Choir in 2008-2009

Course registration for next year is a little less than a month away, which could be exciting and/or scary depending on how you look at it. There are going to be some changes in how choir works here at Cretin-Derham Hall that might like to know about.

First of all there will be three choirs available for students, the existing Select Treble Choir, the semi-existing Choral Arts Ensemble, and the totally knew group Pop Singers:

Select Treble Choir is the women's choir that has been a long standing choral group here at CDH with roots going back to the Derham Hall Glee Club. The choir is categorized as "semi-select" meaning everyone is welcome but you do need to have a "placement interview" before starting the course - see the section on placement interviews below for more information. Select Treble Choir sings appropriately challenging music in 3-4 parts. The group's repertoire is from a wide variety of styles, historic periods, and cultures. That means, for example, that in one concert the choir might perform a jazz piece, something from the Renaissance, a Gospel roof-raiser, a contemporary choral piece from the past 25 years, and maybe something from a non-Western culture.

While a major focus of Select Treble Choir is the preparation of music for specific performances, significant time and attention will be given to the development of musical and vocal skills. This will include studying how the voice works; healthful, relaxed, and supported vocal production; critical thinking about the music being performed; and music reading. Each student will also have individual vocal instruction outside of rehearsal. The choir will perform in a minimum of three concerts as well as festivals, competitions, and other performances. In addition members of Select Treble Choir are eligible and encouraged to participate in solo/ensemble, honor choirs, and All-State Choir.

Select Treble Choir meets during the school day year-long for a total of 3 credits. Students with previous CDH choral experience may contract for honors credit. Students who are unable to commit to a year of membership may still be able to participate, see Mr. Jacobson with those concerns.

With the Select Treble Choir, the Choral Arts Ensemble will be the other major choral group at CDH.

While mixed choirs (men and women) are the standard for high school vocal music programs there has only infrequently been one here at CDH. During the 2007-08 school year the Women's Chorus and Men's Vocal Ensemble were combined and have existed as the mixed ensemble Collegium Sine Nomine. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year the existence of a major mixed choir will be formalized with the creation of the Choral Arts Ensemble. Just a note, as the choir program at CDH grows it is my intention to once again offer a men's choir in addition to women's and mixed choirs.

The Choral Arts Ensemble will be also be a semi-select choir, again meaning that everyone is welcome in the group, but that a brief placement interview is requested before the beginning of the class. The choir will sing appropriately challenging music in 4-8 parts. As with the Select Treble Choir, Choral Arts Ensemble's repertoire will come from a wide variety of historical periods, styles, and cultures. There will truly be something for everyone.

As a major choir at CDH students in Choral Arts Ensemble will focus on a variety of musical and critical thinking skills in addition to the main focus of repertoire preparation. Students will receive individual voice instruction outside of rehearsal and will be eligible and encouraged to participate in solo/ensemble, honor choirs, and All-State Choir. The choir itself will perform in at least three concerts, as well as competitions, festivals, and other performances in and out of the school.

Choral Arts Ensemble meets during the school day year-long for a total of 3 credits. Students with previous CDH choral experience may contract for honors credit. Students who are unable to commit to a year of membership may still be able to participate, see Mr. Jacobson with those concerns.

Something totally new to CDH next year is Pop Singers. This smaller choir's repertoire will be entirely from the jazz, popular, and musical theater styles. The vast majority of the focus and time in rehearsal will be spent on preparation for performance (including facial expression, gesture, body language, and some choreography) with a small secondary focus on healthful and stylistically appropriate vocal production. The current vision of Pop Singers is neither a jazz choir nor a show choir but a hybrid of the two, some pieces will be choreographed for performance while others will be performed somewhat more traditionally. Performances of Pop Singers are expected to be high-energy stage shows.

Pop Singers will be a select choir meaning that students must audition to gain membership in the group. The choir is intended to be an extension of, and addition to the major choirs at the school. Because of greater time constraints in Pop Singers, as well as the benefits of the non-performance aspects of the other choirs, current membership in either Choral Arts Ensemble or Select Treble choir is required for membership in Pop Singers. Some limited exceptions may be made on an individual basis for students with prior experience in one of the CDH choirs.

Pop Singers will rehearse two mornings a week (tentatively Tuesday and Thursday) at 7:15, regular punctual attendance and a year-long commitment will be absolutely mandatory. The choir will be a part of the CDH curriculum and members will receive one credit for the year, or students may opt out of receiving credit.

The second change for next year will be the introduction of "placement interviews."

All students planning on being in any of the choirs are requested to come in for a brief informal meeting. It is NOT an audition - unless you want to be in Pop Singers - and should not be seen as high-pressure in any way. The goals of the placement interviews are to meet with you to know what you are expecting of choir and answer any questions, determine your voice part before rehearsals begin, to find which choir(s) will be the right "fit" for you, and to assure that all of the choirs are balanced. You may come individually or in groups of up to three, whatever is most comfortable for you. Placement interviews for current CDH students will begin on January 28. Dates for placement interviews for incoming freshmen will be determined soon.

Finally, next year is a trip year! That means that members of Choral Arts Ensemble and Select Treble Choir (and possibly Pop Singers) will be traveling sometime in early Spring of 2009. Details such as destination and exact travel dates will be finalized in the coming months. Students will have several opportunities to participate in fundraisers to offset costs of participation.