music” has become something of a misnomer, used to describe virtually any music that was not written within the last fifty years. This can be quite misleading, as the term “Classical Music” is actually used to describe a very specific time period in music history. Most importantly, the term refers to stylistic…
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Welcome to 2014!
Welcome to 2014! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! We are so excited to be starting another great season of singing. There are a number of exciting events planned for the coming months. In March, we have our Folk Concert entitled Cantar! Spain, in Song. The concert will be held at 7:00…
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Christmas Concert Roundup!
On Saturday, December 14th, 2013, we had our annual Christmas concert, A Child’s Carol, at the Rozsa Centre! We featured Benjamin Britten’s, A Ceremony of Carols, as well as some traditional holiday tunes! Our day started at 9:30 in the morning with our dress rehearsal, on the Rozsa Centre stage. We are so fortunate to…
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The Five Senses In Singing – Taste
Welcome to our series, The Five Senses In Singing! For the next five weeks, we will be examining how the five senses – sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste, are all related to singing! Taste is a very important sense in singing. As singers, our instrument is an integral part of our bodies, which means that any food…
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The Five Senses In Singing – Touch
Welcome to our series, The Five Senses In Singing! For the next five weeks, we will be examining how the five senses – sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste, are all related to singing! Our sense of touch is an important sense in singing. Touch is what allows us to feel the muscles in our abdomen support…
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The Five Senses In Singing – Smell
Welcome to our series, The Five Senses In Singing! For the next five weeks, we will be examining how the five senses – sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch, are all related to singing! The human ability to smell is the hardest sense to relate to the area of singing, because olfactory perception is not…
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The Five Senses In Singing – Sight
Welcome to our series, The Five Senses In Singing! For the next five weeks, we will be examining how the five senses – sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch, are all related to singing! Sight: Sight is a vital sense to the art of singing for several different reasons. Sight allows singers to read…
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The Five Senses In Singing – Hearing
Welcome to our new series, The Five Senses In Singing! For the next five weeks, we will be examining how the five senses – sound, sight,smell, taste, and touch – are all related to singing! Hearing: Our ability to hear is one of the most obvious senses involved in singing. It’s also one of the…
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Halloween Concert Roundup!
Despite the 15 centimetres of snow, and blowing winds last night, our first concert of the year – the much anticipated Halloween concert – was a rousing success! The hall was decorated for Halloween by our amazing decorating committee, led by our Creative Consultant, Kat Long (who dressed up as an ice cream sundae!) It…
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House Songs!
This year, at our choir camp in September, we had a Harry Potter theme. As part of that theme, the choir members were divided into three different houses: House Harmony, whose Head of House was our Creative Consultant Kat Long, House Rhythm, led by our Artistic Director Marni Strome, and House Melody, whose Head of…
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Choral Singing Versus Solo Singing
There are many differences between choral singing and solo singing. Here are three important differences to consider: #1. Blend: One of the key factors in choral singing is blending many voices to sound as one. This involves modifying vowels, matching voice colours, and decreasing vibrato, all to make a seamless sound. In solo singing, the objective…
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Choir Camp 2013!
This weekend, the Calgary Children’s Choir went out to Camp Horizon to enjoy a wonderful weekend of choir camp! Camp is a great opportunity for all of the choristers to get to know one another, and really get comfortable as an ensemble. We could not have asked for a more stunning location for our weekend…
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In An Old House in Paris
On Tour with the Calgary Children’s Choir: Summer 2013 Judith Pond (photo via Caela McCann) In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls, in two straight lines… Watching the orderly rows of Calgary Children’s choristers disappearing down cobbled streets and reappearing on stages, in courtyards, and in…
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All Too Soon
We started our day at 9:00 in the morning, when we got on our tour bus to go to the El Prado Museum. We were all very excited because we had learned a bit about some of the paintings during our rehearsals in Calgary. While we were there, we all got to see some really…
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Singing in Segovia
The day started off bright and early with a lovely breakfast at 7:45! After a delicious breakfast we departed for Segovia, where we visited the castle Alcazar, the segovian cathedral, and admired the beautiful architecture of the roman aqueducts. The Aqueducts are truly works of art! They are held together with noting but gravity,…
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Today in Toledo
It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to sing in a cathedral that houses a Michaelangelo painting. We had this amazing opportunity today in Toledo. After a morning of shopping in Madrid, we boarded our tour bus and set off for Toledo. Toledo is a beautiful city about an hour from Madrid full…
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Bienvenido A Madrid!
Today was definitely a packed day! It began with the whole choir waking up early and heading to the airport at six o’clock in the morning. We said farewell to Paris and started for Madrid. Our journey continued after the flight, as we got on yet another tour bus to drop off our luggage at the hotel,…
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Let Them Eat Cake!
This morning the choir visited the Chateau de Versailles, and then spent the afternoon near the Sacré Choeur Basilica. (Photo by Kat Long) (Photo by Kat Long) (Photo by Kat Long) The palace, the construction of which took decades, was an incredibly opulent, massive, artistic marvel. We were given a private tour which…
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Notre-Dame and Saint Eustache
What can I say about today that will do it any justice? One thing is certain: it is unanimous among the touring choir that today was one of the most amazing days ever! It began with the world-famous Notre-Dame Cathedral, which is hard to even describe if you have never been. It’s more than just…
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Un Canadien Errant
Que c’était un journée tellement excitent! We started our very long, very eventful day at the VimyRidge Memorial in Arras. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it was a truly meaningful experience. Beginning with a guided tour of the trenches and tunnels that were built for a battle nearly…
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Arrival in Arras
We have finally arrived in Europe! Wow! What a long day we have all had! After two plane rides (first Calgary to London, and then London to Paris) and a two hour long bus ride from Paris to Arras, we have finally arrived at our destination – Arras, France! (Photo via Travel Tidbits) …