{"id":2208,"date":"2014-04-30T16:28:24","date_gmt":"2014-04-30T20:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/?p=2208"},"modified":"2016-01-20T09:41:59","modified_gmt":"2016-01-20T14:41:59","slug":"fostering-community-wide-music-through-bach-festival-childrens-choir-prep-music-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/2014\/04\/30\/fostering-community-wide-music-through-bach-festival-childrens-choir-prep-music-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Fostering community-wide music through Bach Festival, Children’s Choir, Prep Music Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Conductor

Conductor Ken J. Nafziger has been the artistic director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival since its inception 22 years ago. (Photo by Jessica Roxanne Atienza)<\/p><\/div>\n

BACH FESTIVAL<\/h3>\n

Music lovers flock to Harrisonburg each summer for the annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. With a week of performances ranging from baroque to modern, amateur to award-winning, they aren\u2019t disappointed.<\/p>\n

The flagship performances are held in EMU\u2019s Lehman Auditorium, but in an effort to share the experience with the widest possible audience, concerts are also held in downtown Harrisonburg venues on weekdays.<\/p>\n

Many of the performances are free, to allow as many as possible to attend, said Mary Kay Adams, Bach Festival executive director and principal flutist. She recruits volunteers for each summer\u2019s festival: to house traveling musicians, work as ushers for the performances, and even sing as choir members.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bach Festival is one of the signature arts events in Harrisonburg every year, and adds to what is a growing and vibrant community for artists and arts enthusiasts,\u201d says Kai Degner, Harrisonburg City Council member.<\/p>\n

Last season, 4,000 people attended the festival. In 2014, there will be a new concerto competition for youth, for a chance to earn a spot in the opening concert. Up-to-date information can always be found at\u00a0emu.edu\/bach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CHILDREN\u2019S CHOIR<\/h3>\n
\"The

The Shenandoah Valley Children\u2019s Choir gained a new director, Janet Hostetter \u201987, after a careful sifting of dozens of applicants. (Photo by Jill Koeppen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Whether at the White House for the lighting of the national Christmas tree, at festivals in Hawaii or in Italy, the sound of the Shenandoah Valley Children\u2019s Choir (SVCC) blows its audiences away, assistant director Joy Anderson is pleased to say.<\/p>\n

Now in its 22nd year, the children\u2019s choir is open to youths aged 5-18.<\/p>\n

They are trained to perform at the same level as nationally recognized choirs from urban areas, but their mission isn\u2019t to compete, Anderson says.<\/p>\n

The choir\u2019s main goal is to instill high standards \u2013 in music and in character \u2013 in an atmosphere of cooperation, she says.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2014, Janet Heatwole Hostetter \u201987<\/strong> was named SVCC\u2019s new artistic director, chosen from a stack of applicants from across the country and beyond. After majoring in\u00a0music<\/a>\u00a0at EMU, Hostetter earned a master of music degree in choral conducting from James Madison University. In the spring of 2008, she served as SVCC guest director during founding director Julia White\u2019s sabbatical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SVCC, under the direction of Julia White and [interim director] Joanne van der Vat-Chromy,\u00a0has brought a quality of music education to our community that has impacted the lives of many,\u201d said Hostetter. \u201cI am honored to have been chosen for the artistic director position and desire to continue the same level of musical excellence we have all come to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combining music theory and practice in their earliest non-auditioned classes, with performing artistry from age seven and up, the choir seeks to encourage a sense of connection, pleasure and belonging alongside instruction. \u201cIt\u2019s a rigorous program, but it\u2019s fun,\u201d Anderson says.<\/p>\n

The children expand their social repertoires, too: Those who are homeschooled meet and sing alongside children from the city schools, who mingle with those from county schools, plus some from even an hour\u2019s drive away, living in Winchester and Charlottesville. Around 150 choristers are part of the program each year, which is housed at EMU.<\/p>\n

For more information,
\nvisit\u00a0emu.edu\/svcc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PREPARATORY MUSIC<\/h3>\n

Although part of EMU\u2019s music department, the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program isn\u2019t focused on grooming future music majors. \u201cOur main goal is to give students the skills to be able to use their music in whatever setting they find themselves in the future,\u201d said program director Sharon Miller, who teaches violin, viola and Suzuki pedagogy courses. That may be in orchestras, churches or living rooms.<\/p>\n

\"Megan

Megan Tiller \u201907 teaches strings at Spotswood Elementary (pictured) and Waterman Schools, as well as helping with the strings programs in other schools throughout the region. She also runs Tiller Strings, a local option for obtaining stringed instruments and accessories. (Photo courtesy of Megan Tiller)<\/p><\/div>\n

The preparatory music program is a combination of community outreach offerings: Musikgarten for exposure from infancy to 7 years, to Youth Symphony, a high-level ensemble of high school juniors and seniors. The only program of its kind in a 60-mile radius, the program became part of EMU\u2019s music department in 1988. It has served an average of 375 students each year.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s community-building efforts continue with the Harrisonburg City Schools Strings Program, offering children an after-school opportunity for string instrument instruction that they might not otherwise have. Megan\u00a0Tiller \u201907<\/strong>, for example, is a Suzuki-trained teacher of strings at both Waterman and Spotswood Elementary schools. Since 2007, a group of highly diverse students in grades 3-8 have picked up violins and learned to play, regardless of their financial situation. The after-school program is funded in part by Harrisonburg City Schools, student tuition, and individual donations. About 150 children are in the program, 71% of whom are low-income.<\/p>\n

In the late spring and summer, music day camps are organized for Musikgarten and Suzuki Strings.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit
\nemu.edu\/music\/preparatory-program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Samantha Cole \u201911<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BACH FESTIVAL Music lovers flock to Harrisonburg each summer for the annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. With a week of performances ranging from baroque to modern, amateur to award-winning, they aren\u2019t disappointed. The flagship performances are held in EMU\u2019s Lehman Auditorium, but in an effort to share the experience with the widest possible audience, concerts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":2228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,411],"tags":[148,896,895,180,897],"class_list":["post-2208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-spring-2014","tag-music","tag-music-education","tag-shenandoah-valley-bach-festival","tag-shenandoah-valley-childrens-choir","tag-shenandoah-valley-preparatory-music-program","issues-spring-2014"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2543,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions\/2543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}