Children chorus to 'Serenade' guests at spring concert

A musical jubilee will grace the Elgin community this Sunday, as the Elgin Children's Chorus will present its final concert of the season, "Spring Serenade," at 3 p.m. in the Elgin Community College Visual and Performing Arts Center.

Ann Kepley, executive director of the chorus, said the concert is credit to the accomplishments and progress made by each choir this season.

"These young musicians have come a long way this season, and it is reflected in the variety of music that will be performed at the concert," Kepley said.

Musical selections include "Solla Sollew" from Broadway's "Seussical the Musical," "With a Banjo on My Knee" and "All Things Bright and Beautiful."

The Treble, Intermezzo, Chamber and Concert choirs will perform three to four songs each, including several selections that will be dual-performed by select choruses.

"Shooting Star" by composer Andy Beck, will feature both Treble and Intermezzo choirs.

Lisa Bettcher, director for the Treble Choir, said the interactions between the younger and older choirs is "something wonderful."

"When you have the younger kids singing with the older kids, it offers that sense of mentoring, where the younger kids can look up to and see what they can develop into with more practice ... it shows them something to work towards," she said.

"And vice versa, the older kids can look at these younger kids and remember what they were like at that age."

Bettcher said the majority of her selections come from her goal to offer a variety of fine, educator-approved pieces.

"I have the youngest choir I've ever taught in my career, so these pieces I've chosen for them to sing can, I think, really benefit them as they develop into more mature singers," she said.

Bettcher said her decision to include an American traditional folk piece, a show tune and a Hebrew folk tune came from the variety of music itself.

"I'm really into music theater, so I tried to find a piece that brings humor and is lighter but still of the highest quality," she said. "With 'Solla', the kids can really anchor into the piece and want to sing it again and again and again."

Bettcher said the selections have helped the children grow in their singing abilities.

"At this point, it is just a real kick to see how far they've come. At the beginning of the year, most of my children were confused about turning their music a particular direction or pulling their music out of their folders upside down," she said.

"Now, we're actually reading music, learning and singing in foreign languages and they have developed a mastery understanding of particular choral vocabulary words," Bettcher added.

"And the relationships these children have developed with their peers is extremely interesting to observe. Here we have kids from several cities across the county who have never met anyone before, and now they're walking out of practice, holding each other's hands."

Jay Kellner, director of the Chamber and Concert choirs and co-founder of the chorus, said the selections each ensemble makes helps retain the emotional connection in each participant.

"Every piece we work on is an outlet for someone to express themselves in a certain way, to connect to that power," he said.

All choirs will combine at the end of the program to perform "Fill the World With a Song" by Allen Pote.

Kellner and Kepley added that registration for summer camp, which runs from June 14 to 19, is currently open, and encourages all to apply.

Auditions to join the choir are also scheduled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 24 and June 7.

Tickets to "Spring Serenade" are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for students; and are available at the ECC box office in the Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive; online at tickets.elgin.edu or by phone at (847) 622-0300.

For details on the show, visit elginchildrenschorus.org or call (847) 931-7464.

<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p>

<p class="News"><b>What:</b> Elgin Children's Chorus' final concert of the season, "Spring Serenade"</p>

<p class="News"><b>When:</b> 3 p.m. Sunday, May 16</p>

<p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Elgin Community College Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin</p>

<p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for students</p>

<p class="News"><b>Details:</b> <a href="http://elginchildrenschorus.org" target="new">elginchildrenschorus.org</a>; (847) 931-7464</p>