South Hills Children’s Choir to hold auditions
Area youths have been making music for about 10 years with the South Hills Children’s Choir (SHCC).
There is a chance for interested youngsters to join in the music making. Auditions are being held Aug. 24-25 and Sept. 8-9, but if those dates don’t work something can be arranged to meet the youngster’s schedule.
Jennie Nolan, who lives in Eighty Four, founded the non-profit group in 2103 and serves as its artistic director.
“We grew from a little choir of about 10 singers to where now regularly have about 35-40 singers,” she said. “We have kids from all over the South Hills. We get all kind of kids from all around the neighborhood. I think we have kids from 10 public school districts right now. We have some kids from the christian schools and we even have a little home school group as well because it’s a great way for homeschool families to get some sort of art credit into their weekly schooling”
In past years, two girls traveled from Morgantown, WV., to be a part of the group, including one young lady who is now a voice major at ….
The SHCC is a music performance and education program for youth that emphasizes the development of musical skills and understanding. Instruction focuses on proper technique, musicality, and the experience of diverse repertoire, communities, cultures and the centuries.
“We do try to give our kids a wide array of music, from different generations, different communities and different parts of the world, along with a really strong emphasis on being real musicians,” Nolan said. “We’re trying to create a whole musician here, as well as an accomplished singer. We have a lot of goals and we try to have fun doing it.”
The choir has performed at a number of different venues, such as local farmers markets, assisted living facilities, the opening of the Primrose School in Peters Township as well as the National Anthem at Penguins, Riverhounds and Wild Things games.
There also have been performances in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, the Appalachian Festival of Young Voices in Charleston, WV., and Carnegie Hall in New York City. The choir will be returning to Carnegie Hall June 10 as part of a large youth choir.
The music for each performance is geared toward the audience, but Nolan said there usually some classical music involved. Scheduled for performances this year are songs “Red Light, Green Light,” by Francisco Nunez, a snappy number that references children’s games and “Kentucky Jazz Jam,” which highlights jazz music
“We’re looking for songs that resonate with kids and will challenge them in a good way,” Nolan said. “We’re just looking for good music, music that fits with the kids. We sing a lot, but we do try not to encroach incredibly into family life, because we recognize with all of the after-school activities, it’s easy to eat at people’s times.”
The choir also will sing with the Washington Symphony Orchestra in March during which they may perform sings from movies or video games.
Upcoming SHCC appearances this year include singing at the Waters of McMurray Retirement Community in November, Canonsburg Old-Fashioned Christmas and South Hills Village in December and the choir’s winter concert is set for Dec. 8 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair.
Those between the ages of 11 and 18 can sign up for an audition at https://shcchoir.org/audition.html. Interested singers between the ages of 8-10 don’t need to audition, only to register.
“They can just go online to our audition page, register with our registration form, send it in and they can come to the first day of rehearsals on Sept. 14 and boom, they are in choir,” Nolan said of the younger kids.
“I firmly believe that everybody can sing, some of us take a little more help, but everybody can sing. If people experience singing in a group setting, there’s a bonding that goes on that’s really important and we’ve lost some of that in our day and age. The kids come and make friends and they find this community that’s a happy safe place and they keep coming back.”