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Park Avenue Youth Chorale Blog



FREE PROFESSIONAL MUSIC INSTRUCTION
The Park Avenue Youth Chorale provides an opportunity for youth from grades 3 through 12 to:

  • Receive a free professional musical training within a supportive, affirming environment
  • Form new and lasting friendships with other children from a variety of backgrounds, from across New York City and beyond
  • Experience music from diverse styles and cultures, from classical to contemporary
  • Develop an active awareness of music, art, language and history
  • Express and explore their faith through regular worship leadership in a diverse and inclusive congregation
In addition to singing for the Sunday 11 a.m. Worship Celebration and at weekly rehearsals, the choir will perform at special events at Park Avenue Christian and beyond, including concerts, trips and a summer music camp.

Families interested in participating in the Youth Chorale are warmly invited to call the director, Paul Vasile. at 212-288-3246 (x105) or email.  He will be happy to provide additional information and to set up an in-person meeting with prospective families.


WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR THE YOUTH CHORALE
The primary duty of the Youth Chorale is to help lead worship at the Sunday 11 a.m. Worship Celebration. To that end, all chorale members rehearse on Saturday morning, as well as before the service on Sunday.  An additional weekday rehearsal is also offered, providing families with flexibility.  Chorale members are expected to attend either the Wednesday or Saturday rehearsal.  The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday Rehearsal: 4-5 p.m.
Saturday Rehearsal: 1-2 p.m.
Sunday Warm-up/Rehearsal: 10:15 a.m.
Worship Celebration: 11 a.m.

Rehearsals begin promptly. Chorale members should plan to arrive early enough to change into robes (on Sundays), collect music, and be ready to sing at the scheduled time. For reasons including chorale members' safety, parents are asked to please let the Director know in advance when circumstances require that they arrive late.

All are strongly encouraged to arrive early for Wednesday or Saturday rehearsals and are welcome to stay up to 30 minutes after rehearsal. This time is used to review written work and for short singing sessions when the Director meets with two or three chorale members at a time.


ATTENDANCE POLICY
The community of Park Avenue Christian Church invests in its future by making a high-quality musical education available to our young people free of charge. This investment in the chorale members not only includes books and robes, social events and private instruction, but the time, energy, and expertise of the music staff and clergy.

Commitment to the Youth Chorale program is measured in time as well as talent: the most important requirement for membership in the program is regular, committed attendance at all rehearsals and services. Families are expected to plan around the chorister schedule. The Sundays following Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter (among others) are days off for Choristers, as are the Columbus Day and Memorial Day weekends. In addition, chorale members may miss one Sunday in the fall and one Sunday in the spring.

Every effort is made to have the schedule available as early as possible. The schedule as planned for the 2008-09 season appears in the pages that follow.


CONCERT AND SUNDAY ATTIRE
For all concerts and worship services, chorale members are asked to wear black pants/skirt, black dress shoes (not sneakers), dark socks, and a white collared shirt. Girls’ shoes should not be open-toe or sandals and hose should be black or tan.


THE CURRICULUM
The Youth Chorale curriculum is divided into four levels, each with a corresponding workbook from the Royal School of Church Music Voice for Life series:

Level Voice for Life text:
Novice Light Blue
Junior Chorister Dark Blue
Senior Chorister Red

Progress from one level to the next is made by completing a modest amount of weekly written homework and passing simple, informal tests. Tests are given within the context of weekly rehearsals and during short sessions (10-15 minutes) when the director meets with 2 or 3 choristers at a time before or after rehearsals. The levels do not correspond to age or years in the program. There is no time limit; each choir member works at his/her own pace.

Each level provides training in five core areas:
1. Using the voice well: teaching choir members how to develop good vocal technique
2. Musical skills and understanding: developing knowledge of music theory and notation; encourages chorale members to demonstrate this understanding through sight-singing and aural skills
3. Repertoire: developing a good understanding of the musical and historical context of the music they perform
4. Belonging to the choir: encouraging chorale members to view their choir as a team. They are invited to reflect upon and develop their contribution and commitment to the team
5. Choir in context: exploring the wider context of choral music

Copies of the Voice For Life workbooks are always available for review and are provided free to registered choir members.


BEYOND THE CURRICULUM
The Youth Chorale program includes a number of social events and singing opportunities beyond services at Park Avenue Christian Church. Social events will include parties, movies and pizza lunches about one Sunday each month.


PARENT SUPPORT AND YOUTH CHORALE PARENT MEETINGS
There are countless opportunities, small and large, for parent support; all are crucial to the growth and success of the Chorale. These include:

• reading your child’s workbook & helping with homework
• taking photos
• serving pizza lunches
• helping choir members robe up
• reaching out to potential new choir members
• chaperoning choir trips
• talking with new choir parents
• seeing that choir members arrive early for services, rehearsals, lessons, and singing sessions
• offering ideas for activities
• cleaning choir robes
• helping with choir fundraising
• sharing ideas from other successful children’s programs…

Another such opportunity is being present at Youth Chorale parent meetings, which include parents, supporters and staff. The committee meets approximately every six weeks with the mission of improving every aspect of the Park Avenue Youth Chorale program.


PARENT HELP ON SUNDAY MORNINGS
Having a parent on hand to assist before, during, and after the Sunday morning warmup/rehearsal is important for a number of reasons, the first of which is safety. Parents are expected to help (on a rotating basis coordinated with the director) with Sunday morning responsibilities as follows:

10 AM Help choristers with robes before 10:15 AM warm-up
10:30 AM Help usher choristers from Warm-Up Room to the Chancel for AM rehearsal
10:35 AM Call parents of chorale members who are absent without notice to ensure that all know that the chorale member had not arrived at PACC
10:45 AM Help supervise chorale members, particularly when the chorale members have been dismissed on break
10:50AM Help usher choir members to the hallway beside the Sanctuary for the Processional

The Parent on duty should be available in case a chorale member is feeling ill or needs something from the first aid kit.


PARK AVENUE YOUTH CHORALE SCHEDULE 2009-10
(updated August 9, 2009)