March 16, 2019 at 7:00pm. – Tickets Now Available
Purchase yours here!
Category: Concert
-
Calgary Children’s Choir Presents Bach to Bethlehem
We are super excited to announce our Christmas concert, Bach to Bethlehem!
Tickets will be a hot commodity so be sure to purchase yours here!
-
2018 Fall Choir Camp
This year’s camp was yet another success!
Choristers showed up at Camp Horizon buzzing about the weekend to come and were already looking forward to Skit Night, campfire songs and all the other activities camp has to offer.
After the first night of icebreaker games, the real “work” began.The first full day at camp was a mix of choir rehearsal time and regular camp activities like capture the flag and practice time and arts and crafts. All this rehearsing and running around, however, did little to tire the campers out for skit night. Campers were sorted into teams and were tasked with creating a Bach themed skit. (We think the choir should look into musical theater based on what we saw.) Every group pulled off some very unique plays that thrilled chaperons and choir members alike.
After the skits were concluded, the group huddled around the campfire singing everything from old repertoire to call and repeat songs under the stars as dusk turned into night. Little ones were sent to bed group by group and soon everyone was back in their cabins dreaming of the popcorn fairy.
The next morning was a whirlwind of rehearsals in preparation for the day’s concert for the parents. After a successful concert, it was time to collect compliment envelops and head home!We are certainly looking forward to winter camp this January and even more forward to our first concert of the year, our Christmas concert on December 8th.
See you there!
-
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 as storytellers:
#1. Compassion:
It’s essential for singers to be compassionate, because they are often telling stories of lives they haven’t lived. Conveying the experiences of others, especially when you have not shared those experiences yourself, requires a maturity, and a deep sense of empathy. Shifting your personal perspective to allow for the ideas and opinions of others to receive equal weight is an important aspect of the singer as a storyteller, especially since the stories singers are telling can be hundreds of years old; from a different time, and place.#2. Narrative:
Telling a story that is sung requires both a compelling understanding of the text, but an even deeper understanding of how to use the music, and the human voice to convey all meanings of that text. A singer must use dynamics, tempo, inflection, enunciation, and emphasis to help them weave the text with the music to convey the true narrative.#3. Community:
The best stories are the ones that truly resonate with a large group of people. Shared experiences shape our sense of community, and help us determine what holds shard meaning for us. Singers don’t necessarily need to have a community already, but they do need to consider the creation of one as they sing – including everyone, being open and honest, and sometimes vulnerable. Singers must be considerate of how their story will impact others; not everyone reacts to a story in the same way. Creating a safe space for storytelling through community is an important job.What else must singers consider as storytellers? Tell us in the comments below!
-
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 time for the choristers to bond, and for us to do some good hard work on our music together! We love camp!
Annual Concert:
Our annual concert will be held on Saturday, March 10th, 2018 at the Rozsa Centre! More details about the concert coming soon!
Annual Spring Concert:
Our annual spring concert will be held on Saturday May 12th, 2018 at the Rozsa Centre! More details about the concert coming soon!
*We will also have a few other events upcoming – look for more information in our emails, and on our social accounts!
-
‘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 Youth Choir playing handbells!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvzvT8FsDbs
Centered around the heart-warming holiday story, ‘Johann’s Gift to Christmas’, we performed many songs of the season, as well as popular Christmas carols which we sang with the audience!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f93LWobQeeE
Our Christmas concert is always one of our favourite performances of the year – it always gets us in the holiday spirit!
*All photos and video taken by Heather Louden
We’d love to know – what was your favourite part of the concert? Tell us in the comments below!
-
The Sounds of Silence
Choir, and music in general is all about how to organize sound, so it seems incongruous to discuss the importance of silence in singing. But silence is an exceptionally important aspect of music, and here are three reasons why:
#1. Audience:
In classical settings, unlike more popular music concerts, the audience is expected to be quiet while the musicians are performing. This is so that everyone has the same opportunity to hear the subtleties and nuances of the music, so the musicians are not distracted by unnecessary noise, and because classical musicians rarely use electronic amplification.#2. Applause:
Applause is generally the way an audience shows appreciation for the music they’ve just heard, but in some cultures, the audience expresses their appreciation through silence. This stems from the belief that applause interrupts the mood the music has just created. Applause is also often not used for music performed in religious ceremonies, or music that is part of a larger multi-movement work.#3. Enhancement:
Within the music itself there can be silence as well. For a choir, the effect of singing acapella (without accompaniment) creates a feeling of greater intimacy with the audience. The composer can often use rests and pauses to great effect – using sudden silences as punctuation, or to enhance the emotional aspect of a given performance.
Listen to the emotional, and musical effect of small pauses between each phrase in our performance of ‘All Too Soon’:How else can silence be important to music? Tell us in the comments below!
-
Welcome To 2016!
We’re very excited to begin the second half of our 2016 singing season!
Coming up on February 27th, 2016, we have a very special mass choir and orchestral performance. We will be performing two works by Karl Jenkins, In These Stones Horizons Sing, and Requiem.
We are inviting any parents, friends, and our CCC alumni to join us at this mass choir concert! No choral experience is necessary – just a love of music and a willingness to try! You can join the CCC/CYC rehearsals on Tuesday, 4:45-8:00pm, or the St. Giles rehearsal on Thursdays 7:30-9:00pm. There will be two important dress rehearsals for this concert:
Saturday February 20th at Crescent Heights Baptist 9:30-12:30
Saturday February 27th at the Rozsa Centre 9:30-12:30Coming up on May 14th, 2016, we will have our annual Spring Concert! Stay tuned for more information as these concerts approach!
What are you most looking forward to in 2016? Tell us in the comments below!
-
A Child’s Carol 2015 – Concert Roundup!
I think that even more important than singing well, is the camaraderie and sense of ensemble that our choristers bring to every rehearsal and performance event. The performing comes out of a deep respect and love for the music and each other. This is what is rewarding for me, in the experience of a concert, and every rehearsal.One of our choristers remarked that our program reflected the progression through Christmas eve to Christmas day – and in looking at it, she was right, although I hadn’t noticed. As she characterized it, we began with early Christmas Eve – with celebration and caroling songs, such as Gatatumba (Spanish), and Caroling, Caroling (a Nat King Cole classic). From there, we sang Lullabies: Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre, and Lullaby by Billy Joel. Then we entered the deepest part of winter (or evening) with songs about dark, cold and lonely winters/nights, such as Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winters’ Night, and then entered the morning with three versions of Sunny Bank – the one by Eleanor Daley was a personal favourite.
Our junior choir, conducted by Esther Woelfle, sang three contrasting pieces that were polished; with dynamic contrast, beautiful head tone, and clear words. They added some claps and swaying, and received rousing applause for their efforts.
The Chandler Zawalykut Scholarship was awarded to the very deserving Josh Carr this year.
Working with these kids, for me, is like working with professionals. They know where they need to be, they know their music, they are respectful of others on stage, and they perform with artistic integrity. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather have been than onstage with the Calgary Children’s Choir on Saturday night.
– Marni Strome, Artistic Director
(The photo is of the Calgary Youth Choir….. small yet mighty ! 12 dedicated and intelligent singers having a moment of levity before the concert)
What was your favourite part of the concert? Tell us in the comments below!
-
Spring Concert 2015 Roundup!
On Sunday, May 24th, in the afternoon, we had our final concert of the year; Madrigals and More, featuring the HeeBee-jeebees, and the Edmonton Young Voices choir.
The Rozsa Centre was decorated with a spring theme, featuring lovely maypoles designed by our Creative Consultant, Kat Long. We were thrilled to end our 2014-2015 singing on such a high note (pun intended), singing such pieces as Adiamus, Frobisher Bay, Sing We and Chant It and more!
What was your favourite part of the concert? Tell us in the comments below!
Thank-you to our wonderful CCC community for a fantastic 2014-2015 singing season! Please check back at the end of June for our Tour Blog, as we travel to Ottawa to participate in the Unisong Choral Festival!
-
The Value Of Not Performing
The Calgary Children’s Choir has three major performances a year; our Christmas concert, our Folk Concert, and our Spring concert. Sometimes we’ll have other singing engagements sprinkled in as well. Much of the music that we learn throughout the year is chosen for one of those concerts, but sometimes we learn music without having a specific performance in mind. There are several reasons why we find value in learning music that is not for performance:
Practical Elements:
Often we learn a piece of music to demonstrate a certain aspect of music to our choristers. This could be anything from multi-part harmonies, to great vocal leaps, appropriate breathing techniques, or poignant text. What our choristers take from a piece of music should be from our rehearsals and exercises, our workshops and the practice they might do at home. A piece of repertoire is a valuable way to provide an example of a musical technique, but that doesn’t mean that we have to perform that piece.Music For Its Own Sake:
While it is wonderful to perform, we shouldn’t think of music as valuable only in the context of performance. Much of what makes learning music so amazing – the self-discipline, the hard work, the hours of practice, are all aspects that are not readily seen in a performance. It is important that we teach our choristers that learning music is important because music itself is important, and not just the act of performing music.Do you think every piece you learn needs to be performed? Tell us in the comments below!
-
Folk Concert 2015 – ‘Home’ Roundup!
On Sunday afternoon, March 1st 2015, the Calgary Children’s Choir performed at our annual Folk Music concert at the Rozsa Centre. The theme of this year’s Folk Concert, was ‘Home’, and our concert was emceed by our talented Creative Consultant, Kat Long-Jones. Our concert featured artwork made by the choristers at our recent Winter Retreat, and embody the choristers’ vision of ‘Home’. A big thanks to our Artist in Residence during our Winter Retreat, Lisa Hodgkinson who helped us with this beautiful project.
We sang a variety of different pieces that encapsulated our ideas of ‘Home’, and different perspective on that theme, including: Hey Ho, Nobody’s Home, Almost Home, 900 Miles, and Woodsmoke and Oranges.
It was a wonderful concert, and a great way to celebrate all the different perspectives on ‘Home’! Thank-you to everyone who came out to see our concert!
What was your favourite part of the concert? Tell us in the comments below!
-
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 to present the Chandler Zawalykut scholarship to longtime member, Chantel Witherly!
Check out these photos from the concert!
What was your favourite part of the Christmas concert? Tell us in the comments below!
The Calgary Children’s Choir wishes you all a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holiday! We’ll see you all in the New Year!
