The halls of New Palestine Bible Church were filled with excitement as the Hancock County Children’s Choir held their first rehearsal of the 2014-2015 season recently. Students enjoyed greeting friends they had not seen all summer and welcoming new choir members. And new members weren’t hard to find as the choir has doubled in size from 31 members last spring to over 60 members this fall.
Commenting on the unprecedented growth, Artistic Director Gayle Roschi attributed the choir expansion to choir members sharing their enjoyment of the group, community support and visibility since the choir’s trip to Carnegie Hall, and a hardworking staff who seek to give the gift of song to as many students as possible.
New this year is the Piccoli Angeli ensemble, specifically designed to meet the needs of students in kindergarten — 2nd grade, a previously unserved population in our community. Mrs. Tammy Templeton, kindergarten teacher at Sugar Creek Elementary and trained vocalist has been hired as the director for this ensemble. Administrative Director Lisa Heady commented, “Drawing from her music education, personal vocal training, and her teaching experience, we could not have found a director who more perfectly fit this ensemble than Tammy Templeton. She is aptly qualified and has such a sweet spirit that children love her and want to learn.”
The Cantanti Lirichi, a high school ensemble of boys and girls that was piloted successfully last spring, has become a permanent ensemble for the choir this year.
With the addition of the Piccoli Angeli and Cantanti Lirichi ensembles, the choir now serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The choir also announced the receipt of two important grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Hancock County Community Foundation. These grants help to cover the cost of choir programming and the creation of a professional logo. Director of Development, Jill Stokes, commented, “These grants give us the opportunity to take the next step in providing even more quality programming as well as a creating a recognizable brand in the community. We couldn’t be more thrilled!”
The Hancock County Children’s Choir is a choral performance and education program that creates musical opportunities for youth through the performance of a variety of musical literature including sacred, secular, classical, pop, and cross-cultural genres of music. The choir is accepting applications for membership until September 8. For more information regarding auditions and performances, please visit www.hancockcountychildrenschoir.org.
