Nathaniel Needle, director

Welcome to the Children’s Choir page!   Our singers are have a great time, work hard, and learn a lot in rehearsals. We learn about music, cultures, working together, following direction, and enjoying the results of an inspiring performance.

The choir performs several times each semester during the Sunday morning Sanctuary services, and an occasional Children's Chapel service. Typical are pieces such as: "Gonna Lay Down My Sword and Shield (Down by the Riverside)" and "Halloween is Coming", a round I originally wrote to teach English to Japanese children. It's always a great time to join us! Feel free to come watch a rehearsal if you're deciding whether Children's Choir is right for you.

Thank you for giving me a marvelous first year as children's choir
director. Every child involved made a unique contribution to our
spiritual and artistic efforts, no matter how many or how few rehearsals
or performances she or he attended. As an ensemble (that's a fancy
musical word for "team"), I believe we really gave people in this church
a lift at a very important time, when we were making the change from
Unity Hall back to the new Sanctuary. I hope parents and young people
alike feel glad about our year together.

A special note to the "Little Engine" ensemble:
The 12 of you put on a fantastic display of musical and verbal teamwork.
I want to congratulate you from the bottom of my heart. Dozens of people
have told me how thrilled they were to see and hear your one hundred
percent spirit. There were no empty spaces between lines, so the whole
piece just rolled along like an express train. Sara and Laina delivered
wonderful solos in very different moods. Jillian, Brahm, and Maya created
convincing characters as the unhelpful trains. Clarissa and Maya blended
beautifully on their duet, as did Melina and Victoriahope, who gave a
good show as an annoyed pair of dolls. It's hard to do lines together,
but Christina and Kate hit the perfect tone as the twin teddies. I have
to admit Asa was a charming Godzilla ("no toys!!!") and Reina, of course,
was the funniest duck one could imagine. What shall we do for an encore?

Have a great summer,

- Nathaniel Needle, Children's Choir Director

    
Children's Choir rehearsing for, and during the 2001 Christmas Pageant

PARENT HELP NEEDED

I am hoping that parents will lend a hand as they have in the past with robes, snacks, attendance, folders, and logistics for special events. Please speak to me about this. Please contribute your ideas for music as well as special activities such as singing in various institutions or outdoor seasonal caroling.

CAN I JOIN THE CHOIR?

I would like to encourage all youth ages 8-12 to join the choir this year. To any experienced singers ages 13 and 14, I would also like to extend a special invitation to remain with the choir as singers and rehearsal assistants. I would like to work together with you to develop both a musical role and a support role that is rewarding for you.

We already have a few singers ages 6 and 7!   Parents, please speak with me about whether choir might be an appropriate experience for your 6 or 7-year-old this year. This will depend on the individual nature of each child.

PHILOSOPHY

Let’s have fun singing together! My focus this year will be to open young people up to the experience of singing from the heart. Singing in a group offers each child the chance to cultivate dramatic expression, listening to and bonding with others, and familiarity with his or her own body-mind. The songs we select will cover a wide range of emotional tones and musical styles. Often we may sing without using written music.

Please contact us at:

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