Well, it finally happened. A tune sung by the Indianapolis Children's Choir has landed on my IPOD. The always entertaining "Oye", the brainchild of Jim Papoulis, had my toes tapping in the car on the ride home from work last night. We had three phenomenal concerts this weekend, (Hear Our Song on Saturday, and two performances of Spring Celebration on Sunday) and "Oye" was in the repertoire. A recording was made of Hear Our Song, and that's how it landed in my CD player on the way home, and eventually in my IPOD.
Since I am not in the generation that grew up with the IPOD, I do not have it constantly stuck in my ear, nor do I have multiple play lists. I have ONE play list, filled with upbeat music to keep me motivated during my semi-regular runs. Since there is always the danger of me thinking I can run farther than I am capable of, the IPOD and it's cache of music carry me through.
So tonight, I'll listen to "Oye" on my run ~ when the Indianapolis Children's Choir will be singing just for me.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Choral Excellence in Columbus, Indiana!
Yesterday I ventured down to Columbus, Indiana for the "Voices of Spring" concert presented by the Columbus Indianapolis Children's Choir. Columbus is the oldest and most established of all of ICC's regional choirs, and the only one thus far to have split into two ensembles. With all of these accomplishments, I've been remiss at not making the trip sooner!
The concert, under the guidance of CICC's Artistic Director Ruth Dwyer, was a delight! The kids sounded great, and an appreciative audience was not only treated to the Columbus Descant and Concert choirs, but also the Indianapolis Youth Chorale. The CICC kids sang with a precision one doesn't normally hear from such young singers, and IYC treated the audience to an seemingly impossible eight-part Indian Raga. IYC Director Cheryl West said about two weeks ago her singers nearly threw in the towel with this piece. But they stuck with it, and it was not only a unique treat for the audience, but the younger singers as well. Something to aspire to. A great moment happened when Ruth Dwyer was introducing the IYC singers, and took time to ask "How many of you were ever in a 'Dwyer Choir'?" Nearly every IYC hand went up!
The concert ended with Ruth asking the audience to join all three choirs in singing Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." We can only speculate on why a Russian immigrant wrote such an inspiring tribute to the United States, so popular that a stirring rendition was sung by members of the United States Congress on the steps of the US Capitol on September 11, 2001. I would bet he wrote it, because as Ruth Dwyer told the audience "Music just makes us feel better." And yesterday afternoon, it certainly did.
The concert, under the guidance of CICC's Artistic Director Ruth Dwyer, was a delight! The kids sounded great, and an appreciative audience was not only treated to the Columbus Descant and Concert choirs, but also the Indianapolis Youth Chorale. The CICC kids sang with a precision one doesn't normally hear from such young singers, and IYC treated the audience to an seemingly impossible eight-part Indian Raga. IYC Director Cheryl West said about two weeks ago her singers nearly threw in the towel with this piece. But they stuck with it, and it was not only a unique treat for the audience, but the younger singers as well. Something to aspire to. A great moment happened when Ruth Dwyer was introducing the IYC singers, and took time to ask "How many of you were ever in a 'Dwyer Choir'?" Nearly every IYC hand went up!
The concert ended with Ruth asking the audience to join all three choirs in singing Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." We can only speculate on why a Russian immigrant wrote such an inspiring tribute to the United States, so popular that a stirring rendition was sung by members of the United States Congress on the steps of the US Capitol on September 11, 2001. I would bet he wrote it, because as Ruth Dwyer told the audience "Music just makes us feel better." And yesterday afternoon, it certainly did.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Voice of Youth wrap
Here at the ICC offices we're all feeling a bit tired, but it's a good tired! Our Voices of Youth concerts this past Saturday were well received by very appreciative audiences! Since this is my first year with ICC, and my first Voices of Youth concert, I stand in amazement at the logistical feat our army of parent volunteers and experienced staff pull off on concert days. Moving hundreds of young singers quietly and seemingly flawlessly is no small accomplishment!
I invited two couples who had never been to an ICC concert to the 7pm show and am happy to report that they were amazed at the performance. Both spoke to the quality of the sound our choir directors were able to get out of these young kids, and it's safe to say that ICC has some new fans and future patrons!
As people were leaving the lobby after both shows, I heard a lot of positive buzz about Dance Kaleidoscope's performance as well. A wonderful complement to the show, the dancers garnered some new fans of their own. It was not only great for our audience, but for our ICC kids as well. Working with the DK dancers gave them an opportunity to appreciate this most athletic of all art forms up close.
I invited two couples who had never been to an ICC concert to the 7pm show and am happy to report that they were amazed at the performance. Both spoke to the quality of the sound our choir directors were able to get out of these young kids, and it's safe to say that ICC has some new fans and future patrons!
As people were leaving the lobby after both shows, I heard a lot of positive buzz about Dance Kaleidoscope's performance as well. A wonderful complement to the show, the dancers garnered some new fans of their own. It was not only great for our audience, but for our ICC kids as well. Working with the DK dancers gave them an opportunity to appreciate this most athletic of all art forms up close.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
25th Anniversary committee meeting
The ICC's 25th anniversary committee met for the first time last night. A meeting filled with great ideas, ambitions and vision for this "silver" season lasted over 2 hours...........after a little leg work, some phone calls, and a survey of how 'do-able' some of these ideas are, I will later post a teaser on some of the upcoming plans.
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