Year: 2014

  • A Child’s Carol 2014 – Christmas Concert Roundup!

    On Saturday December 13th, we were thrilled to present The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey in concert with VoiceScapes! The evening was a wonderful combination of storytelling and holiday music. The beautiful Rozsa Centre was decorated by our amazing Creative Consultant, Kat Long, who crocheted 385 stars for us by hand! We were also very excited…

  • VoiceScapes!

    We are very excited this year to be sharing our annual Christmas concert, A Child’s Carol, with the professional vocal group; VoiceScapes!   VoiceScapes is a four member vocal group that was formed in 2000. Their members have extensive experience in vocal music, and we have been very fortunate to feature two of its members, Christina Jahn…

  • The Value Of Singing In Different Languages

    Since the Calgary Children’s Choir is a Canadian choir, a large portion of the music we sing is in English. We have also sung in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Finnish, Japanese and several other languages! Singing in your native language is great, because you already understand the text. But there is a great deal of…

  • The Purpose Of Choir Workshops

    For every major concert that we have, we also have a choir workshop. These choir workshops occur on the Saturday two weeks before the concert. They are an essential aspect of our choir year. Here are several reasons why choir workshops are important: #1. To work the music: This is the number one reason why…

  • Organization In Choir – Concert Readiness

    Concerts are some of the most important events for our choir during the year. Here are several tips to make sure you are organized and ready for a concert! #1. Make sure your uniform is ready: Our uniforms are an important aspect of our presentation as a choir, so you need to ensure that your…

  • Organization In Choir – Perfecting the Music

    Preparing music is not just about learning words, and notes, and rhythms, it is about how all of those elements come together to make a piece of music. Here are three things to think about when it is time to fine-tune our music: #1. How the sound blends together: Choral singing is not just about…

  • Organization In Choir – Learning Music

    Sometimes learning all that music can feel overwhelming! Here are several tips to help organize learning your music: #1. Attend rehearsals: This is the single best thing a chorister can do to learn their music. Attending rehearsals  reinforces the music regularly, and ensures that choristers can learn their music, and feel successful performing. Paying attention…

  • Organization In Choir – Important Dates

      Aside from our regular rehearsals, the choir also has several important dates to remember during the year. Here are several steps to help you remember the important dates for choir: #1. Ensure you receive a calendar at the beginning of the choir year: Our business manager Mrs. White, gives each chorister and their parents a…

  • Organization In Choir: The Music Binder

    Our music binders are one of the most important aspects of our choral lives that we need to keep organized. Because of the high volume of music that we learn, especially music that we work on throughout the year, there are several steps we take to ensure our binders stay organized. The first step is that…

  • Performer Placement

      There are many different ways to arrange a choir, based on how the conductor determines the best choral sound can be achieved. This can lead to many variations in performer placement. #1. In a more traditional choir formation, the lowest voices are usually found in the middle section of the choir. This can be…

  • Choir Camp Roundup 2014!

    This past weekend we returned to choir camp out in Bragg Creek, for a weekend full of fun, laughter, and music! Our theme this year, created and implemented by our brilliant Creative Consultant, Kat Long, was ‘Science Camp!’ The choir was joined by the eccentric ‘Professor Pfiefferhorn’ from ‘Tunesburg’ (played by the wonderful Kat Long.) He…

  • How To Get The Most Out Of Choir Camp

    Every year the Calgary Children’s Choir spends a weekend at camp in Bragg Creek at the end of September. The purpose of choir camp is to get to know one another, and to have a concerted period of time during which we can really get a good start on our music. This is so important…

  • Unisong!

      The Calgary Children’s Choir will be going on tour in the summer of 2015, and we are so thrilled to be returning to the Unisong music festival in Ottawa! The choir first attended the Unisong music festival in 2007, and we are very excited to be returning again.     The Unisong choral festival takes…

  • Welcome!

      Welcome back to another year of choir! We’re thrilled to see you all again! This year we have a number of exciting changes: First, we’re very happy to introduce a new program to the CCC family! The Music Makers program is for 3 and 4 year olds and is  intended to introduce young children…

  • Spring Concert Roundup! Songs of the Cinema

    On Saturday May 10th, 2014 we had our final concert of the year – our annual spring concert at the Rozsa Centre. This year, our theme was Songs of the Cinema, and we paid musical tribute to all of our favourite music from movies! Featuring music from The Lord Of The Rings, The Lion King,…

  • Songs Of The Cinema: How Film Orchestras Work

    In preparation for our upcoming concert, Songs of the Cinema on May 10th 2014, we are starting a blog series of the same name, which will focus on a different aspect of ‘movie music’ each week!   A film orchestra is a very specialized type of ensemble musical group. For the most part, orchestras that have been…

  • Songs Of The Cinema: The Role of Music in Movies

    In preparation for our upcoming concert, Songs of the Cinema on May 10th 2014, we are starting a blog series of the same name, which will focus on a different aspect of ‘movie music’ each week!   Music plays an important, and often essential role in creating the appropriate atmosphere in a movie. The score of a…

  • Songs Of The Cinema: Famous Film Composers

    In preparation for our upcoming concert, Songs of the Cinema on May 10th 2014, we are starting a blog series of the same name, which will focus on a different aspect of ‘movie music’ each week! With the advent of sound in cinema, composers became of paramount importance in establishing the mood of the movie. Their work…

  • Songs Of The Cinema: Movie Musicals

    In preparation for our upcoming concert, Songs of the Cinema on May 10th 2014, we are starting a blog series of the same name, which will focus on a different aspect of ‘movie music’ each week!   Movie musicals are a genre of film, and were a natural extension of theatrical musicals, when audio technology advanced to…

  • Songs Of The Cinema: A History of Sound In Film

    In preparation for our upcoming concert, Songs of the Cinema on May 10th 2014, we are starting a blog series of the same name, which will focus on a different aspect of ‘movie music’ each week!   Motion pictures have been around for over a century, but sound was first introduced to motion pictures in…

  • The Benefits of Learning Music Aurally

    Often, when we’re learning music in choir, we receive sheet music, and learn the piece by reading the essential information contained in that sheet music. While learning to read music is a vital part of being a good musician, there are also several benefits from learning music aurally.   Learning music aurally is often referred…

  • 3 Techniques To Memorize Music

    All musicians must memorize music at some point in their careers, and singers have an extra bit of work to do when it comes to memorizing music, because there is the added layer of text that needs to be memorized. #1. Repetition: This seems quite basic, but one of the best techniques for memorizing music…

  • Singing For The Joy Of It: A History Of Our Motto

    Singing For the Joy Of It is the motto of the Calgary Children’s Choir, and has been for the past 27 years! We asked Rosemarie Sherban, the choir founder, how she came up with the choir’s powerful and meaningful motto, what the motto means to her, and if the choir is still living up to…

  • Folk Concert 2014 – Cantar! Concert Roundup

    On Saturday evening, we had our annual Folk Music Concert. This year, in honour of our tour last summer to Spain, we featured Spanish folk songs! We were thrilled to have Anastassiia Moussatova perform some amazing flamenco dance for us, and we were also very excited to have Brent Van Dusen on percussion, Michael Boyle…

  • Flamenco Guitar

    Continuing our posts about Spanish music, and in particular the Flamenco style from the Andalusian region, in today’s post we will be looking at the flamenco guitar!   The Flamenco guitar is quite similar to a classical guitar, in its structure, and sound. There are subtle differences, however, including the use of lighter woods than…