CHILDRENS & COMMUNITY YOUTH CHOIRS REPERTOIRE & RESOURCES
CHAIR - ESTHER RUTH HOLLAND RHOADES
esther.rh.rhoades@gmail.com
Esther Ruth Holland Rhoades became the Grand Monadnock Youth Choir's Artistic Director in the summer of 2017. There are four youth GMYC ensembles under her direction, rehearsing in both Peterborough and Keene. Her energetic teaching style, expertise in music, and infectious positivity allow GMYC singers to thrive and grow not only musically, but also as individuals.
Esther has been immersed in choral music since childhood, which inspired her to complete a Bachelor’s of Science in Music from the University of Delaware. While at UD, she was the student assistant choral director of the internationally renowned University of Delaware Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Paul D. Head. She has also received training at Westminster Choir College. After graduation, she taught public high school chorus and music classes in VT and NH. Additionally, Esther was the Assistant Artistic Director and Conductor of the Children’s Chorus of Springfield in Massachusetts. After returning to the Monadnock Region, Esther served the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church as their Choir Director, and the Monadnock Waldorf High School teaching the a cappella choir. She is proud to have been a member of ACDA since 2005, serving as the president of the University of Delaware Chapter, the Chair of Youth and Student Activities on the VT-ACDA board, is a Past-President on the NH chapter of ACDA, and currently serves as the chair of PR & Marketing for the ACDA Eastern Region.
When you can’t find Esther making music, she is likely hiking, baking cookies, or playing outside with her husband, Jason, and three daughters.
CHAIR - ESTHER RUTH HOLLAND RHOADES
esther.rh.rhoades@gmail.com
Esther Ruth Holland Rhoades became the Grand Monadnock Youth Choir's Artistic Director in the summer of 2017. There are four youth GMYC ensembles under her direction, rehearsing in both Peterborough and Keene. Her energetic teaching style, expertise in music, and infectious positivity allow GMYC singers to thrive and grow not only musically, but also as individuals.
Esther has been immersed in choral music since childhood, which inspired her to complete a Bachelor’s of Science in Music from the University of Delaware. While at UD, she was the student assistant choral director of the internationally renowned University of Delaware Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Paul D. Head. She has also received training at Westminster Choir College. After graduation, she taught public high school chorus and music classes in VT and NH. Additionally, Esther was the Assistant Artistic Director and Conductor of the Children’s Chorus of Springfield in Massachusetts. After returning to the Monadnock Region, Esther served the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church as their Choir Director, and the Monadnock Waldorf High School teaching the a cappella choir. She is proud to have been a member of ACDA since 2005, serving as the president of the University of Delaware Chapter, the Chair of Youth and Student Activities on the VT-ACDA board, is a Past-President on the NH chapter of ACDA, and currently serves as the chair of PR & Marketing for the ACDA Eastern Region.
When you can’t find Esther making music, she is likely hiking, baking cookies, or playing outside with her husband, Jason, and three daughters.
REPERTOIRE/INFO/IDEAS FROM ESTHER:
January 19, 2018 -- Collaboration!Sometimes in the dead of winter all you want to do is sit quietly with a warm drink and keep to yourself. It can be difficult to plan ahead to the next year (or two), but this is a great time to hunker down and get the juices flowing. There can be so much to think about: concert themes, commissioned works, enrollment, but what I find most important at this time of year is how the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) will collaborate.
Collaboration has many angles. For instance, GMYC has joined local choirs (the Pops Choir, the Monadnock Chorus) on their performances. These performances are always so exciting and give our singers the opportunity to perform multiple times in a semester. Additionally, GMYC has invited guests musicians to join us on percussion, strings, wind instruments, and voice for performance. Last year, GMYC commissioned Jim Papoulis to write a song for our founding Director, Maria Belva, who retired after 20 years. This collaboration allowed the choirs to feel a closer relationship with the composer, the music, and with their treasured director. This year, E. Wayne Abercrombie has commissioned a piece by Jerry Noble for the choirs to perform o our Spring Concerts in May. Wayne hopes to lead a master class, and the composer and poets will join us for performance. Imagine performing a piece written just for YOU!
There’s local, regional, national, and international travel opportunities. For instance, I’d love to have GMYC singers perform with the local middle school choirs during the school day – something like a choral party! We’ve performed in regional choral festivals like Big Sing! And of course the instance the Cecilia Ensemble, which is GMYC’s high school choral ensemble, travels abroad every two years. Travel is truly a life changing experience; for most this trip sparks an interest in participating as a citizen in our global community. This April, they will be visiting the Czech Republic.
And then there’s a performance collaboration where the whole process is born and develops in collaboration. Chamber Singers of Keene, under the direction of Dr. Matthew Leese, invited GMYC to perform the Children’s March, by Andrew Bleckner in April 2018. This collaboration feels very special to GMYC singers because the piece was scored for both Children’s Choir and Adult Choir. Both directors and board members are working together in every respect. This kind of collaboration feels very rewarding because of the friendships that are developed, the singer’s pride when performing together, and because Matthew and I both believe that choral music in collaboration lifts a whole community to new heights without leaving anyone behind.
All collaborations boost choral-esteem, challenge singers, enrich experiences, and broaden our scopes. The opportunity to share audiences, bring choral music into the spotlight of your community, and create lasting connections with other musicians creates the social capital and uplifted connectivity that supports a healthy community. So go beyond your rehearsal walls and adventure into the unknown!
January 19, 2018 -- Collaboration!Sometimes in the dead of winter all you want to do is sit quietly with a warm drink and keep to yourself. It can be difficult to plan ahead to the next year (or two), but this is a great time to hunker down and get the juices flowing. There can be so much to think about: concert themes, commissioned works, enrollment, but what I find most important at this time of year is how the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) will collaborate.
Collaboration has many angles. For instance, GMYC has joined local choirs (the Pops Choir, the Monadnock Chorus) on their performances. These performances are always so exciting and give our singers the opportunity to perform multiple times in a semester. Additionally, GMYC has invited guests musicians to join us on percussion, strings, wind instruments, and voice for performance. Last year, GMYC commissioned Jim Papoulis to write a song for our founding Director, Maria Belva, who retired after 20 years. This collaboration allowed the choirs to feel a closer relationship with the composer, the music, and with their treasured director. This year, E. Wayne Abercrombie has commissioned a piece by Jerry Noble for the choirs to perform o our Spring Concerts in May. Wayne hopes to lead a master class, and the composer and poets will join us for performance. Imagine performing a piece written just for YOU!
There’s local, regional, national, and international travel opportunities. For instance, I’d love to have GMYC singers perform with the local middle school choirs during the school day – something like a choral party! We’ve performed in regional choral festivals like Big Sing! And of course the instance the Cecilia Ensemble, which is GMYC’s high school choral ensemble, travels abroad every two years. Travel is truly a life changing experience; for most this trip sparks an interest in participating as a citizen in our global community. This April, they will be visiting the Czech Republic.
And then there’s a performance collaboration where the whole process is born and develops in collaboration. Chamber Singers of Keene, under the direction of Dr. Matthew Leese, invited GMYC to perform the Children’s March, by Andrew Bleckner in April 2018. This collaboration feels very special to GMYC singers because the piece was scored for both Children’s Choir and Adult Choir. Both directors and board members are working together in every respect. This kind of collaboration feels very rewarding because of the friendships that are developed, the singer’s pride when performing together, and because Matthew and I both believe that choral music in collaboration lifts a whole community to new heights without leaving anyone behind.
All collaborations boost choral-esteem, challenge singers, enrich experiences, and broaden our scopes. The opportunity to share audiences, bring choral music into the spotlight of your community, and create lasting connections with other musicians creates the social capital and uplifted connectivity that supports a healthy community. So go beyond your rehearsal walls and adventure into the unknown!