Getting Vocal

What We're Up To: Reflecting on MLK

2012-02-13T16:32:00.009-05:00

By: Olivia Duvall, Concert Choir
Olivia has been in BCC for two years. She is 12 years old.

The year before I joined BCC, I went to the MLK concert to see what BCC was like. I was engaged the entire time, which is pretty impressive considering I was only 8 or 9 years old. Each year since that I have been engaged for the duration of the concert! This year was no exception, but in quite a different way because I got to perform!

During down time and meals, I had a great time with my friends, and participating in the concert was very fun, too. My favorite piece was definitely "Horizons." Watching PC and YME sing it was simply magical, and being able to perform alongside them was an honor. Though there was a lot of time where we were not singing, we still had to be professional the entire time, which was hard. But all of our hard work paid off in the end, and we produced an amazing concert once again! I am honored to be part of an organization that can create such magical times such as the MLK concert.

By: Madeline Mechem, Concert Choir
Maddie has been in BCC for 5 years. She is 16 years old.

The weekend leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of the busiest for the Boston Children’s Chorus. This year, which was the 9th concert at Jordan Hall, was the first in which my choir, Concert Choir, was performing onstage. Last year was the first MLK concert we performed in, though we only played minor parts in the aisles.

Concert Choir’s MLK weekend starts the Friday before, at Temple Israel in Boston. Every year, Temple Israel has a special Shabbat service in honor of Dr. King, and CC has performed there for several years. Our set lists always include a piece in Hebrew and any songs from our repertoire that seem relevant. This year, we sang Let the Heavens Be Glad (alongside the Temple Israel Choir), Climbin’ Up The Mountain Children and Stand Together. With the congregation, we sang Havah Nashira and, in a blast from last year, Oseh Shalom, which brought back memories for those who were in last year’s CC. The Temple Israel MLK Shabbat is always really fun, because it is really centered on music. At one point in the service, members of the synagogue will pass out instruments to the audience, which includes Concert Choir, and everyone who has an instrument will bang on it or shake it in tempo with the music that is playing. Also, everyone at Temple Israel is so nice, and they must like us, since they keep inviting us back every year.

Two days later, Concert Choir, along with Premier Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble, came to Jordan Hall. We arrived around 12 pm, so that we could attend a class held by American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle who was this year’s celebrity guest. Ms. Doolittle is an amazing person and a great singer. She told us her story, how she became interested in music, how she wound up on American Idol. Then, she took about half an hour, probably more, and listened to representatives from each of the three choirs sing, after which, she would give them tips on how they could take that song from ‘awesome’ to ‘extraordinary.’ CC only had one representative, which was Madison King-Gianno (Maddi). She sang Someone Like You by Adele, and did a great job. Other performers were Alana (PC) and Marlon Matthews (YME)and Khamari Barnes (YME). There were about twenty or so people who went up on that stage, and all of them did spectacularly.

After the class, we all went into rehearsal. After warm-ups, CC stayed in the rehearsal area with our conductor, Mrs. Adams, until it was time to go into the hall. For those who haven’t been there, Jordan hall is a huge space, with gilded décor, a huge stage, and a gigantic balcony. CC’s rehearsal was pretty short, since we only had four songs to sing. The opening song, which we were onstage for, was the National Anthem as arranged (re-written) by Anthony Trecek-King (conductor of PC/YME and Artistic Director of BCC). Then we went offstage, and half of us, including myself, went up to the balcony, while the rest stayed on the ground floor. From these positions, we went into the hall and added sound effects to an a capella piece called Horizons. In this piece, we were humming and singing at certain parts, trying to add an eerie effect to the piece. After Horizons, those of us in the balcony went downstairs and waited by the doors for the next song, which came five or six songs later. This song, I’ll Fly Away, was performed in a sort of bluegrass-country style, and CC’s job was to come in through the doors on the last chorus, smiling and dancing and singing, trying to get the audience involved.

For the last song we rehearsed, we came in singing the last chorus, trying to get the audience engaged. The song, I Go To The Rock, done a sort of blues-jazz-soft rock style, was sung alongside Melinda Doolittle, who opened the song with Rock of Ages. This song was actually sung twice during the concert, once in the middle without us, and once as a reprise where we actually did come in.

MLK day finally came, and everyone in Jordan hall was running around, looking busy. There were two mostly full houses to seat, three choirs to feed, 150 people to coordinate, and someone (me) left their uniform at home. Once everything got settled, and everyone was in place, the show began. There were two concerts, and both went about the same way. Concert Choir opened, and the National Anthem sounded really cool the way it was arranged in a three part harmony. It also sounded better than it had in rehearsal, when it was almost perfect. Horizons was mysteriously pretty, with great harmonies, and the “mists” of Concert Choir did their job nicely. The other two pieces were fun, and they sounded great. Ms. Doolittle was engaging as a host and amazing as a performer. PC and YME sounded fantastic, and no one smashed the door into my face while I was listening through the cracks next to the hinges. All in all, it was just another great MLK concert, one that I hope CC can repeat next year.

Concert Choir Performs for STING!

2011-11-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

By: Olivia Dundon-Duvall, Concert Choir
Olivia has been in BCC for 2 years. She is 12 years old.
Last Thursday, Concert Choir’s Red Choir had the wonderful opportunity to perform at the UNICEF Children’s Champion Award Dinner. Before attending this event, I was thinking along the lines of: Another concert, more music, more work! But when I got there, this place struck me as different. The guests of honor were Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. One of my fellow choir members made sure that they got a BCC CD! After and hour or so of practice downstairs, we finally got to go perform! The rooms where the dinner was being held were enormous, and I so was excited just to be there. When we got onto the stage, I couldn’t help but notice the huge jumbo-tron behind us. It was catching our every move, which was both awesome and scary at the same time. It made us sure to be professional and engaged all the time, and I think it might have even improved our performance!

Our first piece was “Climbin’ Up the Mountain, Children!”, which is a traditional African-American spiritual arranged by Rollo Dilworth. To me, this song is about climbing the “mountain” to heaven and moving forward in life. It’s an upbeat piece, and it was very fun to perform. The audience seemed engaged, too. Our second and final piece was entitled “Stand Together” and was written by (the one and only) Jim Papoulis. Some lyrics of “Stand Together” are:

“Stand alone, see the rain that’s falling down below where I’m reaching
Joining hands slowly takes us to a place we all can believe in
Side by side we could be growing hopes and dreams
If we stand together, we will sing forever of the dreams growing in our hearts
If we stand together, we will see forever, side by side, hope will find a way to our hearts”

These lyrics really outline an idealistic world. Before we performed it, this song didn’t really mean... well... anything to me. But these powerful words took on a whole new meaning when I saw the audience’s reaction. It brought me to tears to see these wonderful people genuinely touched by our voices. I hope every concert that we perform touches the audience as well as us like this one did.

Concert Choir Singing at Sanders Theatre

2011-10-25T12:35:00.005-04:00

By: Chloe DeMello, Concert Choir
Chloe has been in BCC for 3 years. She is 12 years old.

Recently, the Concert Choir sang Kaddish Symphony by Leonard Berstein at Sanders Theater in Cambridge. The performance was a collaboration with the Boston Conservatory Orchestra. Hearing the orchestra play 2 other pieces before our piece made me get pumped! Sanders Theater is a beautiful place, and the hall where we performed was probably the prettiest place I have ever seen in my life.

Singing there made me feel more professional than ever before, because we were performing with a professional orchestra, the piece is much longer than a typical piece at BCC (the whole score was literally 115 pages!), and we even had extra rehearsals at Boston Conservatory the week before the concert. It made feel way more grown up than ever.

The piece was enormously long -- at least 20 minutes long -- and had crazy time signatures, like 7/8 and 3/8. At first when we received the piece on the first day I thought, “How are we supposed to learn this?!?” Once Mrs. Adams showed us how 7/8 was counted it was a little easier, but still hard. All-in-all, great experience for me.

Concert Choir has done pieces with Boston Conservatory before, but this is my first year in this particular group, so it was great to experience this for my first time!

What We're Up To: Paying Tribute the Best Way We Can

2011-09-15T10:23:00.002-04:00

Editor's Note: Today we are sharing two blog posts about our singers' experience at the Massachusetts Remembers 9-11 Commemoration. BCC was a featured performer at the event. More information can be found on our website.

By Isabel Koyama, Premier Choir
Isabel has been in BCC for 9 years. She is sixteen years old.

Sunday was the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and appropriately, BCC was there as a musical voice of Boston to bring hope to a confused yet reflective city. It was a hot day, and we wore our black uniforms, which didn't make the heat any easier. But just as we did in Jordan three years ago, we tolerated the heat like true professionals! Although we were shaded by the arched Hatch Shell, I sat near the end of my row, right where the sun decided to shine only on my seat. But even through the baking penetration of the sun, I could not have been more glad to sit through the event from the stage. From my seat I watched the Pops play patriotic songs, and Deval Patrick offer reflection. I watched people of all different religions unite in one prayer. I watched a black female vocalist sing from her soul. I heard the family members of victims tell inspiring stories of how they have overcome the unconscionable death of their loved ones ten years ago.

BCC singers perform with the Boston Pops Brass Ensemble at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade

In preparing for our first concert, we practiced songs such as "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and "This is my Song." My first impression of these songs bordered on disgust -- they were so predictably corny. Everything about them was sappy and cliche. But after hearing the speakers I looked at the lyrics to "This is my Song" with a new outlook:

"My country's skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine"

I considered these words as I sang them, how they can bring hope to victims' families in a time when they are brought back to hopelessness; how much it must mean to them that I am singing this song. I thought about the beautiful idea of equity behind this verse - We spend so much time trying to protect what is labeled ours, but in actuality we all live under the same sky. Anyone should be able to look up and see a beautiful, refreshing blue sky above them. Yet war and violence can, metaphorically and literally, turn a blue sky gray.

As I pondered these lyrics I began to sing not for myself, but for them. And by "them" I mean the victims, the victims' families, or any person in the world who is victimized. I felt myself beginning to tear up from the lyrics that I had scoffed at the day before.

In my 9 years of participating in BCC, I have heard our mission statement hundreds of times. It is important to me to interpret it and try to make meaning from it. On Sunday, I felt that our mission, for me, was accomplished. It was accomplished by using music to bring hope to the city of Boston when it needed it most. Through song we exemplified compassion, understanding, unity, and humility; and even if this message of understanding was only internalized by one audience member it was still worth it. BCC was a shoulder for Bostonians to lean on; and if that isn't social change, I don't know what is.

By Allana Matthews, Premier Choir
Allana has been in BCC for nine years. She is seventeen years old.

On Sunday, we had the wonderful opportunity to sing with the Boston Pops for the ten-year anniversary of the tragic event that shook our nation on September 11, 2001. Premier Choir and Young Men’s Ensemble lifted their voices in song, singing patriotic songs as well as songs of hope. Although 9-11 is not a happy day, our music sang to the souls of the fallen, and spoke hope and encouragement for the future to their families.

To be part of such an amazing event was very rewarding. It was an opportunity to reflect on the mission of the Boston Children’s Chorus - we harness the power of music as a catalyst for social change, and that is exactly what we did on the stage at the Esplanade. Ten years ago, there was a terrorist attack against our nation that screamed hate. It was in this time that our nation joined together to promote peace, and spread a beacon of courage, hope and strength for the future. It didn’t matter what the race, the religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background or economic status- we ALL needed one another in that sad time.

On that stage, that is what we stood for. Singing for peace and love, and using music to spread the message of a world without hate.

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace” – John Lennon

UK Tour Wrap-Up

2011-08-04T14:13:00.012-04:00

By: Marlon Matthews, Young Men's Ensemble
Marlon has been in BCC for 8 years. He is 15 years old.

The tour to the United Kingdom was the 7th annual tour of the Boston Children's Chorus, and our 4th international trip. It was unlike any of the previous three international trips to Japan, Mexico, and Jordan because the culture shock was more subtle. Many things we saw in the UK (except castle ruins and double-decker buses) are also in the U.S. What really struck a lot of the choir members were the little things, like how much lower the overall noise level is, how the sun was only down for about four hours, or how the rat race mentality of the US seems to have had no effect on the UK. Everything over there still ran smoothly and with efficiency, but the manner in which people got work done was as if they weren't working at all!

Marlon wants YOU to read his blog post!

However, the tour still shared its similarities with previous tours. On every tour that I can remember we have collaborated with other groups that use some form of music to create social change. During the tour to the UK we collaborated with even more groups that usual, including three choruses, one orchestra, and a rap group. The rap group was named IGNITE and I think it's safe to say that their message hit closest to home among the three groups we met. IGNITE is a group that was formed to break down the walls of separation between communities that may have tension due to gangs other social problems through rap and other musical styles. The other four groups we collaborated with, the children's choruses and orchestral school, didn't have the same mission we did entirely, but their music was beautiful.

This tour gave us the opportunity to stand out as leaders because, nearly everywhere we went, we had the opportunity to teach our new friends a song or two. I realized that, although Premier Choir and Young Men's Ensemble graduated 14 seniors this year, it does not mean we are going downhill - there are lots of new leaders prepared to step up to the plate! That was especially obvious when we were doing workshops for younger kids, which we did in addition to our collaborations.

Another similarity that this tour shared with all those before it is that it was a great time for bonding. Tour is a great opportunity to form and nurture relationships. When we are put in this situation, far from our families and our homes, singers understand that we are truly a family, and that family sticks together. This goes for everyone: staff, students, old singers, and new. BCC is a great place to make friends, but it's easiest to get to know the people that are sitting near you during rehearsal, especially since we don't have too many formal social events during the year.

Tour is the best time for people in the same choir to branch out and get to know other people, and even cross over the line and get to know the singers that they don't know well in the other choir. Personally, I got to know a lot of the girls in PC that I would not have otherwise. I saw some guys I haven't seen say more than a word all year sitting in a group of guys and girls and talking as if they'd known each other for years!

Stay tuned...until next year's tour! If you want to see more photos make sure to look at the slideshow on our website!

UK Tour Days 11 & 12

2011-07-25T10:07:00.000-04:00

By: Allana Matthews, Premier Choir
Allana has been in BCC for six years. She is 17 years old.

On Day 11 we had a wonderful tour around London. We were able to see Buckingham Palace as well as London Bridge and the Big Ben. We also had some excitement about the new Harry Potter Premier!! Before a very special luncheon, we were able to go to an art museum (the Tate Modern) and it was very interesting.

The group in front of London Bridge

As a tradition, we always have a last, formal meal together in honor of our seniors. This year it was a little wet. There was torrential downpour and no one was happy about the weather, but as usual, BCC made the best of it! We enjoyed a nice sit-down meal at the Azarro Restaurant.

Later on the night, we were able to hear the wonderful sounds of the St. Paul's Girls School Orchestra as well as their chorus. That night was by far the toughest and most emotional night of tour; it was the last concert that the seniors of 2011 would ever be apart of. As we began to sing our signature song, Up to the Mountain, composed by our former teaching fellow Whitney Simmons, almost every singer was in tears. As we sadly say good-bye to fourteen of our beloved singers, that last song was our way of telling them, "Good luck" and "We love you all". We ended the night with a collaboration of both choirs singing I Vow to Thee My Country.

Frank the Bus Driver

On the morning of Day 12, our host families dropped us off at St. Paul's Girls School, and we were homeward bound! Before going to the airport, we went to the Windsor Castle. It was a gorgeous final stop! Once we arrived at the airport, we were sad to have to part ways with our wonderful guide, Dave, and and our fantastic bus driver, Frank. Thank you so much Dave and Frank for allowing us to have an amazing tour of the United Kingdom. Thank you also to all the wonderful staff that made tour possible. We can't wait for next season! :)

UK Tour Day 10

2011-07-25T09:23:00.001-04:00

By: Zoe Blickenderfer, Premier Choir

Zoe has been in BCC for 5 years. She is 17 years old.

On our tenth day of tour, after packing and eating breakfast at the hotel we left Birmingham and headed to London.

After being on the bus for a couple of hours we arrived at Uxbridge High School in West London. We were there as part of a collaboration with Teach First (which is a lot like Teach for America) and we got to split up into groups to have a sort of exchange with the kids (the name high school might bring images of teenagers, but we worked with their youngest students ages 11 and 12). We split up into three groups: PC had two groups of girls, and Young Men’s had all of the boys. In my group, after introducing ourselves, we decided to teach them We Are Together, which is a simple, but very rewarding and heartwarming song. Some girls even joined Allana on the solo part. We then taught them a song that many of them already knew: Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” However, when we worked with Depot Arts in Glasgow earlier on the trip we learned other parts to make the song even better! After our teaching session we went back into the large room that we started in and shared with the other groups. First, the boys started off with a beautiful rendition of Meguru, and then the two groups of girls sang We Are Together. Finally, everybody jumped in for Rolling in the Deep. It was a really great experience to get to teach music, and really gave me an insight into how difficult it must be for music teachers!

After we said goodbye to Uxbridge High, we ate our lunches on the bus as we headed to the BBC studios to see a rehearsal of the BBC singers! Not only was it wonderful that we got to see them rehearse, but we got such a warm welcome! Their producer was very kind and even gave us some BBC pencils and postcards! The rehearsal was exceptional, and their professionalism and talent was phenomenal and definitely inspiring for many of us, as it gave us a glimpse into what it would be like to be a professional choral singer. We left on a high note, and were off to our final stop of the day, St. Paul’s Girls’ School, to meet our host families. Getting to have host families is such a great opportunity, especially in a foreign country, because it really allows us to be immersed in the other culture (in this case British culture) to a whole different level than if we were staying in a hotel. Unfortunately, there were not enough hosts for everybody, so a lot of the Young Men had to stay in nearby hotels. All in all it was a very fun and exciting day!!!

UK Tour: Photos from Days 9 and 10

2011-07-07T19:06:00.002-04:00

Casey, here! It's hard to tell whether or not we'll have time and internet access available for singers to write and post entries about the last few days of tour before we arrive home tomorrow, so in the meantime, here are a few photos!

Sammy and Alyssa outside BBC Studios. We got to watch a rehearsal of the BBC Singers -- it was awesome!

The staff!

Green raincoat crew in London!

Mia, Isabel, and Kayla!

Aaron and Maggie sharing the love with Mr. Howse!

Mr. Howse's family group! So cute!

Lydia and Madi at St. Paul's Girl's School before our last concert!

Also we'd like to give a shout out to Liz Strzepa and all of our fabulous alumni! We missed having you on tour and seniors are excited to officially join the BCC alumni network! Thanks for your friendship and support :)

UK Tour Day 9

2011-07-07T18:47:00.002-04:00

By: Danny Howard, Young Men's Ensemble

Danny has been in BCC for two years. He is seventeen years old.

On our last full day staying in Brum (Birmingham), we went to Oxford to visit a few of the colleges in the University. We tried to leave at the ungodly hour of 9AM, but for some odd reason a dozen of our room keys refused to work! After getting a slightly late start, we got on the road and drove about an hour and a half. The trip was smooth enough, and we got to Merton College with enough time to walk to the chapel and quickly set our things down before our informal concert.

Mia and Kennedy posing in the Merton College Chapel

The chapel at Merton College was not grandiose, but was quaint and beautifully decorated. Although everyone was EXHAUSTED, the chapel made us sound a whole lot better than we felt, as the acoustics were perfect. We were all feeling pretty faint of heart after the concert and one of our singers had to leave the stage after "My Soul's Been Anchored," but once we got some food and water in our bodies we were back to being the loud Americans that we are. Almost all of us dedicated our hour of free time wholly to chowing down before our guided tour around Oxford.

SO TASTY!

The tour was enlightening though none of us really wanted to be on a two hour WALKING tour in the rain, and seeing (the outside of) the hall where Harry Potter is filmed was especially interesting to many of our singers. We learned a great deal about the immense history surrounding Oxford, including how the town's people (the towns) and the students (the gowns) had a fight that ended in the death of a student back in 1255! The architecture on the campus was incredible and took my breath away a number of times.

Lots of bonding at dinner time :)

After the tour was over I asked Dave (our guide) where the BEST cream tea was, and after hearing the instructions led a group of 11 to the famed place. After receiving our trays of scone, jam, clotted cream, and English breakfast tea, we sat down and enjoyed one of the most delightful free times of this trip. We were all so satisfied that we sat around smiling and just appreciating each others' company for almost an hour. After the wonderful tea time we went to dinner (which none of the cream tea-ers ate much of), and had more laughs.

Shakespeare's Birthplace!

The group has really meshed and even visiting Shakespeare's birth place and home (which was knocked down a while ago) was fun. We finally got back to our hotel at about 9:15 after a long and exhausting day and had to pack to leave Birmingham for London tomorrow! Everyone is excited, and this tour just continues to get better and better! Hope everyone is doing well back in the states, PEACE!

Arrival Information for Tomorrow

2011-07-07T16:58:00.003-04:00

I know you are all waiting for a new singer post, but unfortunately it's just us here in the office, sharing a reminder that singers will be arriving tomorrow on British Airways flight 215, which is scheduled to arrive in Boston at 7:15 PM local time. They will be arriving at the International Terminal E. Start cooking those favorite American meals!

Also, we'd like to share the following press release from Teach First, a non-profit organization that we collaborated with to do a workshop at Uxbridge High School in England. Here's a link to their press release about the event. Check out its title!

UK Tour Day 8

2011-07-04T18:33:00.002-04:00

By: Meghan Fitton, Premier Choir
Meghan has been in BCC for four years. She is fifteen years old.

Another exciting day for BCC! First off, I'd like to say HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Even though we are in the UK, we have not failed to celebrate this American holiday, and the people here have informed us that they do not hold a grudge! Our day started out at around 7:30 with a yummy breakfast from the hotel. Next, we traveled by bus, singing the whole way, to the Forest Arts Centre where we had a workshop with Forest Arts Centre Youth Chorus.

The Forest Arts Choir -- they were awesome!

We made new friends, and shared our diverse repertoire with each other. We also had a chance to collaborate; PC taught the girls "We Are" and YME taught the few men in Forest Arts chorus our rendition of "Working on the Railroad." But the most memorable moment of our experience there was when everyone belted out "Good Morning Baltimore" from the musical Hairspray! Believe it or not, "Good Morning Baltimore" is in Forest Arts Chorus' regular repertoire -- It was so much fun!

Us performing at the Forest Arts Center. Please note the American flag... Happy Fourth!

After that, we went back to our hotel in Birmingham for some free time of resting, shopping and sightseeing. Our hotel fee Once that time ended, we headed to the CBSO Centre for a joint concert with the CBSO Youth Chorus. They were also a very talented group, and we were fotrunate to sing two pieces with them as well.

YME with Greg Beardshaw, arranger of "Joshua Fit the Battle"

We got to reunite with Simon Halsey and meet the composer of one of our favorite songs "Battle of Jericho," Greg Beadshaw. Today was very successful and even though we weren't in the US we had a great holiday!

Simon Halsey and the CBSO pianist having a moment. They were so fun to work with!

UK Tour Day 7

2011-07-04T18:16:00.001-04:00

By: Jillian Baker, Premier Choir
Jillian has been in BCC for seven years. She is seventeen years old.

Today was a travel day. We left the wonderful Gateshead and traveled for 3 hours to Fountains Abbey, the largest monastic ruins in England. We were exhausted from the busy day before, so many slept for the 3 hour ride, however others (myself included) jammed to Hip-Hop, tunes from Hairspray, and continuous Lady Gaga.

Lookin' glamorous at Fountains Abbey!

Before arriving at the Fountains Abbey, we took a quick stop to pick up lunches to eat there. The Fountains Abbey was absolutely amazing. At the bottom, there were ruins of St. Mary's Church, that slightly resembled the ruins in Jerash that we saw when we toured Jordan in 2009.

The Water Garden -- breathtaking!

It was a nice sunny day, a perfect day to have a picnic on the green grass. As I walked out of the Abbey the path took a slight incline, much like the path out of Petra in Jordan (although it was not nearly as warm) and I felt grateful for how much history BCC has exposed me to through touring.

Some of the wonderful staff -- this one's for you, Bob!

Once our visit to the Abbey was over, we continued to travel 2 more hours to Birmingham. We checked into the Jurys Inn (thank goodness it had elevators unlike our last hotel, because there are at least 15 floors here!) and ate a delicious vegetarian dinner at Cafe Rouge, which was one of the most enjoyable dinners we've had so far on this tour. Overall it was a relaxing day, which we definitely needed because we were so exhausted from days past.

Most of this year's seniors. We are going to miss them so much!!!

UK Tour Day 6

2011-07-04T18:11:00.001-04:00

By: Jen Cox, Premier Choir
Jen has been in BCC for three years. She is seventeen years old.

The Millennium Bridge allowing boats to pass under it by "winking" (flipping on its side!)

Today we had one of the biggest performances of our entire UK tour! We had the great honor to sing with the Quay (pronounced "key") Voices, Lads and Lasses at the Sage, Gateshead. The Quay Voices were high school aged and above, and the Lads and Lasses were about age 7-12. The Lads and Lasses had only started up in September, but were already very advanced in their musical ability. It was so interesting to see the cultural contrast between the Quay singers and us; the Quay singers stood straight and were prim and proper, while we moved around more. It was such a great experience to be exposed to their culture and also to share ours.

Our view from the stage at the Sage, Gateshead! It was an AWESOME performance venue!

Prior to the concert, BCC and the Quay singers had dinner together at a tapas restaurant called La Tasca. The food was delicious, and we were able to get to know the other choirs. Everyone was wonderfully friendly!

We made lots of new friends from the Quay choirs!

The concert hall was beautiful, seating 2000 people. We stood on high risers onstage and were able to see the very enthusiastic audience. We also had the amazing opportunity to be conducted by Simon Halsey, who is arguably the most prolific conductor of our time. He has won three grammy awards and currently conducts two of the top 10 choirs in the world. I'm very proud to say that he will be our guest conductor in the 2011-2012 season, so it is wonderful to have met him in advance of collaborating with him next spring. It was such a rewarding experience.

All of us outside the Sage with the Millennium bridge in the background. So many sights to see, so little time!

Added Bonus! UK Photos on Facebook

2011-07-02T18:36:00.001-04:00

Disappointed by the lack of photos? Check out the new album from the UK Tour so far on Facebook! A picture is worth a thousand words...

UK Tour Day 5

2011-07-02T18:26:00.000-04:00

By: Isabel Koyama, Premier Choir

Isabel has been a member of BCC for eight years. She is fifteen years old.

It is day four of our journey and unfortunately we had to wave a sad "cheerio" to Scotland today. Just before crossing the border we stopped at a puny town snuggled between the hills of Scotland and England. Just before our arrival, our tour guide gave us a brief history of the town. Apparently it was the first place that Scotts and Brits were allowed to elope without their parents' consent! Anyway, the town was pretty touristy but the countryside was beautiful. My friends and I took pictures by the rolling hills while sheep baaa'd angrily at us from behind!

Lots of time on the bus today!

Our next stop was Hadrian's Wall, a historic site over 2,000 years old. We visited a museum, where we learned about the Roman Army and watched a brief 3D movie! Then we were given ample time to explore the site. Although the remains of the site aren't much more than lines of rocks slightly above ground level, the visit was a pleasant breath of fresh air. At around 4 pm we loaded the bus to journey to the hotel, our last destination of the day. Many of the choirsters took a snooze during this drive. I was sitting in front of Danny, who was so deeply asleep that his eyes were partly open and rolled back and he was beginning to drool! He was not the only one.

Some people participated in "recruitment" for the Roman Army by learning how to make the "tortoise formation" with shields... here's the before!

And the after!

This hotel is a lot fancier and nicer than the other hotel. However, this time we'll really have to learn how to be quiet, because we are sharing the Inn with a group of (as Ben Hires calls it) "Grandma-like people." Nevertheless, there is a spa and a pool and an operating phone in every room, so I am content. Dinner was buffet style, and actually had healthy choices as opposed to pasta, which has seemed to be a dinner theme of the trip. I stuffed myself and am now carrying a happy food baby.

Yummy dinner!

The day was fun and full of history! Unfortunately I can't go into more detail because the staff has set a 10 o'clock curfew with no exceptions. But i'll end with this; each day of this trip has brought new experiences and also challenges. BCC singers miss home as always, but we continue to approach each day with great focus and energy. Cheerio!

A Note from Casey: Sorry for the delay on this post, the internet isn't great here! The post about Day 6 (July 2nd) and Day 7 (July 3rd) will hopefully be up on the 3rd around 6pm Boston time. Thanks for your patience! I read the comments aloud on the bus today and everyone enjoyed hearing from parents and fans. Keep it up!

UK Tour Day 4

2011-06-30T19:01:00.003-04:00

By Nikki Lefort, Premier Choir

Nikki has been in BCC for two years. She is fifteen years old. This is her first BCC tour!

Today, June 30th, we made our way to Glasgow, Scotland. Our bus left around 9 AM and arrived at the Kelvingrove Museum by around 11:30. We spent the next hour and a half touring the beautiful museum (that resembled a red stone castle on the outside). It wasn't quite as grand as the MFA, but that's very hard to beat. It was a gorgeous museum filled with interesting exhibits ranging from french impressionist paintings to natural history (many stuffed animals and bones). After that some of us grabbed quick lunch at the cafe before a short rehearsal in the middle of the stunning foyer of the museum. At 1:00 we had an informal concert with James Hunter, a wonderful organist who played songs in between our numbers. We got tons of compliments while roaming the museum for the next hour after the concert.

The view of our performance from the balcony at the Kelvingrove Museum!

We left the museum around 3:30 and took a short ride to the the St. Bride's Episcopal Church. It was a very pretty, very cold stone cathedral. The reverend was very welcoming and happy to have us sing there! We had a workshop with about six students who are apart of the Ignition Depot Arts group. This group has a similar mission as BCC, seeing as they also use music and other arts to bring together different communities. It was really awesome to coordinate a combined rendition of Rolling in the Deep by Adele, merging their version with our own (improvised) BCC harmonies and backup touches. We had dinner and were all super pumped up come concert time because we got to jam backstage with our new friends (a small dance party ensued).

Me (Nikki) all bundled up at St. Brides Episcopal Church. It was EXTREMELY freezing!!

Our performance was full of music we hadn't sung in a bit or were performing for the first time, yet we managed to pull it together to make a terrific concert. The audience showered us with compliments, one man even telling TK that we truly inspired and effected him and others. By 8:00 we were leaving the chilly but lovely town of Glasgow and headed towards home. I'd say it was a great ride home seeing as I was knocked out until the moment Ben Hires woke me up with the words "stopping for snacks". I was the second person off the bus, with pounds in hand ready to storm the grocery store for the only produce I'd seen in days. Personally, I bought bags of carrots, apples, cauliflower, and strawberries. It was a completely successful stop for a number of us. The store even asked us to sing when they heard the prestigious Boston Children's Chorus was there. Tomorrow, we head out for Washington, England bright and early. Chip chip, cheerio!

Collaborating with Depot Arts. They're awesome!

Also, I'm making a shout out to me mum and dad. Love you both so much and want you to know I'm having a great time and can't wait to see and talk to you guys! :)

UK Tour Day 3

2011-06-29T18:36:00.000-04:00

By: Emma Kromm, Premier Choir

Emma has been in BCC for four years. She is fifteen years old.

Hello everyone, from all of us in Edinburgh! We're having a wonderful beginning to our tour, with everything going smoothly, even after our approximately 30 hour long day yesterday.

YME rehearsing in St. Giles Cathedral

Today was Wednesday, the 29th; our third day of tour, although it felt like the second. Yesterday felt like one long, long day, and today was the first day where we began and finished our day in a hotel, making it feel like the first official day of tour. We woke up, still jet lagged but enthusiastic, and had a substantial continental breakfast in the Travelodge we are staying at. By 9:30 we were on the bus, off to rehearse at St. Giles Cathedral. The cathedral was breathtakingly beautiful, and everyone was in awe of the space as soon as we walked in. I heard some people around me exclaiming, "I can't believe we get to sing here!" and I felt just as lucky to have the chance to sing in this extraordinary building. I was wondering how large and ornate buildings built in the middle ages before modern machinery architects were able to create them! We sang songs like Ave Maria, Alleluia, and Lauda Sion which sounded wonderful in the cathedral, like they were meant to be sung in one (which they were!). After the concert we had some more time for an independent lunch and sightseeing around the Royal Mile.

Some singers outside of St. Giles after our performance!

Next we departed for Loch Leven, one of Scotland's most famous lochs which doubles as a nature reserve. We had to hours to explore and take in the beautiful sights of the loch, which included a castle on an island in the middle of the loch where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned -- she had to sneak out dressed as a Lady in Waiting in a boat! Some singers and staff chose to take a boat to that island to look around the castle. Some people walked along the side of the loch where we discovered a really cool playground with some things we had never seen before, including a four-person rope type swing that even Mr. Victoria tried out -- I have never seen him so genuinely happy and excited, he laughed the whole time! Some people made daisy chains and we got to see some sheep, too!

Me (Emma) and friends at Loch Leven

After a relaxing drive through the gorgeous Scottish countryside we arrived back in Edinburgh where we did some more shopping and ended up at the Renada Hotel for dinner. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and I am amazed to report that right now, at 9:40pm, it is still light out! I have never seen the sun go down here, I don't think it ever does. Now it's time to go to sleep so that tomorrow we can begin another day well-rested! Goodnight!

The whole gang!

P.S. Hi Mom and Dad! I love and miss you, and am really sorry I haven't been able to e-mail, there's no free wifi here, keep reading the blog and I'll send you an e-mail as soon as I can! Also, please put more money on my card, if that is possible.

UK Tour Day 1 (...and 2)

2011-06-29T18:06:00.003-04:00

By: Casey Accardi, Premier Choir
Casey has been in BCC for six years. She is 18 years old.
(Apologies for the lateness of this post, we had some technical difficulties. But everyone is alive and well!)

Good Morning! Casey Accardi, BCC Blog founder, here! It is my pleasure to give you the scoop on the first day of our UK tour, and I am even more pleased to share that a different BCC singer will be writing a blog post each day while we're here. I hope you enjoy this series of posts -- feel free to use the comment box to say hello, we'll respond!

On June 27th, after plenty of last minute packing, I arrived at Logan Airport in the late afternoon ready to depart on a flight to London with BCC! While I was expecting to see my fellow singers, I was not expecting to see Xana, Liz, and Rabiah, alumnae of the chorus, who came bearing UK themed posters and a lot of BCC spirit. It was so great to see them and have them there to send us off on our trip!

Liz, Xana, and Rabiah! Best alumni ever!

After saying our goodbyes to friends and family, check in, security, and finding our gate went smoothly. After a bit of a wait we boarded our 7pm flight: a six hour flight to London Heathrow Airport. For the first few hours the flight went wonderfully for me -- I read, socialized with other members of the chorus, flipped through my options on the TV screen implanted in the seat in front of me, etc. However, when the third hour of the flight (10pm Boston time, 3am UK time) rolled around I attempted to get some rest, things stopped going so smoothly! Sleeping on planes is not my forte, and when we landed in London I found that most of my peers were also unsuccessful!

Fettes College!

We had a quick layover in London and were soon on our way to Edinburgh -- this time a much shorter, 50 minute flight. After landing began part two of what I'd call the longest day ever, meaning it was officially June 28th in Edinburgh, but I hadn't slept the night of the 27th! We boarded our tour bus -- a double decker bus!!! -- and headed off for some sight seeing with our courier David, tour guide, Kirstie, and bus driver, Frank. Kirstie told us everything about everywhere, including Fettes College, an elite private high school in Edinburgh that follows the English schooling system, therefore preparing students to apply to English schools like Oxford and St. Andrews. Fettes College is the school that J. K. Rowling based Hogwarts on, and I must say it looked pretty similar!

My view from a bench at Edinburgh Castle... yes I took a quick nap.

After getting Lunch independently (many of my fellow chorus members ate at The Elephant Cafe, the coffee shop in which J.K. Rowling began writing the novel) we proceeded to Edinburgh Castle for our last sight-seeing stop of the day. Although I am pretty sure I fell asleep standing up more than once, it was an awesome sight to see! We then headed to the Travelodge and checked into our rooms, only to leave less than an hour later for dinner and rehearsal. At this point I'd been awake for nearly 30 hours so I apologize for the lack of detail! We ate dinner at the Three Sisters (a three course meal!) and our first rehearsal in the UK, although we were quite tired, sounded pretty good! I'm hoping our performance on the 29th at St. Giles goes wonderfully.

P.S. I caught up with my friend and fellow chorus member, Gabi, about our trip here, because it was her first time on an airplane! She says, "It was like a roller coaster! I had fun! The food was good!" -- I'd say that's a pretty good review! Lets hope our trip home is just as lovely.

What We're Up To: TOUR!!!

2011-06-27T09:13:00.000-04:00

This is the last blog post you will read before our Premier Choir and Young Men's Ensemble singers take over the blog entirely for about two weeks with their pictures, news and musings from tour. Tonight, 59 singers and 12 adults will board a British Airways flight to the United Kingdom for BCC's 4^th international cultural exchange tour. The itinerary is available on our website. We hope you will support our community by following along on the journey! There are 3 ways you can do that:

Read our blog (you're one step ahead - keep it up!). A different singer will post to the blog each day! They will be excited to share their photos and thoughts on their day, and how it relates to their experience at BCC as a whole. We encourage you to comment on their postings - it's the best way of communicating with them while they are away.
Follow us on Twitter. For all you tweeps, our handle is @BCChorus. Please use the hashtag #BCCtour for your tweets! If you're not on Twitter yet, it might be a good time to get "attwicted!"
Find us on Facebook. We hope you will visit our page before the end of the tour on July 8th. During the tour, we are trying to raise the equivalent of one student's scholarship for the trip. You can find information about that Fundraising Project on our page, on the Support BCC tab. If a financial contribution is not possible at this time, we hope you will Join Our Cause, and share the information with your network of Facebook friends.

Thank you for the rich and vibrant community you've helped us to create here at BCC. We look forward to growing our reputation around the world with your support!

What BCC Means to Me - One Part of My Normal Life

2011-06-17T12:34:00.000-04:00

By: Precious Perez, Central Intermediate

Precious has been in BCC for two years. She is 13 years old.

It was a Thursday rehearsal when I presented a video of a day in my life with a visual impairment to Central Intermediate. I was quite nervous, unsure of whether or not it would be beneficial, or would make a difference in the way the rest of the choir thought of me.

My video presentation entitled Precious Perez: A Day In the Life contained scenes of walking outside using my cane, adapted card games, and other significant and valuable information that would guide the rest of the choir and staff to better understand my disability, capability, and accommodations which allow me to live a perfectly normal and regular life. Everyone was welcoming and honest, and I felt that my goal was achieved, that my goal of feeling that I am part of the choir as opposed to feeling special or different, which I am not.

All I am is visually impaired, and all that means is that my eyes do not work, but that does not keep me from doing the things that everyone else does and more, and as this presentation and its outcome show, all everyone needs is a little bit of education to surpass the assumption and misconception, and to expand their horizons with truth and reality.

Editor's Note: Because of technical problems, we are not able to share Precious' video presentation here, as she would have liked. However, we do have some footage of the follow-up Q&A that she had with her fellow singers.

What We're Up To: The David Howse Edition

2011-06-15T15:55:00.009-04:00

If there is one thing that you should know about David Howse, it’s that he doesn’t like to dwell on the accolades he receives. Instead, he looks for the next opportunity to raise the profile of BCC through public recognition. While the staff appreciates his humility, we are proud of his leadership success and would like to share two examples in this post!

First, David was interviewed on Magic 106.7 this past weekend for their show Boston Life. The host of the show read David’s recent Boston Globe article and was inspired to talk to him further. He spoke about the history of the chorus, his involvement in it, and our upcoming tour to the UK, among other things. You can hear the full interview here, on our website.

Second, David has been handpicked to be part of National Arts Strategies’ Chief Executive Program. This two-year initiative will bring together 100 global cultural leaders to address key issues of competition, investment and relevance.

Russell Willis Taylor, the CEO of National Arts Strategies, said the following about the program, “Our cultural institutions are at a crossroads, in which their relevance and even the role of the arts in civil society are being questioned. The Chief Executive Program will create a leadership community to reframe issues and develop new opportunities for individual institutions and create meaningful models for the field at large; and helping a set of outstanding individuals re-imagine what cultural institutions will be and how they can contribute to civil society.”

Clearly, David is honored to have a stake in shaping the conversation about arts and culture in our society. Also, as a very young and still relatively small organization, BCC stands to gain a lot from the exposure that this opportunity will provide. We look forward to sharing more about this program when it begins in the fall.

David’s reputation as a community builder and a progressive thinker is quickly cementing his future as a key leader in the cultural sector. We are so gratified to have him as our Executive Director!

We encourage you to Get Vocal! Support BCC’s efforts, or congratulate David by commenting below! If you are reading this post on our website, please visit bostonchildrenschorus.blogspot.com to make a comment.

What We're Up To: Building a Mentorship Program

2011-06-09T15:29:00.003-04:00

One of the things that we see an opportunity to improve at BCC is the mentoring aspect of our youth development program. We hope that our readers know that we do A LOT more than sing here at BCC – if you need a reminder of what our mission is exactly, check it out on our website.

Edward Clapp

Over the summer, we are going to be working with Harvard Doctoral candidate Edward Clapp to launch an Omni-Directional Mentorship program (more on what that means later). It will be active starting at the beginning of next season. Over the past few months, Clapp has held one-on-one conversations with singers, parents, staff, and board members about how we relate to one another at BCC and how we can improve our interactions. He presented his initial findings this week in a discussion-oriented session at BCC Central, open to the same broad range of people.

He pointed out that when we typically think about mentorship, we imagine a top-down relationship (i.e. from a more experienced person to a less-experienced person). Omni-directional membership is different because it considers other directions, like bottom-up and lateral (i.e. peer) relationships. An organization that effectively uses omni-directional membership creates a web of learning, where “all leaders are learners, and all learners are leaders.”

Clapp presents his thoughts on the
points of "resonance"
and "dissonance" at BCC

In developing this program with BCC, Clapp is using a very appropriate metaphor – the voice! He asked attendees to think about how they “hear voice” and “have voice” within the organization, as well as the areas in which the very broad BCC community has “resonance” (i.e. agreement) and “dissonance” (i.e. disagreement). The greater the resonance within the organization, the more likely we are to have “harmony,” which Clapp defined as a powerful expression of the mission, vision, and/or purpose of the organization.

Singers, parents, staff
and board offered ideas.

The group in attendance talked about a lot of ways that we could foster relationships within and across stakeholder groups. Singers expressed a strong interest in getting to know the board, newer parents wanted an opportunity to interact with older parents, parents were interested in experiencing what singers are learning in rehearsal.

However the program takes shape this fall, all of us can count on being asked to be involved, including our audience, funders, and alumni! Clapp is intent on enhancing our community through knowledge sharing and “curiosity about the other.” We hope you’ll come along with us on this journey, because our community has something to learn from your voice!

Why not start Getting Vocal now? Leave a comment about your role in BCC’s community, the ways you would like to see it grow or change, and your suggestions about how we should get there! If you are reading this post on our website, please visit the blog at bostonchildrenschorus.blogspot.com to make your comment. Thanks!

What We're Up To: Season Finale Concert

2011-06-08T17:07:00.000-04:00

By: Maddie Mechem, Concert Choir

Maddie has been in BCC for 4 years. She is 15 years old.

On May 22nd, BCC performed its last concert of the season. This is the concert where everyone shows off what they learned during the year, and says goodbye to the departing seniors, which is like saying goodbye to family. In Concert Choir, we had to say goodbye to Vanessa Zamy, who will attend Stanford, and Amanda Yee, who is going to UMASS Lowell.

Members of CU

There is always a lot to do before the final concert, since we have to look and sound our best. In years past, we have based the concert on a theme, like musicals (2008-09) or movies (2009-10), but this year, we had no theme, just a lot of great music.

Concert Choir and Choral Union started off the concert with The Storm is Passing Over, a gospel piece that was really fun to sing despite the difficulties of clapping and singing at the same time. CU then performed Windy Nights and Ojos Azules, the latter of which was extremely pretty, and done a capella.

We followed up with We Will, Rise Up My Love (which is a text from the Song of Solomon, and was also done a capella), and This is the Day, in which Olayeni and Oladunni Oladipo did a fantastic solo. After this, CC went up to the balcony to watch the rest of the show.

Training choirs with Ms. I

The Training Choirs followed us. They sang Siyahamba, O Desayo, and Ching a Ring Chaw (and Great Gittin’ Up Mornin’), and they did a great job on all three. Then came the Intermediate Choirs, who sang Ma Navu (Hebrew text), How Can I Keep From Singing? (American folk hymn), and Everlasting Melody, all of which were performed very well, especially Ma Navu, which was intense, but pretty at the same time.

After Everlasting Melody, all the choirs sang together for A Place In This World, a very pretty piece written by BCC’s Composer-in-Residence, Bill Banfield. I love this song, because it has a really sweet message, that “everyone has a place in the world.”

Ella plays cuatro during
La Paloma

After this piece, YME took the stage for Despertar (“to wake up”), a fantastic song about someone who sees the sun rise, and is amazed by everything around him. Then PC came on and performed La Paloma (“the dove”), which is a pretty and attention-grabbing piece, with Ella Williams on the cuatro, which looks like a ukulele, but sounds more like a guitar. Both pieces had originally been performed at the April 9th concert with Maria Guinand. After La Paloma, PC and YME sang Alleluia, which was another pretty song, and Mr. T-K acknowledged the graduating seniors and their families. PC began to sing If I had a Dream, which was performed at the MLK concert with Kyle and Christopher Massey. They sang it for about 30 seconds, then stopped to laughter and applause, and everyone was smiling. PC and YME then sang another piece from the April 9th concert, Salseo, which seems like a fun piece to sing, and sounds great.

As the finale, CC, who had been waiting patiently for about half an hour, came up on stage. PC and YME were behind us on the risers, and everyone else was in front of us. CC was going to be the call for Sahayta, a multi-lingual call-and-response song, which we had been performing for around two months. For this concert we had several people, me included, who volunteered to go up to a microphone, and give the definition of one of the words from the song. The words varied in difficulty from “Peace and Joy” (spoken by Nancy Chomitz) to “!Uba !Uoba” (Alexander Lee-Papastavros). The reason this last word was the most difficult is because the “!” is a tongue click. My word was “Shalom,” meaning “peace.” This song contained words in Swahili (washirika), Amharic (ngoyila), Arabic (salaam, selam), Filipino (bayanihan, aawitankita, halo halo), Damara (!uba!uoba), Hebrew (shalom), English (peace and joy), Hindi (ektaa), Sanskrit (sahayta), and Spanish (unidad), as well as a two-part clapping pattern. This piece was fun to do, and we must have carried it off pretty well, since we got a standing ovation for it.

Final Song of the Season!

This was a great concert, and although I wish it was not the last, it was fun to have been a part of it!

Outside Our Walls: A Composer-in-Training!

2011-06-02T09:17:00.004-04:00

By: Abby Nordan, Central Training Choir
Abby has been in BCC for two years. She is 8 years old.

Editor's Note: In the spirit of the holiday earlier this week, we would like to share the great work of one of our youngest singers. By the time she reaches Premier Choir, we hope she's composing for us!

Every year, my school has a Memorial Day assembly. After last year's assembly, I wrote this song, which was sung this year at the assembly by the 5th graders at my school. I wrote the melody and words, and my music teacher made up the piano accompaniment.

What We're Up To: A Lesson Learned

2011-05-31T09:38:00.005-04:00

By Maddie Mechem, Concert Choir
Maddie has been in BCC for 4 years. She is 15 years old.

Concert Choir recently had a performance as part of an annual fundraiser for the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, which took place at Boston College High School. This concert’s set-up was not the same as we are used to, which meant we learned some great lessons about performing in different environments.

The first difference was that we sang in one long row on a balcony, as opposed to our usual three short rows. This meant that we couldn’t hear all the other parts directly, and had to really listen in order to make sure our pitches were correct in relation to the other sections. It was challenging, but I think we did it! Another difference was that, because we were the musical entertainment at a social gathering, we did not have the full attention of the audience while we were singing. These differences took most of us slightly off-guard, and we had to adjust how we performed to this specific situation, something that all good performers must learn to do.

We ended up doing really well, even on The Storm Is Passing Over, which we had only really gotten the hang of the day before in rehearsal. Several people from DBEDC told us that we were great, and that everyone appreciated us coming to sing, which was an extremely nice thing to say. Other than positive comments from DBEDC, we can take away some valuable information, which we can put to use in future performances. The main thing to take away from this is that the space we perform in might not be what we are used to, but we just have to make the best of it, and be confident that we can!