Singing benefits people of all ages in many ways, including boosting mood, improving cognitive function, and creating community bonds. A new choir in Morden strives to offer this enrichment to children ages 7-14.
Cecilia Gil, a music teacher with 17 years of experience in the Garden Valley School Division, is the creative mind behind the Crescendo Community Choir.
“I’ve always thought there is a need in these communities, both [Morden and Winkler], to have a children's choir,” she says. “There are opportunities for . . . older children to sing in a choir throughout the year in the evenings, but there's nothing for younger children.”
For Gil, the new choir adds a healthy activity of a different sort to the community.
“There's always so many activities for sports for children of different ages, but there's not many activities for children to make music in a group,” she says. “So, this is something I've always wanted to start. This is the time — [I’m] following through with my dream and just hoping we will find lots of families, lots of children interested in joining the choir.”
The choir will be conducted by Gil and accompanied by pianist Lidiia Storchai, a vocal and piano teacher with a degree in musical pedagogy from Ukraine.
Gil says the cost of registration is $60, plus $10 for a choir shirt. She says that the fee goes toward payment for the venue, the pianist, and the music.
The inaugural season of the Crescendo Community Choir will run from September to December.
“We're hoping to get to do a final concert and then, if it’s successful, we will run a second season starting in January,” says Gil.
As for what type of child would benefit from joining the choir, for Gil, there is no limit.
“This is for children who love singing — [for] children who are very outgoing and for children who are not very outgoing,” she says. “Because this is group singing, nobody is going to be standing there singing alone unless they want to.”
Gil also adds that the choir is a good opportunity to practice English both for those who speak fluently and those who do not.
“It's a great place to learn English,” she says. “And make friends at the same time.”
The Crescendo Community Choir will have its first session on September 23rd, so there is still plenty of time to sign up. Parents who would like to do so can access a form through the choir’s social media pages. Click here for its Facebook page, and here for its page on Instagram.
~With files from Connie Bailey~