{"id":21908,"date":"2014-09-24T12:50:09","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T16:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=21908"},"modified":"2014-09-27T16:08:43","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T20:08:43","slug":"shenandoah-valley-childrens-choir-opens-season-with-famed-jose-luis-orozco-at-international-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/shenandoah-valley-childrens-choir-opens-season-with-famed-jose-luis-orozco-at-international-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir opens season with famed Jose-Luis Orozco at international festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir (SVCC)<\/a> will be performing with renowned bilingual educator and musician Jose-Luis Orozco<\/a> at Harrisonburg\u2019s International Festival<\/a> on Sept. 27 at 2:15 pm.<\/p>\n

Orozco, who performs internationally before enthusiastic crowds, will be appearing on the invitation of the SVCC, Fairfield Center <\/a>and Harrisonburg City Schools. \u201cHe is our gift to the community,\u201d said SVCC artistic director Janet Hostetter<\/a>, who has prepared nearly 40 students to sing with Orozco at the festival in Hillandale Park.<\/p>\n

Orozco and SVCC share the goal of gathering children, families, and communities around a singing culture, Hostetter said. Orozco\u2019s performances employ a singalong style, through which he engages people of all ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s like an Hispanic Raffi!\u201d said SVCC assistant director Joy Anderson.<\/p>\n

SVCC begins its 2014 season with Hostetter stepping into the artistic director position; a renovated office location in an EMU-owned house on campus; and aspirations for a new set of uniforms to replace the children\u2019s 20-year-old outfits.<\/p>\n

\"_MG_7791_2(2)\"
SVCC choristers at mid-September 2014 retreat (from left): McRae Richardson, Rebekah Long, Macy Eye, Trevor Inouye, Riley Joyner. (Photo by Randi Hagi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To usher in the upcoming term, SVCC held a group retreat at Camp Horizons<\/a> on Sept. 13. Choristers became acquainted with some of this season’s repertoire, while building bonds among themselves and with staff. Rehearsal time, games, dramatic sketches, s’mores, and scampering about the woods packed the 11-hour day at the camp.<\/p>\n

Hostetter’s passion for musical education is rooted in her own experiences as a high school chorister. \u201cI learned much about listening and connecting to the people around me in those years,\u201d said Hostetter. \u201cI experienced the way community can be built through the members who give, based on what is needed for the good of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a musical instructor, she fondly remembers the transformation of Wilbur Pence Middle School<\/a> in Dayton (Va.) during her years teaching there. Singing \u201cwas not cool\u201d when she arrived, but both attendance and camaraderie burgeoned under her tutelage.<\/p>\n

Transposing these experiences into her new position with SVCC is akin to \u201cstepping off a plane into a beautiful flowering field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hostetter is familiar with said field in her prior roles of SVCC parent and guest conductor, but now assumes full responsibility for nurturing SVCC. Studying the choirs inside and out helps her \u201censure the ongoing success and continued growth of an already strong and flourishing organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

SVCC’s strength and prolificity are evident in their history. They have performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, two Mahatma Gandhi Global Nonviolence Award ceremonies, and the Tuscany International Children\u2019s Chorus Festival in Italy, among other illustrious venues.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are always shocked when they hear us,\u201d said Anderson. She says it is \u201cunheard of\u201d to be this well known, given that SVCC is not based in a major urban area.<\/p>\n

There are currently 157 students enrolled for the school year in SVCC’s Music Explorers<\/a> and performing choir programs. Music Explorers consists of students in kindergarten through third grade, with an emphasis on basic choral education. The performing choirs, made up of the preparatory, treble, and concert choirs, are divided based on age and singing prowess. Preparatory choir eligibility begins in second grade, and students must audition for acceptance into each level. Concert choir, with students from sixth to twelfth grade, is the longest-distance touring group of SVCC.<\/p>\n

Participants come from families of Mennonite, Jewish, other Christian, and no religious inclination. This diversity of faith tradition is key to SVCC’s character. \u201cWe want this to be a very inclusive atmosphere,\u201d said Anderson.<\/p>\n

\u201cCultivated properly,\u201d Hostetter said, \u201cchoral ensembles can give students a place of learning and belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other upcoming SVCC performances include:<\/p>\n