CHILDREN & YOUTH CHOIRS

PICCOLOS

KINDERGARTEN (5 YEARS OLD), GRADES 1 & 2
PICCOLO CONDUCTOR: Catherine Campolin
Each Piccolo group has approximately 18 singers. Rehearsals are 45 minutes long. Piccolos sing in the annual Christmas Concert (Orpheum Theatre) and the Summer concert (Chan Centre, UBC). In weekly rehearsals, the focus is on developing fine vocalism, solfege, ear training, the awareness of musical elements and concepts, as well as sensitive phrasing and musicality.

TOCCATAS

GRADES 3 & 4
TOCCATA CONDUCTOR: Marisa Gaetanne
For the 2019-20 season, our Toccata group will have one weekly rehearsal on Tuesdays at Pacific Spirit United Church. Rehearsals are one hour per week, from 4:00-5:00pm. The Toccatas appear in the annual Christmas Concert (Orpheum Theatre), Spring Concert (local church) and Summer concert (Chan Centre, UBC). In addition, Toccatas are proud to present small charity performances. Toccatas continue to master the art of fine unison singing, while exploring repertoire from the classical voice and choral repertoires, in addition to selections from musicals and international folk repertoire. Toccatas sing in English, French, German and Italian. They are introduced to musicians’ ‘lingo’ and begin to explore the architecture of music while continuing to develop their ear-training and sight-singing abilities.

PARTITAS

GRADES 3-7
PARTITA CONDUCTOR: Catherine Campolin
Started during our 2016-17 season, the Partitas are a choir created to accommodate families on the East side of Vancouver. The group will consist of no more than 40 singers. They will rehearse at Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School on Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30pm in the 2019-20 season. The Partitas will appear in the annual Christmas Concert (Orpheum Theatre), Spring Concert (local church) and Summer Concert (Chan Centre, UBC) as well as small charity performances. The Partitas will sing challenging music in unison as well as 2 part music. They will be introduced to singing in other languages. Music is chosen from the classical voice repertoire, from musical theatre and international folk repertoire. Rehearsals will also include building essential musical theory and vocabulary knowledge, while continuing to develop their ear-training and sight-singing abilities.

CHORALES

GRADES 5-8
CHORALES CONDUCTOR: Marisa Gaetanne
In 2019-20 there will be one Chorales rehearsal on Tuesdays from 5:00-6:15pm at Pacific Spirit United Church. Chorales appear in the annual Christmas Concert (Orpheum Theatre), Spring Concert (local church) and Summer Concert (Chan Centre, UBC), in addition to small charity performances.  Chorales quickly learn to sing 2 and 3 part music, hence covering much more of the great choral treble repertoire. They sing in 4 languages from a wide variety of musical styles, adding songs from the jazz and gospel traditions to their steady diet of superb classical, folk, and theatre repertoires. Chorales make conscious their now-innate musicianship skills and actively learn to read music and understand music theory. A fast-paced, fun ensemble with a bit of choreo thrown in now and then.

CHORUS

GRADES 6 – 10
CHORUS CONDUCTOR: Marisa Gaetanne
An ambitious choir for unchanged voices. The Chorus is the pinnacle of our younger choirs. In addition to their performances in the VBCC annual Christmas Concert (Orpheum Theatre), Spring Concert (local church) and Summer Concert (Chan Centre, UBC), the Chorus accepts invitations to perform at civic and corporate events throughout the year, as well as special performances with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Now singing in full harmony the Chorus studies music which is both vocally and musically challenging, in 5 languages, from all genres. Chorus members attend a fall retreat and have undertaken many tours in previous years. Rehearsing for 1.5 hours weekly, this first class ensemble is comprised of gifted young singers and musicians.

All new singers must audition before joining the Chorus. A long-time member who is moving up from the Chorales will not need to audition into Chorus.

VANCOUVER BACH YOUTH CHOIR

GIRLS ENTER AT GRADE 11, BOYS AS THEIR VOICES CHANGE. CONTINUES INTO POST-SECONDARY LEVEL.
YOUTH CHOIR CONDUCTOR: Shane Raman
A mixed-voice choir (SATB) with approximately 40 secondary and post-secondary aged singers, the Youth Choir enjoys a variety of repertoire, from classical to contemporary to jazz. Boys can join the Youth Choir as soon as their voices change, whereas girls join the choir in grade 11 and up. They appear in the annual Christmas Concert (Orpheum Theatre), Spring Concert (local church) and Summer Concert (Chan Centre, UBC). Along with Sarabande, the Youth Choir is also specially invited to sing at the City of Vancouver’s official Remembrance Day Ceremonies each year.