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Berks Classical Children’s Chorus Newsletter, September, 2010 |
In this issue
Job OpeningBerks Classical Children’s Chorus seeks a qualified Choral Director to assume the duties of Director of MasterSingers.Requirements: The qualified candidate for this part-time, salaried position will hold a master’s degree in choral conducting, voice, or appropriate related field, or be currently enrolled in a graduate program in the field. Highly desirable skills include a solid understanding of the young voice, good conducting skills, good interpersonal skills, and a broad knowledge of the choral repertoire. Chorus/organization description: Founded in 1992, BCCC is recognized as an outstanding choral education organization working annually with singers in grades 3 through 12, in four choir levels. The BCCC music education curriculum is designed to take the young singer from his/her first introduction to the art of choral singing through a full course of study. The curriculum is divided into a carefully structured sequence of four levels designed to develop skill, stamina, and discipline in keeping with each singer’s maturity and vocal development. A director is assigned exclusively to each level. From beginning to most advanced, the levels are Training Chorus, Choristers, Chorale, and MasterSingers. Resumes and cover letters may be sent to SEARCH COMMITTEE, Berks Classical Children’s Chorus, 201 Washington Street, Suite 529, Reading, PA 19601. Please do NOT SEND CDs with initial inquiries. Deadline for receipt of applications is October 31, 2010. 
The Director of MasterSingers will work with the directors of the organization’s three other ensembles: Kristen Diehl, Director of Chorale, Jeffrey Brunner, Director of Choristers, and Michelle Metz, Director of Training Chorus, above, and the Executive Director. Sandra Sittler, Interim Director
BCCC is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandra Sittler as Interim Director of MasterSingers from May 2010 to May 2011. She maintains a private voice and piano studio in her home in Spring Township, performs as a mezzo soprano soloist and choral singer, accompanies local artists in recital, and serves as the Interim Organist at Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, Pennsylvania. She is a former choral director at Reading High School, Reading, Pennsylvania, where she also taught voice, theory, and piano accompanying. This appointment was made following the resignation of Jodi Rinehimer in May. Ms. Rinehimer had faithfully served BCCC with energy, skill, and dedication, as Director of MasterSingers since 2005, and as Director of Choristers during the 2007-2008 Season. BCCC sends its heartfelt thanks to Ms. Rinehimer! Click here to learn more about Ms. Sittler. Crossroads Children’s Chorus Festival
Members of BCCC join Crossroads Children’s Chorus Conductor, Stephen Hatfield (third from left), and guest artists on stage following a concert held at the Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, July 14. Fifteen members of BCCC, accompanied by chaperones Dail Richie, David Richie, Susan Coughlin, and Martha Swartz, participated in the Crossroads Children’s Chorus Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, from Saturday, July 10 to Friday, July 16. Internationally acclaimed conductor and composer Stephen Hatfield was the festival conductor. More than 100 singers from five children’s choruses from all across the USA participated in the festival. The week ended with a concert at the Ryman Auditorium, often called the Carnegie Hall of the South, with guest artists, Sutton Foster, Ronnie Millsap, and Kallen Esperian. David Richie, husband of BCCC Executive Director Dail Richie and President of Berks Opera Workshop, said this about the festival:
Sara Weidner, a member of MasterSingers, who attended the festival said this:
Summer CampChoristers and Chorale Summer CampWith Knabenchor Wuppertaler KurrendeIt was a busy week. From Monday, August 9 to Friday, August 13, members of the Choristers and Chorale moved to and from rehearsals and classes in theory, sight-singing and recorders, at Atonement Lutheran Church in Wyomissing. All the while, they greeted old friends and made lots of new ones. Some friends were other members of the chorus—some were members of Knabenchor Wuppertaler Kurrende, a men’s and boys’ choir from Wuppertal, Germany, who joined BCCC for many of the camp activities on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The week ended with a mini-concert presented jointly by BCCC and Wuppertaler Kurrende on Friday, 2:30 pm, at Atonement Lutheran. Over two hundred people from the community attended the program, which included separate performances by the choirs and joint performances of “Blessing,” BCCC’s signature song, and “Wohlauf in Gottes schöne Welt,” a German hiking folk song. Click here to see photos taken by BCCC photographer William Coughlin at the mini-concert. 
Jeffrey Brunner leads members of the BCCC Choristers and Chorale and Knabenchor Wuppertaler Kurrende in performance on Friday, August 13. |
To sing at Crossroads is an experience of such a high caliber that it can only be compared with competing in the Olympics. When you sing on a stage like Ryman and work with artists like Stephen Hatfield, Sutton Foster, Ronnie Millsap, Kallen Esperian, and the instrumentalists, you are working alongside some of the biggest talents and the most professional musicians in the industry. It’s that good.
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