Getting Vocal

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!

What We’re Up To: Building a Community of Boston Music Educators

2011-05-20T13:25:00.003-04:00

Last year, BCC was awarded a grant by EdVestors, an organization that drives change in urban schools through strategic private investment. The grant was part of the Boston Public Schools (BPS) Arts Expansion Fund, a three-year $2.5 million effort whose mission is to empower BPS schools to embrace and expand arts instruction in schools.

Each month, five BPS music teachers met with BCC’s Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King and Assistant Artistic Director Michele Adams to discuss a wide range of topics related to their work. The final meeting was held recently at BCC Central, where each teacher presented a project they’d been working on throughout their time in the Study Group. Project topics included curriculum development, integration of solfege for young singers, and the effect of music training on language fluency.

The teachers were (from left to right in the photo): Kelly DiGrazia - Orchard Gardens, Sharon Hamel - F. D. Roosevelt, Sonya White Hope - Winthrop Elementary, PK Egersheim - Condon Elementary, Tamiko Everson - Murphy Elementary. Cleo Knight-Wilkins, BPS Senior Program Director for the Arts, was also in attendance for the final presentation.

While tempting to call the presentations a capstone, the teachers had many other important experiences together this year. Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King remarked that, “From the first session, it was obvious to Michelle and I that this group needed this time to build community together, and we adjusted accordingly.”

The outcome was clear: these educators had developed a profound connection to one another, based on a rare opportunity to intensively discuss their work with peers. Lest we assume that music teachers have lots of opportunity to connect, in the teacher’s lounge or in their classrooms, the Study Group highlighted the following:

Nearly all schools have a single music teacher, and many are not even dedicated to a single school
Many teach during nearly every period, with few “inactive” minutes during the school day
Many do not have their own classrooms

In light of these facts, it’s easy to understand why this Study Group relished their discussions as they did. BCC considers it part of its mission to build community in this way, and hopes to expand this initiative next year and for years to come.

What We're Up To: Getting National Recognition!

2011-05-18T15:43:00.001-04:00

We are proud to share some joyful and exciting news with you – just last week, BCC received a national award from Chorus America, and has been selected as a Finalist for the nation’s highest award for out-of-school youth arts and humanities programs!

First, BCC has won the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America! The award is presented annually, but youth choruses are only eligible every three years. The winner demonstrates artistic excellence, a strong organizational structure, and a commitment to outreach, education, and/or culturally diverse activities. We are so honored! Founder Hubie Jones will accept the award in San Francisco in a few weeks – pictures to come!

And if that wasn’t enough, we also got word that we were selected as a Finalist for a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities! This selection recognizes BCC as one of the top arts and humanities-based programs in the country! We are one of 50 finalists nationally, and will know in June whether or not we are one of 15 winners. Here is a link to a YouTube video about the award.

A shout-out for both awards is due to the whole BCC community and staff, but especially to Jan Woiler Meuse, Foundation Relations and Marketing Manager, who does all the writing that shows the judges just how great we really are! Reach out and thank her, or leave a comment here!

What BCC Means to Me - So Much More Than Just Tuesdays and Thursdays

2011-05-03T15:39:00.001-04:00

By: Elizabeth Stutts, Premier Choir

Elizabeth has been in BCC for 7 years. She is 16 years old.

Elizabeth during her first tour (to Japan) in 2005.

In my very first year in the chorus, I was able to go with the group on a tour during the summer to Japan. That more than anything else began to define my experiences with the chorus, and became one of the reasons I stayed involved in it for year after year. Thanks to BCC, I could go to places that my family would not be able to go to, or send me, for many different reasons. Not only that, but I was going to these different places for a reason- I was going as a performer, as an "ambassador of harmony." I could learn from this place I was going, and I had something I could contribute there as well. I learned that on my very first tour, and I have only had that knowledge affirmed since then.

Tour, and performances, were at first the biggest draws of the Boston Children's Chorus for me. Both were something new and exciting for me, something that I had never really been given a previous chance to experience. Over time, however, more reasons were added on to these first two. I got to meet and become friends with many of my fellow chorus members over the years, thanks to the frequent rehearsals, performances, and even tour. What had before been simply a group of children changed with each year. The ties between all of us got stronger, and soon enough, the group was close enough to become a family. At first, I don't believe many of us noticed it, and I know that I almost certainly didn't. Perhaps we all really began to notice it when we had our first graduating senior, because at that point we had our first person who left the chorus because they had gotten to old- not because they wanted to leave. That departure was a moving experience for many of us, and it showed just how much of a family we had become. The last performance in every year is now a monumental occasion, because in some cases, it is the last time that some members of the group will ever have to perform with us. It is then that we mourn the presence of a friend who is leaving us.

I know that next year, my senior year, will be hectic for many reasons, primarily because of the high expectations of the charter school I now attend. This year as well has been very trying on me, as all of my classes are more demanding than ever before, and maintaining good grades requires a great amount of time and effort. No matter how hard it gets, though, I am not going to give up on the time I have remaining with the chorus. It means too much to me to let this go without doing my best to stick through things as long as I can. I have made my closest friends through this community, and even the people I don't know as well I feel connected to, because we share something- a love of music and a commitment to BCC.

This community is much more open, and all-encompassing, and welcoming, than any I have ever been a part of, and I would have to be insane to give up a group that can look at a person for who they are, and accept them and love them for it. That has helped me to learn about myself, and not be afraid to be myself, even if being myself might seem strange to my peers at school. Their opinions do not matter to me as much as the encouragement I receive to be an individual whenever I come into chorus for rehearsal. I have had my eyes opened in so many ways over the years, it is impossible to describe. The chorus has touched nearly every aspect of my life.

If nothing else, when I do finally graduate, I doubt I will ever know again what to do with my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. That is the time when rehearsal is supposed to be, after all.

What We're Up To: Concert Choir Tour to Worcester and Shrewsbury

2011-04-29T09:52:00.002-04:00

By: Maddie Mechem, Concert Choir

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

The first weekend of April, Concert Choir went on a three-concert excursion to Worchester and Shrewsbury, just about two hours outside Boston. Our first performance was with the Worcester Children’s Chorus and the Young People’s Chorus. These choirs are really good, and were really similar to BCC, especially in the professional, engaging way they performed. It looked like they were having fun but taking it seriously, and that is what we try to do.

Concert Choir Performs at Wesley United Methodist Church

Our first concert was in the Wesley United Methodist Church, at a benefit concert for CASA. CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) is an organization that provides abused or neglected children with volunteers who support them through the legal and social services systems. As part of participating in this concert, we were asked to donate books to CASA, which we did. The money raised from the concert was given to CASA, to help them continue their efforts to help children. All three of the choirs performed several songs by themselves, and all three came together to perform Sahayta (“helpfulness” in Sanskrit), which uses words from about 14 languages to express peace, and We Will, which carries a message of hope. These two were the finale pieces, and after these, we went to meet up with our home-stay families.

A home-stay involves two or more singers being put together in someone’s house to spend the night, with the idea being that they learn more about other people in the choir and in the communities we visit. For this home-stay, I was paired up with three other girls - Laura, Ify, and Madison, and we stayed with the LaBelle family. We all enjoyed talking to their daughter, Blair, and they were extremely nice to us.

After spending the night with our home-stays, we regrouped at First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, for a concert with their Youth Singers, during Sunday morning services. We sang four hymns, as well as Al Shlosha, a Hebrew text; This Is The Day, which is a gospel piece; and a chorale from Bach’s Cantata 1.

Concert Choir singers prepare for Sunday morning service
at First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury

Spencer with a spear at Higgins Armory Museum

After the service, we made the most of our free time before our concert later in the day, and went to the Higgins Armory Museum. This museum has pieces of armor from around the world, and from across the centuries, as well. Most of the choir went to an arms and armor demonstration, where volunteers could hold pieces of chain mail and weaponry. One Concert Choir member, Isaac, got to hold a piece of chain mail in his hand while the guide ran a hand-and-a-half sword over it (Isaac was totally fine, as the chain mail protected his hand). Another singer, Spencer, got to hold a spear, which was at least three feet taller than he is.

Author, Maddie Mechem, at the Armory Museum

After about two hours of touring the museum, we left for our final concert of the tour, also at First Congregational. We performed by ourselves, and sang most of the songs we’d been rehearsing over the past few weeks, including Oseh Shalom, Sahayta, This Is The Day, and Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round. We also performed Pata Pa’ca, a song from Venezuela which was meant for a college level choir. The audience seemed impressed by that fact, and the fact that we did really well on it. After this last concert, we said goodbye to those who were leaving with their families, and packed up for the trip back to Boston. I think that, all in all, the tour let everyone in the choir come together and meet people they didn’t know all that well, and it is definitely an experience worth repeating.

What BCC Means to Me - The Importance of Connections

2011-04-25T14:26:00.004-04:00

By: Ell McGrath, Concert Choir
Ell has been in BCC for 4 years. She is 16 years old.

Editors Note: Ms. McGrath recently went on an excursion with her choir to Worcester, MA and Shrewsbury, MA. The text below is from her speech to concert attendees about the impact of Boston Children's Chorus on her life.

The BCC mission statement says that BCC inspires social change through music. It is my belief that social change is not created though ideas, but through connections formed between individuals. For example, when I study for school, I absorb facts (ideas) through a book, by myself. But when we sing together, as a chorus, we do it together, and I believe that that creates social change.

When you walk into any rehearsal at BCC there's that connection - a bond between us all; a sort of language our hearts already know how to speak. In our Chorus, there are a number of different cultures and ideas. Everyone is different, yet we harmonize; not only with out voices, but with our hearts as well.

It is that same harmonization that has brought us all together, who would probably never have even thought to give each other the time of day. This is how BCC has affected me.

Elizabeth shares her perspective on BCC's impact during a recent excursion.

What BCC Means to Me - "Before and After"

2011-04-15T09:41:00.002-04:00

Editors Note: In the upcoming weeks, we will feature posts from our singers on what BCC means to them. The first in this series is a poem by Spencer Boisvert titled "Before and After." Spencer has been singing with BCC for four years. He is 13 years old.

Before and After

Day by day I see

I see the differences

in people

In their culture

In their physical appearance

I see all of the personalities

Before singing I saw in black and white

I saw people who were different

It scared me

Now

Now I see in color

The colors of the rainbow

Day by day I see

I see the differences

in people

My Spring Break - Recruiting for BCC

2011-03-31T11:39:00.006-04:00

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

Over the week of March break that my sister Allana and I share, we decided to volunteer at BCC Central. We had done this before and were both prepared for simple days of filing, computer work, shredding, or sorting music literature, but Mr. Victoria had more exciting plans for us. On the Friday of our volunteer week, Allana, Mr. Victoria, and I went to the Josiah Quincy School for a recruiting session with elementary level students. The school building is literally across the overpass from BCC, which makes these kids great candidates for BCC because they don’t need transportation!

The day started off with Allana and I singing 30 seconds of “Lean On Me” into the intercom for morning announcements. This went surprisingly well considering it was 8:30 in the morning and neither of us had warmed up. The real recruiting started at the lunch periods. I can’t remember which grades we met first because they were all so small, a lot smaller than I remember ever being!

Allana is friendly, but she is more of a commander than a field agent, so she stayed at the recruiting desk with Mr. Victoria while I went out to individuals and told them about what it is like to be in BCC. I wasn’t too worried about recruiting the girls for two reasons. The first, most of them claimed to be the next American Idol, and the second, none of them traveled alone: if one was interested in the table, seven would show up. My main focus was the boys and letting them know that choir is fun and not just for the girls. Among the younger boys, a common response I got was “I like music, but I don’t like to sing,” “I don’t/can’t sing” or “Can I have another free pencil?” I quickly countered that the best part about music is singing, that choir teaches you how to sing, and no, only one free pencil per person. In the end, I was able to convince a significant number of young boys to take audition forms home to their parents so they could at least give it a try before they say they don’t like it. I noticed that the older boys were more stubborn about not participating in choir. Most of them were more into “guy stuff” even if they didn’t play a sport; they thought choirs were for the girls. I was still successful in getting most of the older boys to take audition forms, but some only came to me for a free BCC pencil.

Marlon and Allana recruiting for BCC at Josiah Quincy School in Boston

As our day came to its end, something dawned on me: “This is what needs to happen on a regular basis.” BCC needs to go out and recruit for young kids that will stay in choir longer than high school students, who sometimes join Young Men’s Ensemble without participating in training choirs first. When that happens, they only have a maximum of four years in the choir. I am a freshman now and I have been in BCC since it was dreamt up by Mr. Jones. I have been here for eight years, and my days are numbered. I won’t always be a student at BCC - none of us will. My point is that the choristers (not just the staff) need to seek out the “generation” coming up behind us. We all can admit to the fact that it is easier to trust someone that has experienced whatever it is they are selling. We can also admit to the fact that someone our age is easier to relate to than someone notably older or younger. On that Friday a week ago, I was able to help keep the cycle of BCC going because I could relate to the boys I was reaching out to and I could tell them of my own experiences. I recommend that everyone with more than two years under their belts at BCC should spend a day recruiting during a school break.

Fun Opportunities for Boy Singers

2011-03-24T10:14:00.002-04:00

By: Kobi Russell, Central Intermediate
This is Kobi's 5th year singing with BCC. He is 11 years old.

I recently had the chance to experience two great opportunities for boy singers. A BCC Staff Member invited me to the Young Men’s Choral Festival at Boston Latin School, and I decided to go. I did not sing in it, I was part of the audience. I went with my family. It wasn’t just the BCC YME (Young Men’s Ensemble), but other boy and men choirs as well. It was very cool to see and hear so many males in song at once, which is rare! The music went from silly and quirky, to Gospel, to sea shanties! It was very enjoyable! I could imagine myself doing that concert when I was older!

Kobi demonstrates his changing voice for Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and other music educators in attendance at BCC's Professional Development weekend

The boys at BCC also had another great opportunity recently. They were able to arrange for Fernando Malvar-Ruiz to visit and give lectures to other music teachers as part of a Professional Development weekend this month. He gave a lecture on the boy’s changing voice, and I was invited to be on a panel of boys who demonstrated their voices for the teachers who were there. It was remarkable to see how high the boys could sing, and then how low. I am 11, so I am at the stage where it’s tricky to sing very high, but I can still do it. One thing that Fernando said that I liked was this: “In America, we call it the Changing Voice, in Europe, they call it the Breaking Voice, but the way to think about it is the Evolving Voice.” I really like that because it doesn’t make boys feel like singing is over for them, but that they are just evolving. I had a good time at both young men’s events!

If you have a boy who likes to sing, BCC is the place for them! Get Vocal. Join Us.

In fact, BCC is holding auditions soon! Click here for more information.

Making Music with Magda

2011-03-14T09:15:00.002-04:00

By: Maddie Mechem, Concert Choir

In the last two weeks before winter break, we had the privilege of working with Magda Albarracín, a choir director from Venezuela. She was teaching us two songs, Pata Pa’ca, and Acto del Árbol from Opereta Ecología. Both songs are in Spanish and have a percussion line with a complicated series of claps, snaps, and stomps. It was hard to figure out, but extremely fun. Unfortunately, Magda had to go back to Venezuela. But however short it may have been, that was definitely an experience to remember, and Pata Pa’ca should be extremely fun to perform.

Here is a video of Concert Choir working with Magda - please leave a comment to let us know what you think! We hope you'll come see the final product at our performance on April 9th at Old South Church, featuring another Venezuelan, Conductor-In-Residence Maria Guinand! For detailed information on this concert, please visit our website: http://bostonchildrenschorus.org/feature/maria_guinand

Top 10 of Fall 2010! Part One

2010-12-07T14:51:00.002-05:00

As we head into Winter and begin to prepare for MLK Day 2011, its time to reflect on the Fall of our 8th performance season at BCC! There has been no shortage of excitement for BCC this Fall! This is the first of a two-part series on the Top 10 of Fall 2010!(in no particular order)

1. Performance at the Deval Patrick Rally

On October 16th a small group of BCC singers had the incredible opportunity to perform the National Anthem at the Democratic Rally for Deval Patrick, at which Barack Obama spoke. Following the Anthem, the BCC singers got to stay at the rally and mingle with James Taylor and Barney Frank among others, and following the rally, some singers shook hands with Barack Obama. What a great day for BCC!

2. Hubie Jones awarded the Purpose Prize
Hubie Jones, our fabulous founder, is a winner of this year's Purpose Prize for his work in founding BCC. The Purpose Prize is a title awarded to social entrepreneurs over 60 who, in their encore careers, are using their experience and passion to make an extraordinary impact on society’s biggest challenges. Way to go Hubie! Read more about it at boston.com.
3. Villa Victoria performance at Fenway Alliance Event

This year the Villa Victoria Traning Choir continued the wonderful tradition of performing at the Fenway Alliance's Opening Our Doors Day, an event that brings together various arts organizations in the Fenway Area for a shared celebration of creativity. This was the first performance for John Reynolds in his new role as Conductor of the Villa Victoria Training Choir -- kudos to John!

4. Our First Composer-In-Residence -- Bill Banfield
This year, for the first time ever, BCC has an official Composer-In-Residence! Bill Banfield, a exceptional author, recording artist, and composer is joining us this year to create various pieces of music to compliment our repertoire. Most recently, Bill composed a pair of pieces for us, titled "Love Is" and Love Says". Watch the video below to see Bill explain the inspiration behind the piece.

5. BCC Participation in the Samaritans 5k

On October 2nd, PC members got up bright and early to sing, and run at the Samaritans' Annual 5k! Over a dozen BCC members and staff participated in the race, and raised nearly $1000 for Samaritans! Click here for more photos from the event.

Stay tuned for the rest of the Top 10!

Guest Blog Post - Concert Choir Update!

2010-11-15T13:01:00.001-05:00

Maddie Mechem, a Concert Choir member, describes the her current experience in Concert Choir...

Editor's Note: Concert Choir is performing Mahler's 8th Symphony with the Nashua Symphony this weekend! Click here for more information.

Lots of Music by Maddie Mechem, 11/8/10

Well, these last two rehearsals were certainly busy for those of us in Concert Choir. In the past two weeks, we have had professionals from the Boston Children’s Theater, and the Executive Director of the Nashua Orchestra, Eric Valliere, visit our rehearsals to see what we’re doing at BCC and help us prepare for upcoming performances. The amount of music we have to learn is reaching a crescendo. You could say that German has become kind of a second language, and the holidays have come early. The major piece for this half of the season is Gustav Mahler’s 8th symphony, which is over 200 pages long! Of those 200 pages, we have to sing more than sixty. This piece is one of many pieces currently residing in our black BCC binders. After a quick count, the most current Concert Choir music tally is seven holiday songs, two German and/or Latin songs, and two so far uncategorized songs. That is eleven pieces of music, nine of which will be performed sometime in the next three months. That is a lot to learn in not much time! On the bright side, we will never run out of things to keep us occupied, AND we get fancy new shirts to wear for performances this year, along with the usual white BCC oxfords.

More Mahler by Maddie Mechem, 11/15/10

The Mahler madness is reaching its peak, as the first concert is less than a week away. Sunday was our first rehearsal, and our last rehearsal is on Friday. Then, on Saturday, it’s off to Lexington for the first of two concerts. We have some work to do between now and then. We were missing cues and whole sections of the song, and we have the equivalent of about five hours to get this right. But after all of this is over, we get to take a break and begin to prepare for the holiday concert. As mentioned in a previous post, we have seven songs to perform, four of which we have been assigned for homework (CC: don’t forget! This is highly important!). Because Mahler requires a ton of time and effort to learn/perform, delaying preparation for the holiday concert is kind of a given. Even with all the stress of looking for cues and singing over all the other people, it will be fun to perform, especially with the awesome, all-black uniform, as well as the fact that we are going to be part of a huge group of people, all of whom have worked hard to make this work. As to what happens and how well it works, that must wait for another post.

Check back soon for another update from Maddie!

Sign-in Goes Virtual at BCC Central

2010-09-21T12:01:00.000-04:00

After two weeks of beginnings, its safe to say that the 2010-2011 BCC season is underway. Every season at BCC brings new opportunities, and this year is no different! First of all, this year marks the first year for BCC's newest choir, Choral Union, which brings together talented high-school aged singers to learn the fundamentals of music theory. Irene Idicheria, who directed Villa Victoria Training Choir and West End House training choir last season, takes on Choral Union this year. CU rehearsals are off to a great start. Additionally, John Reynolds who served as a Teaching Fellow last season, is directing Neighborhood choirs this season!

One change that directly impacts singers at who rehearse at BCC Central is that this year, instead of signing in on paper singers sign in on one of two laptops set up in the BCC Central lobby.
Pretty cool, right?! So much paper and time saved!

Overall, this season is off to a great start. Stay tuned for more updates!

Tour 2010: Day 6

2010-07-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

This morning we enjoyed another great breakfast at the Georgetown dining hall and climbed aboard our Dattco bus to pick up our tour guide for the morning, Artie. Artie brought us to the heart of our Nation's history by giving us the inside scoop on all of the major landmarks that we toured. One especially moving moment was when we gathered at the very spot that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on the Lincoln Memorial. Feeling such a strong personal collection to the location helped us to give an emotionally charged performance of U2's "MLK" for an attentive audience on the steps. We also toured the capitol building, and with the help of a great tour guide, were able to check out all the Massachusetts specific statues in the building. See video below!

After lunch, we were given some free time to check out DC museums. Some singers visited the Air and Space museum, others the Natural History museum, and others the American History museum. Everyone enjoyed being able to enter such interesting and engaging museums free of charge.

We then headed over to the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church to perform with the Children's Chorus of Washington. Our performance tonight was the last one of this tour, and the last performance for this year's graduating seniors. Needless to say, we left nothing behind. Every song was performed with more energy and inspiration than ever. The seniors chose "Up To the Mountain" as their last song, and as the tears started to roll down everyone's faces, it became apparent to all just how powerful and important BCC is in the lives of its singers.

Back at the dorms, we celebrated our successful tour and our seniors by having a late room check, giving us lots of time to bond with each other. Seniors were also hard at work making superlatives, a tradition we uphold every year in which each person receives a loving "most likely to..", based on their actions on tour. After some late night Dominoes, it is time to rest up for our last day of tour.

Tour 2010: Day 5

2010-07-04T23:16:00.000-04:00

This morning we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the Georgetown Dining Hall, and then headed over to Saint John's Church in DC to perform in the Sunday morning service. Saint John's serves as the Presidential Church, every president since James Madison has attended at least one church service there. Singers enjoyed checking out the presidential pew (number 54) and taking pictures seated in the pew. We performed a variety of religious and patriotic music, and especially enjoyed collaborating with the Saint John's Summer Choir, Organist, Timpani, and Piccolo player on "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

Following our performance and lunch, we headed over to the Kennedy Center, where we spent the afternoon relaxing and rehearsing. It was almost 100 degrees in Washington DC today, so we were glad to be able to stay inside and avoid the heat. At 6pm became our big Kennedy Center debut! We performed on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center for a very large audience, and our performance streamed live on the internet and is now available in the Kennedy Center's web archive. Check it out here.

After performing and dinner, we gathered in the grass outside of the Kennedy Center and watched the 4th of July fireworks. It has been such a privilege to be in our nation's capital for the Fourth of July. Nowhere does patriotic better than Washington DC! Looking forward to collaborating with the Children's Chorus of Washington tomorrow.

Tour 2010: Day 4

2010-07-03T22:17:00.001-04:00

This morning we said farewell to Saint Joseph's University and embarked on mission: three cities, one day. After a three hour drive, we found ourselves out of Philadelphia and into Frederick, Maryland, home of our accompanist, Emily Howe. We arrived at All Saints Episcopal Church, and were greeted by singers from the Chamber Choir of the Frederick Children's Chorus, who provided us with wonderful walking tours of the city and ample shopping-time in downtown Frederick.

We rehearsed briefly, and then took to the stage for our concert which was well attended and received by the local Frederick community. After the concert, the Frederick Children's Chorus hosted a wonderful dinner, and performed two pieces for us, "The Storm Is Passing Over" (which some BCC members joined them for) and a uplifting song that they commissioned for their 20th anniversary. We then taught them a favorite song of ours, "We Are Together" which we all sang together. It was wonderful to meet them and we are so grateful that they hosted us so kindly.

Following dinner, we again boarded the bus, and have since arrived and checked in a Georgetown University (making Washington D.C. our third location of the day!). The dorms are lovely and we are very much enjoying our stay thus far. Looking forward to the Campus Tour on Monday. We are headed to bed early as we have a big performance tomorrow -- performing at St. John's Church (Obama's Church) in the morning, and then performing at the Kennedy Center in the evening. Can't wait!

Tour 2010: Day 3

2010-07-03T06:53:00.000-04:00

On Friday, we had a great breakfast and then gathered outside our dorm for a Campus Tour of Saint Joseph's University. We were escorted into the SJU Chapel for a presentation about the University and then then broke up into small groups for a campus tour. Our tour guides informed us that SJU's campus recently gained a lot of land and increased in size by 58%, allowing them to add a new music center. Pretty cool! After our tour, we boarded the bus and headed over to the NBC Philadelphia station, where we rehearsed briefly and then entered the studio to tape a performance of "God Bless America". The taping went wonderfully and our performance played later that day on NBC Channel 10.

After performing, we headed back to Saint Joseph's for lunch and a little bit of rehearsing for our evening performance with the Wanamaker Organ. Following rehearsal, we traveled over to the African American Museum in Philadelphia for an African Dance Workshop. We got along wonderfully with our instructor, and believe it or not, weren't even half bad at some of the dancing! Although we got sweatier than anticipated, everyone really enjoyed themselves. Perhaps we'll perform our new moves at a concert soon! (Don't hold your breath for it..)

Following our workshop and tour of the museum, we arrived at Macy's Philadelphia, home of the Wanamaker Organ. The Organ is HUGE -- it has 28,500 pipes! We rehearsed with the fabulous organist, Mr. Conte, and then gave a performance for the shoppers of Macy's, many of which stopped shopping to listen to us sing. It was an awesome experience to sing with such a well-known and massive organ.

We then headed over to Buca de Beppo, a favorite Philly restaurant of ours that we visited when we came here for ACDA East. Upon arriving back at the dorms, we packed up and prepared to give a fond farewell to Saint Joseph's University, as Saturday brings us a trip to Georgetown.

Tour 2010: Day 2

2010-07-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

Today we arose bright and early and had a nice and nutritious breakfast at the Saint Joseph's University dining hall. After gathering our belongings, we boarded our beloved Dattco bus and headed over to Independence Hall where we performed patriotic music for a special Naturalization Ceremony, during which 26 people representing 19 different countries were granted U.S. Citizenship. Above we are pictured with Ale Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). We really enjoyed meeting him!

Following our performance, we headed over to Independence Hall for a very informative tour and then broke for lunch, during which small groups of singers got a taste of local Philadelphian cuisine. After lunch we made a liberty bell visit, and then we met up with our fabulous tour guide, Ryan, from the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Ryan led us on a walking tour around Philly, showing us various murals, and explaining the background and significance of the murals and the Mural Arts Program, an organization that unites artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. We stopped to sing in front of a mural, which Ryan recorded for a Mural Arts Program initiative and said he would put on the internet soon. It'll be blogged when it's up! Pictured below is the mural we sang "We Are Together" in front of.

After our tour, we walked to the City Tavern, a restaurant that serves authentic 18th century cuisine in a history filled building Dining in a favorite hot-spot of John Adams and friends made us feel apart of history. Following dinner, we headed over to the Penn's Landing area, where we bonded on the boardwalk for some time before heading back to the dorms for a good nights sleep.

Tour 2010: Day 1

2010-06-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

Tour 2010 is officially underway! This morning we made a smooth departure from BCC Central around 10am, and were on our way to Philadelphia. We quickly discovered that our bus has Wi-Fi which was great news as the seven hour bus ride got a little bit boring after a while. Needless to say, we were very glad to arrive at St. Joseph's University around 6:00 pm, and settled into our dorm rooms before having a great BBQ dinner in the SJU Student Center. After dinner we brushed up on the music we'll be singing tomorrow at Independence Hall for a Naturalization Ceremony -- rumor has it multiple US Secretaries will be there! We can't wait to welcome immigrants into the US with song. Check the twitter to review the updates from today, and to get frequent updates in the upcoming days! http://www.twitter.com/bcchorus

Social Media Tips: BCC Style!

2010-06-29T22:21:00.001-04:00

BCC is embarking on a tour of the East Coast tomorrow! Want to know what we're up to all the time? Well you CAN! See below for all sorts of info on experiencing our tour with us.

Facebook: BCC has a facebook fanpage called "Boston Children's Chorus". To find it, log in to facebook and search Boston Children's Chorus in the search box. The BCC fanpage's icon is the BCC Logo with a black background. Here's the direct link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boston-Childrens-Chorus/122489444431397?ref=ts

Twitter: Twitter is a great resource for frequent updates! The BCC twitter is public and can be viewed by anyone online at http://www.twitter.com/bcchorus. To get SMS updates (recommended), a twitter account is needed. It's really easy to create!

To create a twitter account and get BCC updates texted to your phone:
1. Send a text message to the phone number 40404 with the word START
2. Twitter will send you a reply and ask you to reply with the word SIGNUP to create a new account. Send SIGNUP
3. Next twitter will ask you to pick a username. It should be less than 15 characters. Reply with the username you want.
4. You will get a confirmation (or Twitter will ask you to pick a different name if that one is already in use) and will be asked to reply with a password.
5. Your Twitter account has been created!
6. Then, text FOLLOW bcchorus to 40404 and you will start receiving BCC updates via text message!

If you already have a twitter account, but have not set up Mobile Twitter:
1. Send a text message to the phone number 40404 with the word START
2. Twitter will send you a reply and ask you to reply with your username.
3. Then, when prompted, reply with your password.
4. Twitter will ask you to send OK if you want to use Twitter on your phone. Send OK!
5. Then, text FOLLOW bcchorus to 40404, and you will start receiving BCC tweets on your phone.

If you have twitter and have already set up Mobile Twitter:
1. Text FOLLOW bcchorus to 40404, and you will start receiving BCC updates via text message!

Blog: As always, the BCC blog will be updated nightly at http://www.bostonchildrenschorus.blogspot.com

Andre Rieu Concert!

2010-06-29T22:16:00.001-04:00

On June 23rd, BCC singers performed at Agganis Arena with the Andre Rieu Tour. Check out the video below!

Jim Papoulis visits Concert Choir!

2010-04-12T12:07:00.000-04:00

On April 7th, Jim Papoulis, Director of The Young People's Chorus of New York City and Foundation for Small Voices visited Concert Choir rehearsal. Molly and Elizabeth McGrath, Concert Choir members reflected on the experience...

"Concert Choir had the opportunity to work with Jim Papoulis last Wednesday! We wrote a song with him during our rehearsal last week. It is amazing how Mr. Papoulis can pull music out of thin air and play it on the piano. Kids in the choir sang sounds softly as he played and wrote the song with us. He asked “What is music?” A simple question. Some of the choir responded with “emotions fitted to sound”, and that’s what he worked into the song with us. He asked us to share our favorite things about music and our negatives against it, and how we feel. When it was time to focus on lyrics, he asked us for words that described those feelings. It was really cool to see how different and alike we all are. We had an awesome time writing a song with friends and with a Mr. Papoulis. We shared our creative ability through feelings and let a small piece of us fuel the music; it all fit together in perfect harmony. It was really cool to have a song at the end of the day that reflects what we think and who we are." - Molly and Elizabeth McGrath

BCC featured on Channel 7!

2010-03-25T09:05:00.000-04:00

Last night, singers from Premier Choir and Young Men's Ensemble performed for Deval Patrick at the dedication of the Pat Patrick Collection at the Berklee College of Music Performance Center.

Click on the link to see more! http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO138540/

Happy Birthday Bach!

2010-03-22T11:05:00.000-04:00

March 21st marked Johann Sebastian Bach's 325th birthday! Can you believe it?! On March 20th, Emmanuel Music planned a day full of festivities celebrating Bach's birthday, the last of which featured Concert Choir in Bach Cantata BWV 42. Concert Choir members enjoyed preparing the piece and working with John Harbison and everyone at Emmanuel Music to make it their very best in honor of Bach's birthday.

Songs My Mother Taught Me Video

2010-03-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, February 27, 2010 BCC's Training and Intermediate Choirs worked with expert educator Dr. Judy Bowers from Florida State University. The choirs as well as over 40 local music teachers worked with Dr. Bowers in a day of professional development. The day culminated with a full audience enjoying a concert conducted by Ms. Idicheria, Mrs. Adams, and Dr. Bowers. Below is a video of singers sharing the songs their mother's taught them.

Happy "Madame White Snake" Day!

2010-02-24T08:44:00.001-05:00

In the City of Boston, today is officially "Madame White Snake" Day.. how cool is that?! The timing is fitting as "Madame White Snake" the Opera in which Premier Choir is performing with through Opera Boston, is opening THIS weekend! PC has been enjoying every second of participating in "Madame White Snake" and is very eager to perform in the shows. Click here for an Boston Globe article about the production, and be sure to watch the video below for insight on the creative process behind the Opera.

Madame White Snake will be performed at the Cutler Majestic Theater on Friday, February 26th at 7:30 pm, Sunday, February 28th at 3:00 pm, and Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:30 pm. For more information, visit www.operaboston.org.

ACDA Performance!

2010-02-23T23:27:00.000-05:00

On February 12th, Premier Choir headed to Philadelphia to perform at the American Choral Director's Association regional conference. Premier performed exceptionally well and felt wonderful about the outcome. Mr. Howse said that, "for us, it was a red letter day - a day that we were able to showcase an extraordinarily talented group of diverse kids singing at a very high level of excellence. BCC has the opportunity to play a very important role in shaping opinions (locally, regionally, and nationally) of what a group of young, diverse singers can achieve – particularly with such a richly diverse repertoire."

Click here for a youtube playlist of our ACDA performance!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

Singers decided to show their appreciation and love for the staff in a... special way this Valentines Day. Nothing says "you're the best!" like a decorated car to show off around town! Needless to say, Mr. Howse, Mr. Tk, and Mrs. Rogers loved their Valentines surprise, check it out!

Follow BCC on Twitter! www.twitter.com/bcchorus

2010-02-11T11:49:00.000-05:00

Are you following BCC on twitter?! You should be! The BCC twitter is frequently updated with live updates telling you what's up at BCC. Check it out! www.twitter.com/bcchorus This weekend is a great weekend to start following us... go for it!

PC to travel to Philadelphia for ACDA Regional Conference Feb 12 and 13!

2010-02-11T11:43:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, Premier Choir will travel to perform at the American Choral Director's Association Eastern Division conference in Philadelphia. It is a great honor to be selected to perform at this conference and Premier Choir is looking forward to performing a powerful set.

The BCC twitter will be updated throughout the weekend with updates on our adventures... follow us at www.twitter.com/bcchorus

Symphonic Relief For Haiti

2010-02-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, PC and YME singers gathered at Jordan Hall to be a part of "Symphonic Relief for Haiti", a concert to benefit Partners In Health's work in Haiti. Singers had been looking for an opportunity to help out with Haiti relief, and this concert was an excellent opportunity to do so. BCC enjoyed collaborating with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra and Jean Bernanrd Cerin, an NEC masters candidate, to perform "Sole Oh", a traditional Haitian song.

Symphonic Relief will air at 10pm on channel 38WBZ in Boston on Sunday February 7th. Be sure to tune in!

Click here to check out photographer Helen Makadia's photos from the event.

BCC Mentioned on BroadwayWorld.com!

2010-02-02T15:58:00.000-05:00

Rehearsals are underway for Madame White Snake, a world-premiere Opera that Premier Choir will perform in February 26 through March 2nd. So far rehearsals have been going well -- singers are learning how to act on stage and are greatly enjoying working with Opera Boston's artistic staff. Read all about it here!

David Howse receives 3rd Annual Social Innovation Forum Achievement Award!

2010-02-01T00:35:00.001-05:00

On January 20th, David Howse, BCC's Executive Director, won the 3rd Annual Social Innovation Forum Achievement Award for his work since 2004 with the Boston Children's Chorus. To learn more about the Social Innovation Forum and Howse's award, click here.

Congratulations Mr. Howse!

Premier Choir member Kasey Fahy performs at the State House!

2010-02-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

On Thursday January 21st, Kasey Fahy, a Senior in Premier Choir, had the honor of singing the National Anthem for the Governor's State of the State Address. Check it out below!

BCC's Signature Concert: MLK 2010 - "From A Child's Mind"

2010-01-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of our video-savvy fans, you can pretty much relive this years MLK concert on youtube! Watch 'em in order for the real affect!

Concert Choir performance at Temple Israel MLK Shabbat Service!

2010-01-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

On January 15th, Concert Choir singers had the privilege of performing at Temple Israel's Annual MLK Shabbat Service. This is the third year that BCC has had the opportunity to sing at Temple Israel for this service, and it is always a wonderful experience for the singers to participate in the service beyond singing. This year's guest speaker was Jackie Jenkins-Scott, president of Wheelock college. While speaking about MLK's work and the importance of education, she said that she believes if MLK were alive today, he would surely look to youth as teachers and inspiration. How fitting!

Students from Beacon Academy and Temple Israel's Monday Night School gave powerful speeches, CC sang a song combined with TI's youth chorus and as always the Temple Israel staff was very kind and lots of fun to work with.

From the Top MLK jr Special!

2010-01-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

Premier Choir and Young Men's Ensemble spent the weekend of January 2nd and 3rd recording a Martin Luther King Jr Radio Special with From the Top, a great start to the new year! Singers enjoyed getting back together after an almost two week winter break, and meeting the other performers on the show (the BYSO String Quartet and Chaz Salazar, a flutist from Phoenix, Arizona). For the last song of the show, BCC collaborated with the BYSO string players to perform Kirk Franklin's "Lean On Me", a song that speaks to the power of friendship. Check out the journey from rehearsal to performance below!

It's 2010!

2010-01-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

A popular topic on twitter this week has been #10yearsago. In light of the new year, millions of twitter users reflected upon who they were, where they were up to, and what their interests were 10 years ago. With BCC celebrating its 7th birthday this year, it's amazing to think that 10 years ago, BCC didn't even exist and now we're over 400 strong and have traveled the world and made a name for ourselves as a musically excellent and socially impactful organization. Pretty cool! This year's annual report is available exclusively online and is a great look into how far we've come.

We really are starting off 2010 with a bang -- these next two months will be BCC's busiest to date. Premier and Young Men's will spend the first weekend of 2010 with From the Top, taping a Martin Luther King jr. special at Bethel AME that's scheduled to air on WBUR 87.9 FM on January 9th at 11am, January 10th at 6pm, and at times to be announced on January 18th and MLK jr day. BCC will also be celebrating MLK at Temple Israel, Concord Carlisle Middle School, YES! Boston, and with our signature Annual Martin Luther King Jr. "From A Child's Mind" at Jordan Hall on the 19th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. If you instead find yourself at home on the 19th, tune in to Channel 5 for a MLK special, featuring BCC.

Only a few weeks after MLK day, Premier Choir heads off to Philadelphia to perform at American Choral Director's Association regional conference, a huge honor. Meanwhile, Premier will also be rehearsing to perform in the World Premiere of "Madame White Snake", a modern opera, with Opera Boston. Performing in the Opera will require singers to commit to a professional's rehearsal schedule for the month of February which will be hard work, but singers are very much looking forward to being apart of a fully-staged production.

With the first two month's looking like that, it's safe to say this year is going to be a big one! Happy 2010 to all!

Holiday Performances!

2009-12-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

On December 5th, BCC gave two concerts back to back at Faneuil Hall to celebrate the Holiday season. It was a long day for BCC singers, but fun was had by all at every step of the way and everyone worked together to give a stellar performance.

It's December and Caroling Season is officially underway! After the Faneuil Hall Concerts on the 5th, PC performed at the Prudential Center for an enthusiastic audience of mall-shoppers. PC singers invited young audience members to join us on stage for the final number, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" which was enjoyable for all.

On Wednesday the 3rd, Concert Choir gave a wonderful holiday concert at the Museum of Fine Arts. CC was able to perform holiday carols as well as some songs from their regular repetoire, which was a great opportunity for them to showcase the great work they've done this season. Audience members of all ages enjoyed their selections and joined in singing Happy Birthday to CC member, Nicholas, during the concert. Happy Birthday Nicholas!

On Black Friday, intermediate choir singers took a break from their power-shopping to perform at the Macy's window unveiling and tree lighting. This was a great start to the holiday season for all involved! Kermit the Frog hosted the event and led the audience in a "Jingle Bells" sing-a-long, prompted by BCC, and following BCC's performance, Disney Channel stars Tiffany Thorton and Mitchell Musso performed, much to the delight of the intermediate singers.

How To: Purchase Our CD

2009-11-23T19:41:00.000-05:00

Are you looking to purchase a copy of our newest CD? We thought so! "This is the Sound of Harmony" is available online through Digistation. The CD will also be available on iTunes soon and can be purchased at BCC Central for $15.

CDs make a great gift! Buy one today!

Visiting Composer: Eric Banks

2009-11-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, November 19th, Eric Banks visited Premier Choir rehearsal. Last spring, BCC commissioned Eric to write a piece that would further our connection with Arabic Music. Eric created "A New Alphabet" a song that combines text in Arabic and English, in which all of the letters of the Arabic alphabet are used. "A New Alphabet" is a challenging piece and working with Eric gave us great insight into his thought process and helped us take the piece to a new level of understanding. Look forward to our December Newsletter for more information on our collaboration with Eric Banks!

Mass Advocates for Children 40th Anniversary Celebration and WGBH Open House!

2009-11-23T18:57:00.001-05:00

On November 13th, Premier and Young Men's Ensemble performed for the Massachusetts Advocates for Children 40th Anniversary Celebration. During its forty-year history, MAC has been at the forefront of statewide advocacy efforts to protect and expand the rights of children in urban education reform, special education, and other critical areas. MAC’s constituency has always been those children who face the greatest barriers to educational success, due to disability, race/ethnicity, language and/or poverty. After an introduction from our own Hubie Jones, PC sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" while a slide-show honoring the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a showtunes fan, was projected behind the choir. BCC was glad to be apart of honoring Senator Kennedy's legacy and extraordinary legislative successes on behalf of children, education, and people with disabilities.

On November 17th, PC performed at WGBH's Member Open House where WGBH members enjoyed tours of WGBH's state-of-the-art TV and radio studios, and got the behind-the-scenes details on the creative process at WGBH. Premier Choir gave a performance every half an hour for the duration of the event making it possible for us to reach over a hundred people over the course of then night. Singing in the Fraser Performance Center brought back memories of the wonderful recording sessions we did at WGBH for our new CD, "This is the Sound of Harmony" copies of which were sold at the event. Between performances, we had the special chance to meet and catch up with our pals Curious George and Rough Ruffman, from Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. Fun was had by all!

Happy Halloween from BCC!

2009-11-23T18:51:00.000-05:00

Much to the singers of Dorchester House Intermediate's amusement, Ms. Adams and Mr. Reynolds did a little switcheroo for their Halloween costumes.

CD Release! Documentary Preview! Fall Concert!

2009-11-09T22:45:00.000-05:00

Last week was a BIG ONE for BCC. How many choirs can say they released a CD, held a documentary screening, and hosted a self-produced concert featuring over 400 kids, many of whom were on-stage for the very first time, in one week? Well... the Boston Children's Chorus can!

Our newest, soon-to-be-on-iTunes CD, titled "This is the Sound of Harmony" was released this past Thursday, and already, hundreds of copies have been sold and it is receiving rave reviews. The CD features songs of a variety of styles from the past three years, and accurately captures the amount of growth that BCC has experienced in so little time.

Additionally, members of the BCC community and the Boston community at large gathered in the Boston Public Libary's Rabb Hall to view a preview for Olivia Spaletta's documentary on our tour to Jordan this past summer. Watching the preview brought back great memories for singers and staff alike, and very accurately depicted the experiences and emotions of traveling to Jordan.

On Saturday, November 7th, BCC's first self-produced concert of the year, featuring all nine choirs of the Boston Children's Chorus, titled "A La Carte" was held at Tremont Temple. The concert was a tremendous success on all levels. For many BCC singers, it was their first time performing with the chorus and all singers really rose to the occasion. Managing 400 singers of course creates some logistical challenges, but thanks to wonderful planning and the help of City Year volunteers, the day ran very smoothly.

Finally, on November 8th, singers from Premier Choir had the joy of performing at Pine Street Inn's "Knit-A-Thon" where committed volunteers were able to create over 40 blankets for Pine Street's Supportive Housing Program.

October Performances

2009-11-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

October was a busy month for BCC! In addition to performing at Blooming Arts, the Samaritan's 5k, and Fenway Alliance's "Opening Our Doors Day", BCC gave another four performances and hosted singers from the American Boy Choir, held three retreats, a leadership training session, and a parent's meeting! Whew!

On October 10th, PC performed at the American Academy of Arts and Science's Induction Ceremony. The event was in Sanders Theater, which is always a wonderful space to sing in -- the acoustics are incredible. Notable speakers at the event were Emmylou Harris and James Earl Jones. We hope they enjoyed our singing!

On October 23rd, PC performed for the opening event of the first annual Boston Book Festival! This event, at Trinity Church, was especially enjoyable for PC singers because instead of waiting backstage, PC was seated on-stage for the duration of the event allowing singers see the others special guests (Livingston Taylor, Benjamin Zander and Richard Russo) do their thing. PC's performance inspired our new friend, Livingston Taylor, to remark, "I'm on to you guys like cheap whiskey!". We had a great time.

October 28th was a double performance day for BCC. Villa Victoria Training Choir gave a wonderful performance at Boston City Mission Society's first Community Appreciation Night. The CMS, an urban social justice agency, is the oldest multi-service agency in New England, and strives to unite and strengthen the community by focusing on homelessness prevention, youth peace promotion, and faith and community. Additionally, at almost exactly the same time, Premier Choir performed for arguably the most well-known African-American rabbi in the U.S., Rabbi Capers C. Funnye, and the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts. What an exciting day!

Villa Victoria Performs at Fenway Alliance's Opening Our Doors Day!

2009-11-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

On Columbus Day, Villa Victoria singers met at the Christian Science Plaza to perform at Fenway Alliance's Kick Off Event for their annual "Opening Our Doors Day". The Fenway Alliance is a group that aims to promote the arts in the Fenway area and foster collaboration between arts organizations and the community. VV's performance at this event was one of BCC's first performances of the year! All singers, new and old, did their part to give a great performance.

Premier Choir co-President Casey Accardi was recently featured in an article in "Teen Life."

2009-10-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

Premier Choir co-President Casey Accardi was recently featured in an article in "Teen Life." Accardi, who has been with BCC for 5 years and is a volunteer with the Teen Life organization, which helps build self-esteem and confidence among teen girls. To read the full article, click here

Training Chorus Retreats

2009-10-13T14:36:00.001-04:00

Saturday, October 10 was retreat day for the Training Choirs at BCC Central. Ms. Idichera worked with West End House and Central Training first. Singers focused on polishing music for the November 7 season opening concert and started on holiday music for the December 5th concert. Students had time to socialize over snacks that everyone brought to share. Singers also interviewed one another and asked each other what their favorite song to sing or listen to and what their goal for the year is.

The hand of the last person singers interviewed was traced on a poster signifying that all the singers were united to help each other be successful this year.

Dorchester House Training and Villa Victoria also met in the afternoon for their retreat. Ms. Adams also prepared November 7 and December 5 music. Thanks to all the singers and families that brought in snacks and helped throughout the day.

PC Performance at Samaritans 5K and YME Retreat/Performance at Blooming Arts!

2009-10-05T21:35:00.000-04:00

Saturday, October 3rd was a big day for BCC! It started bright and early for Young Men's Ensemble with an all day retreat beginning at 9 am. However, not so long after, Premier Choir gathered at Artesani Park in Brighton to perform at Samaritan's "Run for Someoone Else's Life" 5K and Family Fun Festival. A non-profit organization, Samaritans is dedicated to reducing the incidence of suicide by befriending individuals in crisis and educating the community about effective prevention strategies. Through fundraisers like the 5K, Samaritans can make a greater impact on the lives of others. Premier sang as part of the awards ceremony in which race winners in seven categories were awarded medals. BCC was glad to be there to enhance the power of the event. Additionally, Wally the Green Monster was in attendance, and Ben Hires was lucky enough to grab a snapshot with him!

Later in the day, Young Men's traveled from BCC Central, to the Home of Cambridge resident, Swanee Hunt, to perform at Blooming Arts, a fundraiser focused on organizations working to provide youth with meaningful education in the arts. When asked about his day, Young Men's President, Grant Jones said, "Today is a great day for Young Mens. We were able to make significant progress on our new music, got to know each other better through retreat, and gave, in my opinion, a highly engaging and crowd pleasing performance at Blooming Arts. Overall, this is a great start to the season for us!"

PC Performance at Villa Victoria!

2009-10-05T21:26:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, September 27th, Premier Choir gave their very first performance of the year at Villa Victoria. Villa Victoria Center for the Arts presents dynamic cross cultural collaborations in order to promote, preserve, and celebrate Latino culture. BCC performed as a part of their Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. This was a wonderful opportunity for BCC because although one of BCC's training choirs rehearses weekly at Villa Victoria, this was the first time a BCC choir had the chance to perform at a mainstage Villa Victoria event. Premier choir sang some old favorites and new soon-to-be favorites; new singers to PC did a great job in performing music they'd just learned like pros. After singing, some singers were able to stick around to hear the special guests of the event, Puerto Rican Choir, Camerata Coral, sing beautiful music with Latino roots. Overall, it was a great start to the season!

'09-'10 Season Underway!

2009-09-20T13:03:00.001-04:00

This weekend marked the end of the second week of rehearsals for BCC's 7th season. With over 400 singers now involved in BCC, there were plenty of new faces in rehearsals. Singers have already begun getting to know each other and making new friends. All choirs are off to a great start! Numbers are up across the board, especially in Young Men's Ensemble which has over 35 singers this season!

Below is a snapshot of (some of) this year's Concert Choir. The group is so large that they didn't all fit in a picture at once!

Jordan Tour: Days Nine and Ten!

2009-07-10T09:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we left the dead sea resort quite early and took a three hour bus ride to Aqaba, the most metropolitan area we've seen outside of Amman. We spent the whole day swimming, snorkeling in the coral reefs, and relaxing on the beach. Much fun was had by all! Follow our outing, we checked in to the Petra Marriott hotel, just in time to see the beautiful sunset. Singers enjoyed posing for photos before heading for a traditional Jordanian buffet. After dinner, we had an early lights out which was ideal as everyone needed to store up energy for Petra.

Following a good night's sleep, we boarded the buses and drove over to Petra, where we spent the whole day. Petra was BEAUTIFUL. Being one of the seven wonders of the world, we had high expectations, but Petra still went above and beyond them. It was absolutely incredible to envision the city that was there so many years ago. Although it was 105 degrees out, singers barely noticed the heat as we were very well hydrated and so in awe of our surroundings. Following our adventure, we headed back to the hotel where some chose to take a swim, and then headed out to a real Bedouin camp for a Bedouin style dinner.

Jordan Tour: Day Eight!

2009-07-08T17:51:00.001-04:00

Today was our day of rest and relaxation at the Marriot Dead Sea Resort and Spa... its was WONDERFUL. Everyone was able to chill out and get some sun, not to mention swim in the dead sea! Singers took advantage of the Dead Sea mud to exfoliate their skin and enjoyed taking a dip in the Marriot's beautiful pools. It is safe to say that everyone had a glorious time... I think that just about any of us would be willing to move to Jordan at this point! We enjoyed having great meals at restaurants in the hotel and also had the treat of working with the conductor of Jordan's National Conservatory for music who taught us a lot about the difference between our major and minor scales and the scales used in Jordan. Overall, we had an incredible day.

Jordan Tour: Days Six and Seven!

2009-07-07T18:41:00.000-04:00

Sorry for this late update, we were at the King's Academy yesterday and internet access was a challenge.

Yesterday we checked out of the Amman Marriot hotel and headed to the King's Academy for a full day of fun. Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly by student counselors from the King's Academy Summer Enrichment Program (SEP). SEP brings under-privileged and over-achieving 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from throughout Jordan to the King's Academy for a two week summer program designed to allow these students to further their knowledge to an extent further than possible at their regular schools. The program combines academic and extra-curricular classes, allowing the students to have a good time while cultivating a love of learning.

After a tour of the King's Academy's stunning campus, we had the joy of eating lunch in small groups with kids from SEP who were all incredibly kind and friendly. Everyone really enjoyed getting to know the SEP kids and learning about their culture. After lunch and a meeting in the auditorium, BCC and SEP students were broken into small groups and assigned topics to discuss and create a presentation about. After nearly an hour of conversation and preparation, 12 wonderful presentations were made discussing the similarities and differences in American and Jordanian culture, which was eye opening for all involved.

Following break time and a wonderful dinner, BCC gathered for a much needed reflection on the trip thus far. From the comments made by nearly the entire choir and staff, its clear that everyone is having a enjoyable and life-changing experience here. Its been incredible for us to see what is really going on in the middle east and singers are eager to share their new found understanding.

Today we woke up bright and early for a tasty breakfast (King's Academy food is WAY better than regular food) and then headed over to the auditorium to perform for the King's Academy graduation recital for the 8th graders. The performance was one of our best so far. The audience was really enthusiastic and very into some of our music, especially the song "Zikr", an Islamic celebration song. After an outpouring of audience members exclaiming, "again!", YME actually reprised the song, which they found exciting and uplifting.

After performing, we said goodbye to our King's Academy friends and headed to Kerak to sight-see. Wandering through the fort at Kerak was really cool, it is really well preserved and their is historical reasoning behind the design, which was interesting for us to learn about.

Following our explorations, we enjoyed a buffet lunch in Kerak and then headed to the Al Hussein Cultural Center to rehearse and perform for the Jordan Festival. This concert, which was our final definite one for this tour, was a tremendous experience. We've never had such an enthusiastic and vocal audience; the applause and cheering after each song was overwhelmingly strong. Singers truly had a great time.

After the concert, we headed to dinner and then boarded the bus for a two-hour ride to the Marriot Dead Sea Resort and Spa, which is where we are now. Everyone is settled into their rooms and we're looking forward to getting a good night's sleep for our day of relaxation by the Dead Sea tomorrow.

Jordan Tour: Day Five!

2009-07-05T17:36:00.000-04:00

Today was yet another jam-packed day! We left at 9:30 to head to Jerash, the most well preserved Roman ruins outside of Rome. The sights were absolutely incredible. We had the opportunity to sing in the Roman amphitheater where the acoustics were out of this world. Afterwards, many singers climbed to the top of the amphitheater and took in the view, which was outstanding.

After Jerash, we went out for lunch at yet another wonderful Jordanian BBQ restaurant and then headed to Zarqa Cultural Center, our performance space for the evening. After a little R&R (rehearsing and relaxation) we gave a great performance at 7pm for a considerable audience of enthusiastic members, during which we sang for over an hour and a half. It was really fun to sing a long set, we had the opportunity to perform songs we hadn't sung in a while.

Post-concert, we headed out for Mexican food which really hit the spot for most of the group. With being in a foreign country, the risk of dehydration and illness increases, and although we've had a few sick singers, for the most part, we're doing really well.

Tonight we've all got a lot of packing to do as we're headed to the King's Academy tomorrow for an overnight. We're all really excited to get to know the students there. Check back for updates soon!

Jordan Tour: Day Four!

2009-07-04T17:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July! This morning we visited Madaba, home of Mt. Nebo and a whole bunch of amazing mosaics. The view from the top of Mt. Nebo was incredible, we could see the west bank which was pretty cool. We also learned a lot about the religious significance of the location and visited the Mt. Nebo museum which contained many interesting artifacts.

After Mt. Nebo, we visited a workshop where people were hand-crafting mosaics. We got to see them up close at work and were amazed by the detail of their creations. We then checked out their store where many singers picked up awesome souvenirs and had a great time looking around and taking touristy photos.

Before proceeding to lunch, we stopped at a beautiful mosaic church, where we discovered the acoustics were incredible... yeah we squeezed a little singing in. We then enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Haret Jdoudna where we were served a traditional Jordanian BBQ. We were seated outdoors and the weather was sunny and wonderful.

After lunch we headed to the US Embassy where we performed for their 4th of July festivities. The US Embassy was cute... it was like a little piece of the USA nestled inside Jordan. Unfortunately there are no photos as we weren't allowed to bring cameras however be assured that the event Embassy was beautiful and we had a great time being there.

After a hour of shopping at City Mall, we headed back to the hotel where some singers had the joy of participating in an arabic choral singing workshop with the conductor of Dozan Wa Atwar, a local choral group. Singers enjoyed the experience immensely and learned a lot about combining rote and sheet music based learning methods for the best possible outcome.

Around 8:15, we headed out to dinner at Chinese WOX, a local restaurant. The food was great and spirits were high as we reflected on the great trip we've been having so far.

Where we are now!

2009-07-03T18:48:00.000-04:00

Follow our whereabouts on Google Maps.

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Jordan Tour: Day Three!

2009-07-03T17:20:00.001-04:00

Today was a jam-packed day! After breakfast and money exchange, we headed out to do some major sight-seeing. Visiting the crusader forts and desert castles was absolutely incredible. It's one thing to see and hear about ancient ruins, but to actually visit them in person was a moment to last a lifetime.

We took a little detour on our way to lunch... Note the sign in the upper left corner.

We weren't sure which way to go... we headed towards Iraq.

After sight-seeing, we headed to Kan Zaman for a Jordanian BBQ lunch and then visited adjoining flea market, Souk Jara. Singers enjoyed lunch and many invested in great souvenirs.

After returning to the hotel for a little bit of unscheduled rest and relaxation, we checked out another local flea market before enjoying a splendid dinner at books@cafe. Post dining on great pizza and pasta, we celebrated the birthdays of YME singer, Cautchy, and our fabulous teaching fellow. Happy Birthday Guys!

It's awfully late so this post will be kept short, but check back tomorrow for more updates!

Jordan Tour: Day Two!

2009-07-02T16:13:00.000-04:00

Today we woke up bright and early for our first tour performance! After enjoying Marriot Amman's continental breakfast (where we noted a spiffy article on us in the Jordan Times), we boarded the buses and headed to the Queen Al Sharaf Institute for Development (ZENID), Jordan's leading national institute dedicated to promoting learning for social development.

Upon arrival at ZENID, we performed for a large audience of students of the ZENID program who were similar in age to us. The audience expressed feeling truly touched by our performance, which is always rewarding to hear. After performing, we had the opportunity to meet and greet the students, and some of them even graced us with a performance of original raps which resulted in a brief and somewhat wild (BCC style wild... don't worry) dance party.

After ZENID, we boarded the buses for a brief tour of Amman, and then arrived at the Amman Children's Museum, which would be our performance venue for the evening. It was at about this time that the jet-lag started to hit some singers pretty hard, but we all supported each other and took the afternoon easy.

Our evening performance went wonderfully. Although it was outdoors, for the most part we were just fine in terms of temperature. As you probably know, the temperatures are pretty high here in Jordan, however we've noted that its a dry heat and thus most have been content temperature wise. We'll see what tomorrow will bring as we're spending a lot of time outdoors, but we aren't too concerned. We've also been rockin' our snazzy red Converse shoes, compliments of Converse Inc., our official footwear sponsor.

After our performance, we headed to Tawahin Al Hawa for a traditional Jordanian BBQ. We enjoyed trying new foods, bonding with each other, and reflecting on tour thus far. Everyone is having a great time, and we're so excited to see what this trip will bring. Check back tomorrow for another update!

BCC Arrives in Jordan!

2009-07-01T15:25:00.000-04:00

We've arrived in Jordan! It's really exciting to finally be here. Right now it's almost 11:00pm Jordan time and we're all winding down to go to bed. Yesterday we met at BCC central for a 2pm departure by bus to head to New York. After loading all of our luggage onto the bus and saying farewells to our parents, we left approximately on-time, which is a feat for this group!

Our bus ride was fairly uneventful. Because we're such a large group, we had to split up into two buses. Upon arrival at JFK, we checked in and got dinner before boarding our flight at 9:45. Our flight from JFK to Amman Airport in Jordan was eleven hours... eleven hours is a LONG TIME! Thankfully though, many of us were able to get some sleep and we all entertained each other pretty well.

It was quite odd to arrive in Jordan after traveling nineteen hours and have it be 5 in the afternoon. We lost a whole day in there somewhere... so strange. But provided we sleep well tonight, we will have adjusted to Jordan time fairly easily. To most of us, it felt like 5pm when we landed, which is great!

Clearing customs was surprisingly easy. Probably because we're a large group, the airport staff was lenient and accommodating in terms of working with us... they collected our passports and returned them swiftly, avoiding individual processing for each person. Also, our checked luggage was transported directly from the plane to our hotel rooms with minimal help from us. Overall, we're pretty well taken care of!

Once we arrived at the Amman Marriot Hotel, we gathered with our roommates, got situated in our rooms, ate a quick dinner, and then settled in for a much needed rehearsal. Although most of us were pretty tired, it felt great to get together with the whole group and sing.

Right now we're getting ready for bed. We hope to sleep a full night so that we're feeling good for tomorrow as we have a jam-packed day that's sure to be awesome! We're trying hard to keep healthy and hydrated which is made easier by Pepsi, our official drink sponsor for this tour. Check out the picture below of singers showing off the new polos we received from Pepsi. How cute, thanks Pepsi!

Check back soon for more updates!

Deval Patrick joins BCC for a Jordan Send-Off!

2009-06-25T23:19:00.002-04:00

On June 25th, PC and YME singers were invited by Deval Patrick to the State House for a Jordan Send-Off photo and farewell!

Prior to Deval's arrival, many singer's representatives visited and all extended words of interest and encouragement towards us. We were mid-rehearsal when Mr. Patrick arrived and he encouraged us to keep singing! Our performances of "We Are Together", "Shosholoza" and "Make Them Hear You" were met with enthusiastic applause. After posing with us for a few photos, Mr. Patrick wished us a great trip, said he is looking forward to hearing all about it, and invited us to come back to the State House anytime!

Mary Ann's Farewell Gathering!

2009-06-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

On June 16th, Young Men's Ensemble and assorted staff and friends of BCC gathered at BCC central to bid a fond farewell to Mary Ann Brennan Newcomb, BCC's Director of Development, who will be moving on next season. Mary Ann is always appreciated for her warm sunny presence in the office and great advice. She's always there to provide a good pep-talk and confidence boost! She will be very missed next season. In recognition of Mary Ann's can-do attitude and the hard work she has done for BCC, Young Men's Ensemble animatedly sang a lively arrangement of "Workin' on the Railroad".

PC and YME prepare for Jordan Tour!

2009-06-14T18:29:00.000-04:00

On June 14th, Premier Choir and Young Men's Ensemble gathered at Mount Ida College to perform at the Center for Arab Culture's (CAC) Graduation Ceremony. Not only was this a performance, but it was also an opportunity for singers to mingle with people from the center and try some Arab foods. Many different (and tasty) foods were tried, and a fun time was had by all! BCC has really appreciated the warmness and helpfulness of the CAC as they've been a great help in preparing BCC to tour to Jordan. As you can see, singers also wore their new tour uniform shirts for the first time, which will be worn for formal performances in Jordan. Check back soon to hear more about tour preparations!

BCC collaborates with Rwandan Performers!

2009-06-12T10:51:00.001-04:00

On June 2nd, PC and YME had the honor of collaborating with young singers and dancers from Rwanda for a performance at UNICEF's Children's Champions Dinner, held at the State House. That evening, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his wife Jeanette were presented with an award for their work in promoting education and economic development in Rwanda. Ben Affleck, Deval Patrick, Swanee Hunt, and others were rumored to be on the audience. But what made the night special was not the glamorous performance venue or the potential celebrity sightings, but the power of music as a universal language shown so clearly in action. A few days before the performance, BCC singers and the Rwandan performers met together to rehearse. Right from the start it was clear that there were few words all mutually understood, however there was one thing everyone could relate to: music. With warm smiles on their faces, the Rwandan youth taught BCC singers a song of their own. Although this might seem simple, the mutual knowledge of this one song brought about a feeling of closeness that few other things can. The pre-existing language barrier melted away, and a new found bond developed between the groups.

At the event, President Paul Kagame gave an address. His words proved to be very relevant to the power of this collaboration. He said:
"Before I proceed, permit me to share something with you about the group of young girls who performed for us a few moments ago alongside their friends from the Boston Children's Chorus.

I was delighted to see these groups of children sing together although they live thousands of miles apart.

On April 7th of this year, Rwanda commemorated fifteen years since the 1994 genocide.

At this time, when - understandably - sorrow settles quite heavily across the country, these children we heard tonight sang songs to us - of hope and courage well beyond their years. Songs that embodied the spirit of Rwanda's resilience.

In essence, these children - and their peers back home - continue to inspire us to push against sometimes seemingly overwhelming odds to build the country they deserve, and they are the reason Rwanda will prosper." - President Paul Kagame

All Choir Spring Concert, "An Afternoon at the Theater!"

2009-05-31T23:59:00.002-04:00

On May 30th, all nine of BCC's choirs participated in the season's final concert where the musical genre of choice was showtunes! Highlights included Treble Choir's rendition of, "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie, DHII and Lyric singing, "Pick a Little/Goodnight Ladies" from The Music Man, and YME/PC singing, "The Color Purple". A favorite moment was when the audience joined BCC in singing, "Make Them Hear You" from Ragtime, which BCC singers were sure to teach their parents at home prior to the concert. Fun was had by all!

BCC toasts Annette Rubin!

2009-05-31T23:59:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday, May 26th, BCC held a farewell celebration for BCC's Executive Director, Annette Rubin. A farwell video made for her was shown at the event, check it out below!

DHII/Lyric Choir performance with the Nashoba Youth Orchestra!

2009-05-31T23:58:00.001-04:00

On May 15th, BCC's intermediate choirs, Dorchester House II and Lyric, performed with Westford-based Nashoba Youth Orchestra in North Chelmsford. This was an extra special performance because the fabulous Ray Daniels, BCC's Manager of Programs and Recruitment, additionally conducts the Premier Orchestra of NYO, which DHII and Lyric had the pleasure of working with. Together, the groups performed son Faure's "Pie Jesu", Saint Thomas Aquinas' "Panis Angelicus", and Bach's "Bist Du Bei Mir". This performance was thrilling for the DHII and Lyric singers because for most of them, it was their first opportunity to sing with full orchestra. The singers gave gusto-filled performance and thuroughly enjoyed working with the NYO musicians.

Premier Choir performance with the Cantata Singers!

2009-05-31T23:57:00.000-04:00

Premier Choir performed with the Cantata Singers at Jordan Hall on May 8th. For background information, check out this post! Below is a video of Anthony Trecek-King conducting BCC and the Cantata Singers Ensemble in Benjamin Britten's "Psalm 150".

CC Tours to Connecticut!

2009-05-31T19:56:00.000-04:00

BCC's Concert Choir (CC) toured to Connecticut May 2nd and 3rd. To catch up with the group, BCC blogger, Casey Accardi, conducted a Q&A session with them following their trip.

Blog: So I understand you had to leave pretty early in the morning for tour?
CC: Yeah we had to be at BCC central by 7:15 am which was not easy! We almost had to leave without Clare but she just made it in time. Needless to say, our bus ride to Connecticut was pretty quiet because we were still sleepy. But Francesca made cookies which was a nice morning treat! Mr. Tk has a strict no singing on the bus rule although there was some mysterious singing coming from the back of the bus...

Blog: Well as long as Mr. Tk doesn't hear it, it's okay! Where did you arrive in Connecticut?
CC: After two hours of relaxing on the bus, we reached the Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut. The school was really nice! It felt more like a miniature college campus than a school. The chorus students were really welcoming. We started off by playing an ice-breaker game with them which was fun and then settled into rehearsal.

Blog: What did you rehearse?
CC: We sang about 12 songs from our own repertoire and then did a number of combined pieces with the Kingswood-Oxford singers. One favorite was "We Are Together", a song originally sung by the Agape Children's Choir, thats really enjoyable and powerful to sing. During the rehearsal, we mostly practiced the combined pieces so that all singers could be on the same page. At one point, Francesca had a clumsy moment and fell off the risers -- she was totally fine, it was pretty funny!

Blog: Sounds great! I hope you guys stopped to have lunch...?
CC: Oh yes don't worry, we did! They had a great cafeteria at Kingswood-Oxford. We had a nice selection of burritos, cookies, and chips to eat. During lunch, we got to sit with the K-O singers and get to know them which was awesome. They told us that in early April, they went on tour to Chicago and got to work with our friends the Chicago Children's Choir -- small world, isn't it?!

Blog: Small world indeed! So how was the actual concert?
CC: The concert with the K-O singers was great! They're a really good choir, it was awesome to exchange songs with them. The performance space was large but felt cozy -- it was ideal. The audience was sizeable and quite enthusiastic. Its safe to say fun was had by all. It was one of our best concerts of the year.

Blog: Super! How were your homestays?
Homestays were so much fun! We were intentionally partnered with people from CC that we didn't know very well, which was excellent because we made great friends with each other. Additionally, we got to know K-O singers and their families more personally -- everyone was so nice! We really appreciated them for welcoming us into their homes.

Blog: How lovely! How was your sunday?
Sunday was an action packed day! We got up bright and early and had farewell breakfast with our host families. Then we headed to Center Church Hartford to perform at their 9:00 am service. They have a great music ministry there, it was wonderful working with them. After the service, we grabbed lunch and then got back on the bus to go home. On the way, we watched Finding Nemo... such a great movie. Overall, our whirlwind tour of Connecticut was a fantastic experience!

Concert Choir Prepping for Tour!

2009-04-30T00:23:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Concert Choir will be going on a whirlwind tour of Connecticut, performing twice over the course of the weekend. In their final rehearsal before tour, they rehearsed their repertoire and went over tour expectations and guidelines. Below is a video clip of CC practicing Bob Chilcott's "All Things Pass". Press HQ in the bottom right corner of the video for the best quality viewing. Check back soon for a blog entry about their weekend!

Classroom Cantatas - collaboration preview!

2009-04-28T23:28:00.000-04:00

On May 8th, Premier Choir will be performing with the Cantata Singers at Jordan Hall. While the main piece that we're preparing is Britten's "Psalm 150", today we got the opportunity to work on another piece with the 4th grade class of Dorchester's Neighborhood House Charter School. These 4th graders are not your everyday 4th graders -- they're composers too! Through the Cantata Singer's program called Classroom Cantatas, NHCS' 4th graders worked with teaching artists and classroom teachers to compose the words and music of their own original cantatas. They created two cantatas, "The Caterpillar" and "Wrens and Robins" which we learned and sung with them this afternoon. It was an exciting exchange because NHCS taught us their songs, and in turn we taught them the basics of solfege and performed a few of our own pieces for them.

Above is a super short sneak preview of the song "Wrens and Robins"... come to the May 8th concert to see the whole thing as well as other awesome works!

From the Top Performance!

2009-04-28T23:08:00.001-04:00

On March 29th, PC and YME had the pleasure of performing on From the Top! FTT is a non-profit organization that celebrates the passion, dedication and personal stories of the nation's outstanding young classical musicians.

Singers had a great time performing in Jordan Hall and getting to know the other performers on the show. From the Top posted photos from the concert, click here to check them out! They also posted a cool video of BCC singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water", accompanied by Clifton Williams, an awesome young pianist from Washington D.C.

From the Top's radio show featuring BCC will air on in Boston on WGBH 89.7 FM on Saturday, May 2 at 11am and Sunday, May 3 at 6pm. Click here to check your local listings.

Additionally, the broadcast is also available for listening now on the BCC page of From the Top's website.

Check out From the Top's blog! http://greenroom.fromthetop.org/

Concert Choir performs at ACDA Big Sing!

2009-03-31T21:58:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, March 31st, Concert Choir performed at the American Choral Director's Association Children's Choir festival at St. Cecilia's Church in Boston. This performance was fun and unique because BCC was one of ten choirs performing, so the singers got to see other local groups sing and had the opportunity to learn from their performances. The festival was non-competititave and was adjudicated by David Hodgkins, artistic director of Coro Allegro. Concert Choir, the first group to perform, gave wondeful renditions of Bob Chilcott's "Circles of Motion" and Barbara Baker's "The Storm is Passing Over". St. Cecilia's church was an incredible space to perform in; the acoustics were amazing and the any seat in the house was a good seat.

Throughout the night, we heard from the All Together Now Family Chorus, the Peabody School Early Bird Singers, BU's Neshikot, The Boston City Singer's Jamaica Plain Training Chous and Concert Chorus, St. Mary's School Choir, John Marshall School Children's Chorus, The Gentlemen of Tufts University and the St. Theresa of Avila Children's Choir. Many of the groups sang old favorites of BCC's... The John Marshall School Children's Chorus' gave a lovely performance Show Me How, under the direction of former Villa Victoria conductor June Ambush who dedicated the performance to BCC. Additionally, the Boston City Singers Concert Chorus sang Rollo Dillworth's I Dream a World, comissioned by the BCC in 2005, which touched the hearts of longtime BCC members in the audience. At the end of the concert, all ten groups performed a spirited rendition of Jim Papoulis' When I Close My Eyes, which was a great finale.

Training Choir Concert at Roxbury Community College!

2009-03-31T15:28:00.001-04:00

March 21st was a big day for the BCC. Not only did all four training choir's give a great concert at Roxbury Community College, but BCC also offered a day of professional development, allowing chorus teachers from across the state to learn about the BCC process. During the day, guest artist Mary Ellen Junda gave assistant artistic director Michelle Adams tips on how to improve her conducting and teaching, and directed the choirs enhancing the performance. The final performance went wonderfully; the singer performed with gusto and the music educators got to see BCC's process of music making in action.

PC performance at Harvard Leadership Fellow Event!

2009-03-30T21:16:00.000-04:00

On March 12th, Premier Choir had the joy of performing in the Harvard Class of 1959 chapel. The space was quite unique; not an ordinary chapel by any stretch of the imagination. It's cylindrical shape allowed for incredible acoustics and the greyscale interior decorating contrasted nicely with our fabulous red uniforms. The event was apart of the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative. The topic of the weekend was basic education and what role higher education can play in improving basic education and providing everyone with equal opportunities. In some schools the budget for music education and performing arts programs is being cut because of financial issues. I believe that music education is a fundamental part of education and should be included in the basic education that everyone recieves because it can help foster analytical thinking, creativity, communication, leadership and teamwork skills, so it was interesting to see how that related to the purpose of Harvard's think tank. Preceding our performance, Hubie Jones gave an introduction explaining the creation and mission of the Boston Children's Chorus and how it relates to education. We then sang a few pieces, notably Como Tu, Suscepit Israel, and Plant a Tree, all of which were well recieved by the audience. After the performance, some singers took the opportunity to attend a very interesting forum hosted by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School, titled "Crossing the Lines: Closing the Gaps in Education" with panelists Ron Ferguson, Charito Kruvant, Andreas Schleicher, Ruth Simmons, and Lea Ybarra.
- Casey Accardi

Concert Choir performs with Emmanuel Music!

2009-03-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

Another great performance for BCC! In our most recent concert, BCC's Concert Choir performed with Emmanuel music at Emmanuel Episcopal Church (http://www.emmanuel-boston.org/).

Concert Choir started out with One With The Darkness, a piece arranged especially for Emmanuel Music! After the stellar performance, the choir went backstage where we got some extra practice (and relaxing!) time.

After our downtime, we came back on stage to perform a Bach Cantata, Mit Fried und Freud, one of Bach's 400 cantatas!

Overall, it was another great success for BCC!

Guest Writer: Lydia Guterman, Concert Choir

BCC Benefit Concert!

2009-03-02T11:53:00.000-05:00