Calgary Children’s Choir Blog

  • Singers As Storytellers

    The voice is a wonderful and singular instrument because of its unique ability to convey story. Composers have used variations in tempo, dynamics, melody, harmony and rhythm to convey a story, but singers have the added layer of text, and are thus uniquely equipped to also be storytellers. Here are 3 things singers must consider…

  • Welcome to 2018!

    Happy New Year! We are excited to return for another wonderful singing season in 2018. We have many exciting events upcoming, and we hope you’ll join us for many of them! Winter Camp: We have an upcoming winter retreat to Camp Horizon for our Calgary Children’s Choir and Calgary Youth Choir! This is a great…

  • ‘Johann’s Gift To Christmas’ Concert Roundup!

    This past Saturday we held our Annual Christmas Concert at the Rozsa Centre featuring our three performing choirs; the Calgary Junior Choir, Calgary Children’s Choir, and Calgary Youth Choir. We were also pleased to feature performances from our friends, Hilary and Noel of the Amante Duo, as well as our own choristers in the Calgary…

  • How To Sing Well In Chillier Weather

    We all know how difficult it can be during the colder months in Canada – everything takes longer, and sometimes it’s so cold, it’s dangerous to be out in the elements for too long. This kind of weather has a direct impact on singers as well, so here are three tips to help you sing…

  • 3 Myths About Singing

    There are many misconceptions floating around about singing, which is unfortunate because it makes many people unwilling to partake in all that singing has to offer. Here are three common myths about singing: #1. Tone deafness: People often claim to be ‘tone deaf’ when what they really mean is that they have problems with pitch…

  • The Benefits of Singing in the Community

    The Calgary Children’s Choir performs three major concerts a year, including our upcoming Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 9th. Interspersed with these concerts are a variety of events out and about in the community, and it’s always such an exciting opportunity for our choir to experience these performances: #1. Fresh Perspective: New performance opportunities are…

  • Conductor Profile – Andreas Berko

    Written by Heather Louden New Conductor Has Us Singing His Praises The Calgary Youth Choir has welcomed a new youth choir conductor, Andreas Berko, as the interim conductor while Artistic Director, Marni Strome is away for the year on sabbatical. Andreas began with the choir in September 2017, but he and his family are no…

  • How To Practice Choral Music By Yourself

    Practicing your choir music at home by yourself can feel counterproductive, especially since choir is inherently a group activity. Still, practicing at home will help you to learn your music faster, feel more confident in your line, and let you enjoy your choir rehearsals even more! Here are 3 tips to help you practice your…

  • What Makes Music Sound ‘Haunting’?

    One of the most amazing aspects of music is how it can help to establish an atmosphere, or evoke particular emotions without words, or gestures; through sound alone. Just in time for Halloween, here are three things that help to make music sound ‘haunting’: #1. Modality: Western music has two main modalities; major or minor.…

  • 4 Conductor Secrets

    #1. We can see EVERYTHING: For real. It’s a prerequisite for conductors to have extra ‘nonsense’ senses, but we’re at the front of the room, and often we’re standing while choristers are sitting. We can see you, choristers. Even when you think you’re being sneaky and hiding your phone, or a snack, or a gerbil,…

  • The ‘Ins and Outs’ of Repertoire Selection

    Repertoire is an important aspect of the choral experience, and it’s a topic on which everyone has an opinion – we all have our favourites, of course, but there’s much more that goes into choosing the repertoire for the year than many people think. Here are three things that are taken into consideration when the…

  • The Benefits of Solfege in Singing

    Solfege is sometimes considered a drag in choir, since some choristers can find it frustrating, or boring, and fail to see the use of the method. Still, solfege, part of the Kodaly method, is actually an incredibly useful tool, particularly in singing. At the CCC we are most fortunate to have teachers who are well-versed…

  • The Importance of Musicianship in Singing

    Musicianship is a musical term used to describe the skills a musician possesses related to their aural skills; intonation, ear training. Musicianship is absolutely a skill as well that can be learned, and should be carefully honed. Here are three reasons why musicianship is an essential skill in singing: #1. Sight singing: There are few…

  • 5 Tips To Help You Get The Most Out of Choir

    Starting in choir can be a bit intimidating, particularly if you’re new to music, or to singing. Here are 5 tips to help you get the most out of your choir experience! #1. Listen: Choir is different from singing solos, for several important reasons (read more about that here.) But listening is an incredibly important…

  • Welcome to our 2017-2018 Singing Season!

    Welcome to the Calgary Children’s Choir’s 31st Singing Season! Our Calgary Children’s Choir and Calgary Youth Choir start rehearsals tomorrow (Tuesday, September 12th, 2017) Our Music Makers and Calgary Junior Choir start rehearsals on Thursday (Thursday September 14th, 2017) We are delighted to be back after our wonderful 30th Anniversary Celebrations in May, and an…

  • Italy Tour – Padova

      After a very tiring concert and party yesterday, the choir enjoyed sleeping in late and eating a late breakfast at 9:30. After packing our bags, we got onto the bus and enjoyed the scenery on the way Padova. In Padova, we had two hours of free time. Padova was an especially nice town because…

  • Italy Tour – Pisa and Lucca

    After our relaxing and radiant day yesterday, the choir was in good spirits and ready for more walking! We kicked off the day with a delicious breakfast at the hotel, and made our way onto the tour bus. We arrived at Pisa, at the site of the famous leaning tower, and we were set free…

  • Italy Tour – Cinque Terre

    The sixth day in Rome for the choir started bright and early as we all hopped on the bus at 7:20AM and headed to the docks where we would depart for our day in Cinque Terre! Our tour of Italy’s coast was absolutely breathtaking! We had the opportunity to take lots of pictures as we…

  • Italy Tour – Florence!

    The Calgary Children’s Choir had a bright and early start this Friday morning, having breakfast at 6:30am.  After breakfast we packed up then hit the road. We embarked on the journey from Rome to Florence on our Luxurious coach. After resting for 2 hours, our tour guide, Adrianna, gave us a brief overview of the…

  • Italy – Rome Day 3!

    We had another amazing (albeit very warm) day. The choir started the day off singing a concert at St. Agnes’s church, a beautiful space. Around the age of 12-13, St. Agnes became a martyr. She had made a vow of chastity, and when a prince of Rome tried to break that vow, he was smited by…

  • Italy Tour – Rome Day 2!

    We had an early start today being on the bus at 7:45, which then took a scenic route to the renowned Vatican City. As you could imagine it is a very popular place, but with the help of our fantastic tour guide Adriana we took the fast track and promptly met up with our Vatican…

  • Italy Tour – Rome!

      This morning was our first rehearsal of the tour! We found a cute little conference room on the upper level of the hotel, and practiced for about two hours. Following the rehearsal, the choir went to the small bars (little restaurants) just outside of the hotel for lunch. The remainder of the afternoon consisted…

  • Italy Tour – Travel and Rome!

    Hello, it has been a very long day for all of us here in Italy! First things first, at 9 AM on the 2nd of July we met at the Calgary International Airport, bright eyed and exited to fly to Italy! Except first we had to fly to Toronto and wait a bit, having some…

  • 30th Reunion Roundup!

    This past weekend was our 30th Reunion celebrations! An absolutely wonderful time was had by all, and a big thank-you to all of the volunteers , parents, teachers, conductors, alumni, and the wonderful Mrs. White who helped us make this weekend a success! On Friday night we had a reception at the Crescent Heights Church.…

  • Celebrating 30 Years of the CCC

    We are very excited about our 30th Reunion celebrations this coming weekend. We have spent the past few weeks looking back on the changes we have seen in the CCC community over the last 30 years, and we look forward to the exciting future ahead for the Calgary Children’s Choir. Our founder, Rosmarie Sherban started…