The UU Children’s Choir began in 2000 as a project of the UU Musician’s Network and an extension of our mission. The goal was to provide an experience for UU children they could not get anywhere else: learn excellent musical skills, sing in and live among a large group of UU’s and strengthen their UU identity so they might be inspired as life-long UU’s. The UUCC happens every 3 or 4 years in conjunction with a UU conference; either the General Assembly or the UU Musician’s Network Conference.
The choir may consist of up to 90 dedicated and enthusiastic treble singers who will be 10, 11, or 12 years of age during the conference. Applicants are active in their congregation’s music program, or in school or community music programs. The UUCC is appropriate for children who can handle a 5-day overnight camp experience away from family, living and working in cooperation with other children and adults.
The next UU Children’s Choir is scheduled to be held in 2016 in conjunction with the UU Musicians Network summer conference in Madison, WI July 19-24, 2016.
(click here for printable brochure and donation form) Purpose: The Unitarian Universalist Children’s Choir is a sleep away treble choir camp for students ages 9-12. Students work with an accomplished children’s choir conductor to prepare several performances for the UUMN conference and larger community. Students will grow musically and socially through the rehearsal of 2 part treble choir repertoire, workshops led by Unitarian musicians, recreational activities, volunteer service, and Unitarian worship services.
Clinician and Conductor: We are honored to welcome Emily Ellsworth as this year’s clinician. Ms. Ellsworth is a lecturer at Northwestern University and has served as Artistic Director of ANIMA – Young Singers of Greater Chicago––since 1996. Her full biography can be found below.
Dates: Arrive on Tuesday, July 19 and depart on Sunday, July 24. (Program runs concurrent with the 2016 Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network Conference.) Information about transportation to and from the airport will be communicated to accepted singers’ families and congregations.
Location: Madison, Wisconsin. Students will be housed dormitory style on a college or university campus. All special housing requests, roommate preferences, and special dietary needs should be noted on the application.
Program Cost: This year’s program will cost $300 per singer to be paid upon acceptance into the program. Families or congregations must plan all transportation to Madison. Information about transportation to and from the airport will be communicated to accepted singers’ families and congregations.
Scholarships Available: We recognize that some families may not be able to both afford the $300 participation fee as well as travel expenses. A scholarship application will be available on the larger application form which will go live on October 1. The majority of scholarship money will be granted for travel purposes only; however, there is one scholarship available for the full cost of participation.
Application Details: Students must prove familiarity with choral singing as well as musical and social independence through a simple video application process. Families, music teachers, and music directors are strongly encouraged to help students with their audition. Students should sing either an A-major scale (to audition as an alto) or an F-major scale (to audition as a soprano) in one octave both ascending and descending. Then, students should sing the prepared piece. This will be available when the application goes live on October 1. This should be video recorded and uploaded to a video hosting service like YouTube. The link to this video should be included in the online application due December 1. A video tutorial on this audition process will be posted when the application goes live on October 1.
Application Timeline:
Oct. 1: Application goes live on this webpage. (Including prepared piece and video tutorial.) Dec. 1: Video audition and application due on this webpage. Dec. 21: Notice of application status sent. Jan. 15: $300 fee and registration due on this webpage.
Volunteers Needed: Volunteer support will be crucial to making this week a success for our students. Please consider signing up via the following link to either chaperone, lead recreational activities, lead volunteer service work, lead music based workshops, or lead youth focused worship services. Overnight chaperones will be given dormitory style housing at no cost, and you may opt to chaperone for as little as one night. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7QXRYR7
Donations Needed: This year, we have substantially reduced the cost of participation to encourage more students to apply. Every three years, the UUMN must raise over $50,000 to make this program a success. While grant monies and program fees help to cover this cost, we must also rely on UUMN members, individual donors, and participating congregations to help raise this money. Please consider a donation to help us teach the principles of Unitarian Universalism to our children through song. Mail your gift/pledge to Donna Fisher, UUMN, 2208 Henery Tuckers Court, Charlotte, NC 28270. Checks to be made out to Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network with “UUCC 2016” in the Memo line.
Questions?: Tyler Turner is coordinating the 2016 UUCC, and he can be reached at [email protected].
Ms. Emily Ellsworth:
Nationally recognized as a leader in the choral field, Emily Ellsworth has served as Artistic Director of ANIMA – Young Singers of Greater Chicago since 1996. Under her direction, ANIMA has won several national awards, including the ASCAP award for adventurous programming in 2001 and 2013; the Dale Warland Singers Commissioning Award given by the American Composers Forum and Chorus America, in 2009; the once-in-an-organizational lifetime Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America in 2009; and in 2000, the U.S. Library of Congress’ Local Legacies Award, acknowledging the chorus as one of the nation’s cultural treasures.
Ms. Ellsworth currently serves as adviser to the Opera Workshop choral series with Boosey & Hawkes publishing, has served several times on music panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, and has over 20 years of singing and teaching experience on the music faculties of the College of DuPage, St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina, and the University of Southern California. She served for many years on the faculty of Doreen Rao’s Choral Music Experience Institute for Choral Teacher Training, from which she received the artist teacher certificate in 1995.
As guest conductor and clinician, Ms. Ellsworth has conducted all-state choirs and festivals in over 20 states, as well as for the Northwest, North Central, and Southwest divisions of ACDA. She has conducted featured performances and presentations in Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, in the UK, Brazil, Hong Kong, and at national conferences of ACDA, the Organization of Kodaly Educators, and Chorus America. She has prepared youth choruses for Chicago’s major musical organizations, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, Music of the Baroque, and many others. Collaborations have included performances with eighth blackbird, actress Julia Roberts, the Soul Children of Chicago, Garth Brooks, Dennis DeYoung, and Barenaked Ladies. In addition, Ms. Ellsworth has prepared ANIMA for performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, concert tours to six continents, 8 CD recordings, and featured broadcasts on WFMT.
