ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS CHILDREN'S CHOIR
The Southern Illinois Children's Choir program, now in its second decade, is open to singers in grades 3 through 9. The organization is made up of two auditioned treble ensembles: the Apprentices, which is a training choir, and the Choristers, which is a more advanced group. The Director is Alice Berry.
Auditions take place at the SIUC School of Music in January and August. The directors have stated that during the auditions they will be looking and listening for singers who sing with a clear tone that blends well with others, who sing in tune with unchanged voices, and who demonstrate a good sense of rhythm, self-discipline, attentive behavior, and a positive attitude. To schedule a child for an audition, parents should call the School of Music at 53M-USIC (536-8742).
Choir rehearsals are held every Tuesday of the school year from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Altgeld Music Building on the SIUC campus. Tuition is $150 for the 2004-05 school year. There is also a uniform rental fee. Tuition payment plans are available, as well as a discount for families with more than one member. Parents are encouraged to support the Southern Illinois Children's Choir by serving on the Parent Board or one of its committees. Persons interested in the choir may contact Director Alice Berry at joyousinging@yahoo.com for more information.
HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS CHILDREN'S CHOIR
Since the choir was founded in the spring of 1990, members of the choir have sung with the SIUC Opera Theater, Symphony Orchestra and Choral Union, for educational programs and in concerts throughout southern Illinois. They have sung in the State Capitol and appeared at the 1992 Illinois Music Educator All-State Conference. In 1993, the choir toured the southeast, performing at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1994 they appeared on the Shepley Music and Art series at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis where they presented the premiere performance of Gregg Smith's Four Sandburg Songs. In the summer of 1994, the choir recorded a set of folk songs collected from members of the international community at SIUC as part of a grant from the Association of International Educators.
During 1994-95, the choir performed with the Gregg Smith Singers, sang for the Lincoln Legacy awards and toured Washington, D.C., where they sang in the National Cathedral and performed in the Grand Foyer Series of the Kennedy Center. In June, 1996, the choir toured the Chicago area where they sang with the group "All God's Children." They also sang at St. James Cathedral and at the Chicago Cultural Center, as well as singing the national anthem at a Chicago White Sox baseball game. In June, 1997, the choir travelled to Tennessee where they performed at Opryland in Nashville and at the Museum of Art in Knoxville. Canada was the destination in June 1998 when the choir visited and performed with several children's choirs. The choir was invited to the Crescent City Children's Choral Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1999 where they sang two solos and Festival repertoire in the St. Louis Cathedral.
SICC took a June, 2000 trip to Branson, Missouri to celebrate a successful concert season. In the summer of 2001, the choir sang the national anthem at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. They were invited for a repeat performance in 2002 and happily obliged.
In August of 2002, the Southern Illinois Children's Choir participated in the International Children's Choir Festival in England under the direction of Henry Leck, Director of the Indianapolis Children's Choir, and David Flood, Organist and Master of Choristers at Canterbury Cathedral. They performed solo as well as with twenty other children's choirs in Canterbury Cathedral, and in London at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church and at the Methodist Central Hall.
The Southern Illinois Children's Choir performs a holiday concert in December and a spring concert in May at Shryock Auditorium at SIUC. They also sing holiday songs at the University Mall and for a studio taping each year for SILTV-3's "Sounds of the Season." They have hosted visiting children's choirs and have participated in choir workshops hosted by other choirs. They participate in a choir camp every August at the SIUC School of Music that is open to all interested singers entering grades 3 through 9.
Southern Illinois Children's Choir members in Canterbury, England, 2002
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