 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||
Jaclin Cummings, Teaching Fellow and
Michele Adams, Assistant Artistic Director discuss a
lesson plan for RAP
The BCC isn't just about singing songs and
performing at concerts, it is also about music
education and music theory. The BCC has been
developing a new music education program call
RAP-Rapid Achievement Practicum. Implemented last
season as an optional program, this year it is a
requirement for every singer in every choir. Michele
Adams is BCC's new Assistant Artistic Director and in
this newly created position she has taken on the
responsibility of directing RAP; she also serves as the
conductor for West End House, Treble Choir,
Dorchester I, and Dorchester II, and oversees BCC's
music library.
"It is important for the singers to learn music theory so
that they can understand the music and what they are
singing," says Adams. She has created lesson plans
and different goals for each singing level in
collaboration with the BCC Teaching Fellows who
teach the thirty-minute RAP sessions.
Some of the important skills RAP sessions teach are
rhythmic concepts, vocal techniques, melodic
concepts, and terminology. All of these relate directly
to what the singers are doing in rehearsals. "It's
exciting to see the kids understanding that what they
learn in the RAP sessions, they can use in rehearsal.
They see the connections."
|
||||
|
||||
|
||
Boston Landmarks Orchestra
Landmarks Halloween JFK Library Saturday, October 27th 10:30AM & Noon Dorchester House I Forest Hills Cemetery Celebrating Day of the Dead Friday, November 2nd Lyric Choir BCC Fall Concert Roxbury Community College Sunday, November 11th 6:30PM All Choirs Performance with Tufts Concert Choir Tufts University Thursday, November 15th Premier Choir Macy's Tree Lighting Downtown Crossing Friday, November 23rd Various choirs Czech Choir Collaboration First Church of Boston Thursday, November 29th 7PM Premier Choir |
||
|
|
||
The Premier Choir traveled to New Hampshire for
their first overnight retreat in early September. Cyrus
Dahmubed, Premier Choir singer, wrote about it for
the singer-managed BCC Blog. The following is an
excerpt from the blog. If you would like to read more
about the retreat and gain an insider's view into the
BCC click here to read the BCC Blog.
This season Mr. TK decided that premier choir will
have one over night retreat at the beginning of the
season, instead of multiple 9-5 retreats throughout
the season. The plan was for everyone to arrive at
BCC Central at 7:30 on the morning of Saturday,
September 8th. I instantly knew this was going to be a
problem. All singers were asked to arrive at 7:30 so
that the bus could leave at 7:45. At 7:30 about 10
singers had arrived, at 7:45 about half the singers had
arrived. At about 8:00 the staff decided that we should
start loading the school bus that was to take us to
Kensington, NH where the retreat was to be held at
the Kensington Pinnacle Leadership Center. So
slowly but surely the group of partially awake singers
began to load the bus with all of their luggage which,
ranged in size from something not much larger than a
purse that a woman might carry to a very elegant party
all the way up to a suitcase in which one might fit two
to three 5 year old children. After about 25 minutes of
loading the bus all the singers that were to come on
the retreat had arrived. Ten minutes later the bus
departed, loaded to the point where Mr. TK had to
jump over 10 feet of suitcases in order to pass the
mid-point of the bus. The bus then took a wrong turn.
After making a complete circle and ending up back at
BCC Central the mumblings in the bus sounded
something along the lines of "If we had left on time,
we would have been there 5 minutes ago". But soon
everyone's discomforts were allayed as sugar coated
doughnuts and every imaginable flavor of bagel and
cream cheese were passed through the bus.
|
||
|
|
||
Singing with the BCC could actually be a full time job!
As the excitement grows so do the opportunities.
Presently the chorus usually performs fifty to sixty
times
a season but they receive requests over five times that
many:
from ten to fifteen calls a week.
David Howse, Director of Operations and Programs,
fields these requests. "We get requests ranging from
civic events, non-profit galas, and international
conferences. We have even received requests to
perform at weddings and funerals," Howse says.
There are performance criteria that are considered
when
trying to identify what performances the BCC will
participate in. "We look at availability, the cultural and
artistic opportunity, community engagement, venue,
logistics among other things" says Howse. There are
fees associated with performances which vary and
depend on such criteria as which choir will perform,
type of event, and length of performance. Typically the
lead time for a performance is three to four months,
but BCC has some performances booked as long
as a year in advance.
In addition to these requests, there are also various
collaborations such as with the Boston Pops, Handel
and Haydn Society's Youth Choir, and the Boston
Landmarks Orchestra.
|
||
|
|
||
This year BCC's Premier Choir has selected a
President, Vice President and section leaders that
comprise a new Choir Council. These
positions were created to develop leadership among
the singers. The President and Vice President are the
leaders of the choir, addressing any choir issues
when needed. The section leaders help singers with
their music and run sectional practices when
needed. The President and Vice President were
nominated and elected by the Premier Choir
members, the section leaders were nominated by
Premier Choir members and chosen by Anthony
Trecek-King, Artistic Director.
The BCC Premier Choir leadership is as follows -
President - Sherylynn Sealy
Vice President - Mia Ferguson Soprano I Section Leader - Laura Potter Soprano II Section Leader - Georgia Halliday Alto I Section Leader - Isabel Koyama Alto II Section Leader - Terrell James |
||
|
|
||
|
The cafeteria at Roxbury Community College was
humming with
excitement and anticipation for the parent's kick-off
meeting for the 2007-2008 season. Over 300 parents
and singers had gathered to learn about and discuss
the upcoming season and hear about the growth of
BCC.
Annette Rubin, Executive Director, warmly welcomed
the parents and described the growth of not only the
choirs but the expanding staff. Anthony Trecek-King
expounded on the mission of the BCC and how it is
truly becoming evident that these singers are
becoming ambassadors of music. David Howse,
Director of Operations and Programs spoke about
the daily operations of the BCC and the high demand
for bookings of our choirs. Two BCC parents also
spoke about the Parents Association and what a
worthwhile experience that is and encouraged
everyone to
participate and become acquainted with each other to
share the music!
After all the speakers were finished, everyone enjoyed
ice cream sundaes, socializing, and looking forward
to the
future for themselves and BCC.
|
||
|
|
||
We are proud and excited to announce that the BCC
recently received a grant of $80,000 from the Peter E.
Strauss Trust, administered by the BNY Mellon
Charitable Giving Program. This significant grant will
focus on supporting BCC's Camp for Young Singers
and our growing
Neighborhood Choir Program.
Through its charitable giving program, The Bank of
New York Mellon plays an active role making local
communities better places to live and work. Since
1997, the program has invested more than $23
million in support of nearly 250 Boston-area
community groups. As a key part of its strategy, the
BNY Mellon Charitable
Giving Program proactively targets emerging or
fledgling organizations that often lack major corporate
or foundation support. It's a grassroots approach to
giving that exemplifies today's newer model of
philanthropy - one built on greater involvement and
mutual accountability between granter and grantee.
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
