The Girl Choir celebrates an anniversary
By Andrea Ebeling
Lawrence Today magazine, Spring 2007
Primo. Allegretto. Intermezzo. Cantabile. Bel Canto. Magical musical
names for the five units of the Lawrence Academy of Music’s Girl
Choir Program.
Having just completed its 15th year, the program provides musical instruction,
an introduction to musical literature, and performance opportunities to more
than 250 girls in grades three through 12.
In the beginning
Jeanne Julseth-Heinrich, a teacher at Madison Middle School, founded the original
choir, for girls in grades four through six, in the winter of 1991. Despite having
no idea how many girls would audition, she committed to performing a concert
the following April. Success followed, and a training choir for younger singers
was added the next year.
“In 1997, the program expanded to four choirs, because too many singers
were being turned away at auditions due to lack of space and because girls who
were about to ‘graduate’ from the program were not ready to leave,” says
Karen Bruno, Girl Choir coordinator and conductor.
“When that original group of girls advanced to start a middle school choir,
they announced that they were still not ready to leave, so we created a high
school choir. It began with about 24 singers and has been at over 50 for several
years now,” Bruno says.
Girls of the choirs
Among
those who have participated in the program are (pictured, from left): the Elzey
sisters, Ingrid, Monika, and Chloe; the Giordana
sisters,
Aubrey
and
Dacia; and the Braun sisters,
Danielle, Alyssa, and Michaela.
Each had her own reasons for joining.
For Chloe it started when she went to a
concert and realized that she wanted to be part of the magic.“I was intrigued by the different languages and the over-all performance.
I was very eager to join,” she says.
For Michaela and Alyssa, the Girl Choir program is a family affair. “My
older sister was in it,” says Alyssa, and Michaela echoes: “I
like to sing, and my sisters have been in it.”
A word often heard around Girl Choir girls is different. Aubrey says, “I
love learning the different music and different languages and about different
cultures. I also learned that you cannot judge things that
are different; you have to give them a second chance.”
“The experience of the different languages, the different people you meet,
the closeness to the music — you get deep into it,” says Chloe.
“All different kinds of people come together and sing. I have made a lot
of friends. I just love it,” Dacia says. “You can express yourself
so much through music. I love everything to do with singing. I am going [to sing
in the Girl Choir] for a long time.”
“The best thing about the Girl Choir is the different kinds of music and
languages,” says Monika. “I have made a lot of friends and learned
a lot of new songs,” she adds.
Focus on the girls
“We have been lucky to have some of the best teachers working with our
girls,” says
Bruno. “Many conductors are focused on only the music or only the program,
but our staff is really focused on the girls. I think that the girls recognize
that.
“We believe in developing each singer’s musicality and individual
potential, both as musicians and as young women,” she says. “Performances
are important — and fun — but the real growth and learning take place
in the week-to-week rehearsals.”
“The ‘perfect performance,’” she believes, “is
one that is musical and pleasing to the audience but also resonates aesthetically
and personally with each girl on the stage. We create a very special environment
within those rehearsal halls. That is what makes us unique and what keeps girls
coming back year after year.”
“The Girl Choir invokes a sense of love that exudes from the girls and
the leaders. The girls work so hard. It is sheer hard work, great fun, and camaraderie,” says
Fred Snyder, director of the Academy of Music.
“My daughters have made many new friends who share their love of music,” says
Kelly Giordana, mother of Aubrey and Dacia. “The Girl Choir offers them
a chance to be part of a singing team.”
“There is a strong sense of family and community as the girls progress
up the ranks,” observes Snyder.
“I like making new friends and singing with a large group. You get to learn
new things,” says Alyssa.
“The Girl Choir teaches us where to breathe, where not to breathe, and
how to pronounce,” Dacia says.
“I have learned how to read music better and how to sing new songs,” adds
Michaela.
“The Girl Choir has provided a core to my music,” says Ingrid. “It
helps a lot.”
“The girls have developed confidence and performance skills. They have
also gained a lot of poise that would not have come without this opportunity,” says
Rhonda Tedlie, the Elzey girls’ mom.
Chances and challenges
There
have been special moments for the Girl Choir program during its anniversary season.
Allegretto performed at the Kaleidoscope concert in October, and
Cantabile (pictured, with director Karen L. Bruno) will have the honor of performing
before
Her
Majesty,
Queen
Elizabeth II, and the Duke of Edinburgh at the 400th-anniversary celebration
of the Jamestown
Colony in May.
Opportunities for travel and performances in notable venues are not new. Girl
Choir milestones include singing at Carnegie Hall; doing exchange visits and/or
combined concerts with the Madison Youth Choir, the Nebraska Children’s
Choir, the Eau Claire Choir, and Lawrence University choirs; and singing for
the
Governor’s Cultural Congress and
at the opening of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. The Girl Choir is also
featured on composer Libby Larsen’s compact disc of her opera Dreaming
Blue, and its members have sung under the direction of internationally recognized
conductor of children’s choirs, Henry Leck.
Looking ahead, the program hopes to add another choir within the next few years.
“We would like to have a non-auditioned component for our youngest singers,
as a bridge between school programs and the Girl Choir program,” Bruno
says.
“In short, we want to offer a place for every girl who wants to sing.”