Category: Music
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Math and Science In Music – Sound Waves
Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. Sound Waves The way…
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Math and Science in Music – Time Signatures
Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. TIME SIGNATURES Time signatures…
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3 Ways In Which Singing Makes You More Independent
Here are three ways in which singing can make you more independent: #1. Uncertainty: Because of the transitive nature of music, and performance, musicians must become comfortable with uncertainty. A performance will never be perfect; a piece never played the same way twice. In music, there are no absolutes, and musicians are experts at accepting…
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Joy In Singing
Singing has been shown to be beneficial in various ways; it improves breathing, circulation, enhances cognitive abilities, and lowers stress levels. But one of the best outcomes of singing, and particularly singing in a group is the joy and happiness #1. Good music: Music has the ability to make us feel a myriad of different…
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Welcome to our 2015-2016 Singing Season!
Welcome to another wonderful, musical year with the CCC! We have an exciting year lined up, with some new changes in place as our program grows and changes: – The Music Makers program has expanded to include two levels: Music Makers Level 1 is for ages 3 & 4 and is offered on Thursday from…
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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…
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Introduction To Madrigals
Our upcoming Spring Concert on May 24th, 2015 is called Madrigals and More, and unsurprisingly, will feature a type of music known as madrigals! Madrigals are a type of music that became popular during the Renaissance period. A madrigal is usually a secular vocal piece of music, often unaccompanied by instruments. These types of songs…
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Ottawa 2015 Tour Shirts!
The Calgary Children’s Choir is very lucky to have a wonderful artist as part of our staff. Our Creative Consultant, Kat Long-Jones, recently created three new t-shirt designs for the choir to wear on our upcoming tour to the Unisong Choral Festival this summer! Kat designed these three t-shirts to be something the choristers would…
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Singing and Sports
As our Calgary Flames play in the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, it seemed like a great time to write a post about two distinct aspects of our popular culture that may seem incongruous, but are in fact closely aligned – sports and singing! Anthems: Anthems are extremely prevalent at sporting events.…
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Vulnerability In Singing
Music strikes an interesting balance between being an art form and a discipline. It is a difficult process to learn the intricacies of music; understanding the mathematical principles behind music concepts such as time signatures, intervals, and chord progressions. But it is equally difficult to learn how to approach music as an art form; learning…
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Multiple Parts VS Unison
There are many different ways to sing as part of an ensemble, as we discussed in our blog post A Brief History of Choral Music. When people sing the same part at the same time, it is called Unison singing. When people sing in multiple parts it can be homophonic music – when the voices move…
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A Brief History Of Choral Music
People have been singing together for as long as we have kept recorded history. The history of Western choral music as we know it today had its origins in sacred music. Gregorian chant was commonly used in churches as a form of worship. Monks would sing the passages in unison, blending their voices to create…
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4 Ways In Which Singing In A Choir Increases Your Confidence
Musicians often have a healthy dose of confidence. It comes from the self-discipline, self-awareness, and sheer amount of practice that is a part of the process of learning music. Here are four ways in which singing in a choir can increase your confidence: #1. Conductor: Despite the myriad of jokes about what exactly a conductor’s…
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Three Reasons Why You Should Sing Every Day
For many of us, singing is already a big part of our lives; we have choir rehearsals, workshops and concerts. But singing on a daily basis, even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time has several impressive benefits: #1. Stamina: As with any muscle, the more you work out your voice, the…
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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,…
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5 Ways In Which Singing Makes You More Creative
#1. Awareness: A singer’s instrument is different from other instruments, because it is contained within a singer’s body. This means that singers have to have an excellent awareness of their own body, and they need to visualize their voice in a way that other musicians don’t have to. The inability to see one’s instrument allows…
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Winter Retreat 2015 Roundup!
On the weekend of January 30th, to February 1st, the Calgary Children’s Choir went up to Camp Horizon in Bragg Creek for our first ever Winter Retreat! The weekend was absolutely magnificent! Friday January 30th – We arrived at camp in the evening and where excited to begin! We played a really fun-and competitive game…
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Singing Spaces
The best kind of music is influenced by small, seemingly insignificant elements. Where the musicians stand or sit, how well they watch their conductor, the way in which they listen to the other performers. One of these subtle elements, is the space in which a musician performs. A ‘live’ space, is one in which…
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The 5 Best Music Apps For Singers
Apps have become prevalent with our use of technology, and they can be highly beneficial for singers on the go. There are a myriad of excellent resources available for musicians at the touch of a finger, but here are 5 apps that we think are some of the best for singers. YouTube: (available for iOS and…
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3 Ways Singers Can Manage Illness
Getting sick at some point during the singing season is inevitable, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that a singer is completely out of commission. Here are three ways that singers can manage illness: #1. Be proactive: The best thing a singer can do is to prevent themselves from getting sick by being proactive. This can…
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The Benefits of Singing With An Orchestra
The Calgary Children’s Choir has been very fortunate over the years to have performed with a variety of musicians both locally and internationally. It is of the utmost benefit to young minds to be as exposed to as many kinds of performances as possible. From our concerts with local musicians, to our yearly participation…
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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…
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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…
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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…