Fall 2023
Cintia Lovo began Youth Chorus rehearsals.
Fall 2021 to 2022
Unfortunately the pandemic worsened and our director returned to his home country of Brazil to be with his family. These factors have led us to suspend the chorus for now, until the time when we can bring the kids back safely and have found a new director. We miss our wonderful kids!
2019 to 2021
Starting in the fall of 2019 the youth chorus was led by a wonderful director, new to the area. Lewis Botelho-Gomes comes from Brazil, via St Louis, MO, where he finished a second master's degree in Orchestral Conducting. A music educator trained at The University of Michigan, Mr. B.G., for short, had worked with children's choirs extensively having studied with Prof. Henry Leck from Indianapolis Children's Choir, and is a certified Kodaly Specialist. Lewis brought a broad array of skills to meet any combination of kids at hand. The rehearsals with Mr. B.G. were full of movement and games. All voice training was anchored in large body motions, and devoted to both performance and literacy. Lewis was also the director of the EPIC Music program at Catamount Arts.
North Country Chorus is the financial sponsor of NCYC, was pleased to partner with Catamount Arts in order to support this group to become more regional. In the fall/winter, rehearsals were held at Catamount Arts, which made the program available to more students. During that time we averaged 30 students weekly in grades 3-8, from 12 towns. Again, the group performed at the Athenaeum Holiday and at First Night North with the NEK All Stars. Rehearsals were suspended in March due to the pandemic.
In the summer, a small group of the children participated in an online project offered by Lewis. In-person rehearsals resumed in September – outside, masked, and socially distanced. Mr. B.G.'s focus was devoted to beat and no beat, steady and unsteady beat, beats grouped in 2 and 3, shorthand writing of rhythmic patterns, simple rhythm two-part invention, rhythm canons and notating melodic contours.
When the cold weather came in November the group moved to the Union Baptist Church, where there are high ceilings for good air exchange and space large enough for social distancing still masked. Now the focus is on double and triple meter, conducting patterns, discriminating, associating and generalizing syncopated rhythms and musical phrases, discriminating alike and different pitch sequences. These concepts/skills become games and activities under Mr. B.G.'s energetic leadership. Lots of skipping, clapping, humming and laughter while learning! See the attached clip from the Athenaeum's December 2019 Victorian Holiday for the results.
In August, twenty eight students attended a five day, very successful summer day camp. It was held, again, at UBC with all participants masked. With the help of two teen volunteers, the kids had a wonderful experience.
