Summary: Eighty voices came together as one as the Wayne Center for the Arts Childrens Chorus presented its spring concert.
For the 80 members of the Wayne Center for the Arts Childrens Chorus program, the end of the school year means the 2010-2011 chorus year has come to a close.
The students presented a fitting finale to another successful chorus year when the Wayne Center for the Arts and the Tri-County Educational Service Center held their annual Childrens Chorus spring concert on May 1 at McGaw Chapel on the College of Woosters campus.
Preparations for the final concert of the 2010-2011 chorus year actually began last spring when second through eighth grade students from throughout the area auditioned for a spot in the three choirs that comprise one of the areas most unique progressive vocal music programs.
After the selection process was completed in May, the choir directors began the process of selecting music specifically designed to teach the students the important music training and performance skills they need to progress through the program.
As the audience took their seats and the lights were lowered in McGaw Chapel, family members experienced firsthand the growth the participants experience during their time in this very special advanced choral music training program.
Leading off the concert was the programs youngest participants, the members of the Cantare Chorus.
The group, which performs under the direction of Megan Routh and Laura Schantz, is comprised of second and third grade students.
Routh and Schantz selected four pieces to showcase the musical skills and performance procedures the members of the chorus have learned during the school year including the classic spiritual Let it Shine and the traditional Japanese melody Hotaru Koi.
Next to take the stage was the Cantabile Chorus, which performs under the direction of Suzanne Feltner and Geoffrey Zimmerly.
The Cantabile Chorus, which is the apprentice chorus for students in grades four through eight, presented pieces designed to show the note and score reading, vocal production and ear training skills they have perfected during their time in the chorus.
The five pieces selected by Zimmerly and Feltner took the audience on a trip around the world as the group presented folk songs from Liberia and Scotland and a traditional Latin song entitled Dona Nobis Pacem.
Before coming together as a combined chorus, the elite Bel Canto Chorus, which is comprised of select students in grades six through nine, performed four challenging pieces including the rhythmically complex Las Amarillas by Stephen Hatfield.
Joining the chorus, which performs under the direction of Toni Arnold Shreve and Assistant Director Elizabeth Nevola, were soloists Claire Lewis and Brian Fancher of the College of Wooster, who performed portions of Leonard Bernsteins Mass, which was commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The Bel Canto Chorus also bid farewell to four freshmen – Kelsey Lehtomaki, Laura Long, Stephanie Haught and Brooke Courtemanche – who graduate from the Childrens Chorus program this year. The graduating freshmen were the featured performers in the chorus presentation of Sally Albrect and Jay Althouses Just a Single Voice.
As another chorus year comes to a close, preparations for the coming year are already underway.
Auditions for the 2011-2012 Wayne Center for the Arts Childrens Chorus are scheduled for May 16, 17 and 23. Students currently in grades one through eight are eligible to audition for the program. To schedule an audition or obtain an audition package, contact the Wayne Center for the Arts.
For more information on the Wayne Center for the Arts Childrens Chorus program call the Wayne Center for the Arts at 330-264-2787 or visit their web site at www.wayneartscenter.org.
