Seattle Girls' Choir Programs
Seattle Girls’ Choir is where girls and young women from the Pugest Sound region come to gain serious music skills, while having serious fun. The lessons learned from making great music in a group flow into the rest of life: teamwork, discipline and confidence help the girls accomplish anything they set their minds to. But also long lasting are the friendships, camaraderie and the joy that comes from achieving excellence.
Led by twelve highly qualified faculty members, SGC currently has five choir levels and a pre-school program. In addition to singing and choral rehearsals, girls receive weekly ear training and music theory instruction as part of rehearsals, beginning in grade 3. Starting in grade 5, girls attend a week-long summer retreat at Ft. Flagler each August. They also offer summer day camps for preschool to 5th grade. These camps have been successful in helping SGC connect with their community on a broader scope. Through these camps, girls have been introduced to SGC for the first time and have chosen to participate more deeply in our year-round programs.
SGC is also embarking on a series of outreach partnerships. In the fall of 2012 they partnered with the Garfield Community Center and Seattle Parks and Recreation to offer a FREE Singing Workshop for children in grades 3-6. Future collaborations and outreach for 2013-14 are in the planning stages.
Choral Music Programs
There are five levels of age-appropriate choirs to meet the developmental needs of girls in grades 1-12. Each choir provides training in singing, rehearsal techniques, music theory, ear training, and performance.
Summer Day Camps
SGC offers full day camps for girls in grades 2-5, where girls learn to sing in a choir, as well as participate in folk dancing, musical games, and performance on percussion and Orff instruments. They also offer a half-day summer camp for boys and girls ages 4-6, with a focus on singing and musical games.
Musical Me!
SGC offers a pre-school class for girls ages 4-5, as a precursor to their performance ensembles. Girls are introduced to solfège and musical concepts in a setting dedicated to singing, game playing, and musical engagement.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
In December of 2012 our most senior group, Prime Voci under the direction of Artistic Director Jacob Winkler released a new recording, Carmina Angelorum featuring an ambitious program of difficult music: John Rutter's Dancing Day, James Bingham's Procession and Carols, and Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols.
SGC collaborates with other professional musical groups throughout Seattle. In 2012 we participated in a world premiere of John Muehleisen's Pieta with Choral Arts, and offered a joint performance with Simple Measures Chamber Music. We also presented a concert through St. John's Concert Series (Olympia), and we joined Seattle Pro Musica for their concert Resonance: Venetian Masters. Seattle Girls' Choir also presented a live on-air concert on Classical KING FM, and Artistic Director Jacob Winkler was featured on KING FM's MUSICAL CHAIRS. In the summer of 2012 our most senior group toured Germany and Czech Republic.
Even in these trying financial times we are committed to providing our services to girls who want to participate: we offer need based financial aid so that girls can begin, or continue in our programs. Also, some of our younger choirs at at- or near-capacity. This puts us in the position to explore options for adding new faculty members and how we might make this addition with budget and space considerations.
We have also added new staff and increased staff hours this year to support our robust programs: Executive Director, Camp Manager, and Marketing Assistant. We are in a period of growth as we hire, train, and oversee new staff members.
Funds will support:
- Financial aid
- Outreach programs
- Program growth and development
- Addition and training of new staff