All students—Grades 6-12, Home-Schooled, OISD, Spring Street School, Oasis, OCS and Salmonberry
— from Tom Baldwin for Orcas Youth Chorus —
Choral singing is a team sport—it is impossible for an individual singer to make the sound of a group of voices. The harmony, the resonance of the collective, cannot be accomplished by the single voice. In choral singing, as with all team sports, excellence takes on an entirely different meaning—it defines the group, not the individual.
The Music Advocacy Group, Orcas Choral Society, Orcas Island School District, Orcas Christian School and Orcas Park and Recreation District are collaborating to establish an Orcas Youth Chorus for island youth. The first meeting of the group will be Monday, January 6, 2020. The chorus will be under the co-direction of Ms. Kelli Vigil and Mr. Andy Rivera, both accomplished music educators.
The group will meet and sing every Monday evening from 6-7 pm in the new music/multipurpose room at the Orcas Island Public School. The nominal fee for participation, $50 for 18 weeks, will cover the cost of music. Financial aid is available.
All students in grades 6-12—OCS, OISD, Oasis, Spring Street School, Salmonberry and home-schooled students—are encouraged to join. To sign up, visit the Orcas Park and Recreation web site orcasparkandrec.org and look under the “Registration” tab.
An informational meeting will be held Wednesday December 11 th at 6 pm in the public school library. All parents and students who are interested in the Orcas Youth Chorus are urged to attend and to ask questions. Ms. Vigil and Mr. Rivera will be in attendance, as will several members of the MAG Board and the Choral Society Board.
We hope that all Orcas Island Youth, regardless of where they go to school, will feel comfortable joining the team. Singing is a team sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime!
For more information, contact Tom Baldwin (tbaldwin@ucr.edu).
I’m glad to see choral music being offered on Orcas in a new format.
While it’s true that choral music has a unique, blended sound, I disagree with the notion that “the harmony, the resonance of the collective, cannot be accomplished by the single voice” because this seems to dismiss the essential role of the individual in creating art.
Harmony cannot be accomplished WITHOUT the single voice. It is a complex artifact created by individual minds, not magic arising from merely gathering together weekly. Without the work done by all the individuals involved (learning and practicing their parts at home, producing that part accurately and beautifully, listening carefully and adjusting their relationship to the other voices), a choir could never produce the proper rhythm, pitch, and melodic relationships that result in harmony.
The individual efforts of the composer of the music and of the choir director are also KEY (pun intended).