The IU Children’s Choir is an outreach program in the Jacobs School of Music consisting of students ranging from kindergarten to ninth grade, program director Brent Gault said. The choir is formed by four choral ensembles broken up by age. The concert features each group.
This is a chance for all of the choirs to hear each other and sing as one large group, Gault said.
“I like having this program at the end of the semester because it gives the students the chance to show their family and friends some of the things they have learned about singing and show the skills they have developed,” Gault said.
The choir brings together a diverse group of singers who learn from each other, Gault said.
“I think one of the unique things about a community choir like this is that we are able to draw from all over the community, so we have singers from many different schools,” Gault said. “We have singers that are home-schooled, and we have singers that come from all over Bloomington.”
Gault said the music was selected to fit the children’s abilities and to allow them to sing excellent choral music.
The IU Children’s Choir is also an opportunity for students in the music education department to teach children.
Ph.D. student Alyssa Hunsucker Avenatti is the conductor of First Voices, which is the ensemble of kindergarten and first grade students.
She said she likes meeting children and parents from the community and watching the students grow as singers.
Avenatti said the best part of a concert is the moment after the children sing their first line, when she can see the joy and excitement in their eyes.
“It makes you feel like you are making a difference,” Avenatti said.
Avenatti said the diverse backgrounds of the students can be a challenge because there are students who have taken music lessons singing with students who do not have music programs in their school.
However, Avenatti said the IU Children’s Choir allows them to shine, and it pushes them to become better musicians.
“We encourage children from all walks of life to audition,” Avenatti said.
First-year master’s student Tiffany Bowen, an assistant for First Voices, said she is grateful that she is working with children.
“I think it’s really great that IU does so much to bolster music education, not just on campus, but in the community as well,” she said.
Bowen said it is useful for the students to see all four ensembles perform because they can learn from each other and the younger students can see what is ahead.
It is Gault’s 15th year working with the choir. The concert showcases the progression of students from youngest to oldest. He said he has worked with some children for about 7 or 8 years. Gault said he loves witnessing the children’s reactions to learning music.
“I love the enthusiasm children have when they sing,” Gault said. “I love how open they are to learning.”
