AUDITIONS IN JUNE, AUGUST, and SEPTEMBER FOR SINGERS AGES 8-18 REGISTRATION OPEN FOR PREP CLASS, SERVING SINGERS AGES 5-8
CALLING SINGERS TO JOIN WASHINGTON’S FINEST YOUTH CHORUS PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE APPEARANCES WITH LEADING ENSEMBLES AT THE KENNEDY CENTER & MORE
WASHINGTON, DC, June 2016– Building on momentum from the artistic director emeritus and founder, Joan Gregoryk’s 20th anniversary season, Children’s Chorus of Washington (CCW) is delighted to announce its auditions and registration for its remarkable 21st season under the direction of its new artistic director Margaret Nomura Clark. CCW is holding open auditions this June and again in late August and early September for its five internationally recognized ensembles, Treble Chorus, Bel Canto Chorus, Concert Chorus, Chamber Chorus, and Young Men’s Ensemble. Auditions, which are open to any children ages 8-18 interested in joining a vocal ensemble, take place on June 7th, 20th, 21st, and 25th at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church. For more detailed info, please see the 2016-2017 Audition Dates & Locations schedule below. To schedule a free audition, call CCW at 202-237-1005. CCW is also currently enrolling children ages 5-8 in PREP Class, an engaging vocal learning program that develops fundamental, age-appropriate vocal skills, prepares students for future ensemble singing, and fosters a playful lifelong relationship with music through games, movement, and vocal activities. To enroll in PREP Class, no audition is necessary. Please visit childrenschorus.com/programs/prep-class/ to download the registration form.
CCW’s extraordinary vocal education programs and dynamic community partnerships emphasize artistic excellence, and choristers in its five performing ensembles represent over 100 public and private schools in the greater Washington, DC area. Children selected for CCW’s five ensembles will have an exciting range of performance opportunities during the 2016-2017 season, ranging from appearances with The Washington Chorus at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, WPA’s What Makes it Great series at the Smithsonian Baird Auditorium, as well as an international tour to Argentina for Concert Chorus and Young Men’s Ensemble in the planning stage.
The five auditioned ensembles of CCW are Treble Chorus, Bel Canto Chorus, Concert Chorus, Chamber Chorus, and Young Men’s Ensemble. Starting at age 8, students with little-to-no choral training experience Treble Chorus in combination with a basic music theory class. Bel Canto Chorus, the next most advanced ensemble, continues to develop musicianship through more challenging repertoire, a greater variety of enriching performance opportunities, and a more rigorous rehearsal schedule. Concert Chorus, CCW’s largest and most advanced ensemble, is also the most frequently selected for unique performance opportunities such as international tours and performances at the most prestigious venues in the nation’s capital. Chamber Ensemble is a smaller, select group comprised of Concert Chorus singers who demonstrate great discipline, poise, musical achievement and musicianship. Although treble voices are at the core of most of CCW’s ensembles, boys with changed voices have the opportunity to join the Young Men’s Ensemble, which also tours internationally and performs regularly, often with the Chamber Ensemble to form CCW’s only mixed-voice ensemble.
PREP Class, designed to introduce first-time singers to the choral experience, is offered in two age- differentiated divisions, PREP I (ages 5-6) and PREP II (ages 7-8). PREP Class prepares students for future ensemble participation, and many 8-year-old students go on to pass Treble Chorus auditions. Both sections hold a final showcase performance at the end of each semester.
For additional information about CCW’s programs, please visit childrenschorus.com. Below are dates for auditions and performance highlights for the 2015-2016 season.
Children’s Chorus of Washington 2016-2017 Audition Dates & Locations
Tuesday, June 7 – 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Monday, June 20 – 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Tuesday, June 21 – 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 25 – 10:00 am– 5:00 pm
And select dates in late August/early September, to be confirmed
First Fall Rehearsal Dates for CCW Ensembles
Auditions will be held at:
Metropolitan Memorial Methodist Church
3401 Nebraska Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
Rehearsals start September 12th, 2016
NEW! Potential additional rehearsal location in Virginia
PREP Class Fall Schedule
September 12 – December 12 (no class Oct. 10)
Everyone is welcome to join our first class on Monday, September 12 to check it out! Prep I: (Ages 5-6) will meet Mondays 4:30-5:10 pm
Prep II: (Ages 7-8) will meet Mondays 5:15-6:00 pm
Where: Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church
2015-2016 20th Anniversary Season Highlights
NATIONAL ANTHEM – NATS GAME
Friday, May 27, 2016
Members of Concert Chorus & Bel Canto Chorus Nationals Ball Park, Washington, DC
AROUND THE WORLD IN 20 YEARS – CCW’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPRING CONCERT
Sunday, May 22, 2016
All CCW Ensembles and CCW Alumni
with premiere of piece by composer Andrea Ramsey commissioned by Classical Movements in honor of Joan Gregoryk, Founder and Artistic Director.
Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS’S CHILDREN OF THE GOSPEL CHOIR & CHILDREN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON
Sunday, May 1, 2016
with WPA’s Children of the Gospel Choir
CCW Chamber and Young Men’s Ensembles
Joan Gregoryk, Michele Fowlin & Stanley Thurston, conducting The Historic Lincoln Theatre, Washington, DC
3 TREBLES FESTIVAL
with Boston Children’s Chorus & Princeton Girlchoir Bel Canto Chorus
Concert on April 10, 2016
JOY OF CHRISTMAS/FAMILY JOY
Saturday, December 12/13, 2015
with Cathedral Choral Society
Dr. J. Reilly Lewis, conductor
Concert Chorus
Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC
SING WE ALL NOWELL! – MUSIC FOR CHRISTMAS Sunday, December 13, 2015
with Thomas Circle Singers
James Kreger, conductor
Bel Canto Chorus
St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Washington, DC
HOLIDAY FAVORITES – CCW HOLIDAY CONCERT Sunday, December 20, 2015
All CCW Ensembles, CCW Alumni, Ruckman String Quartet and Amadeus Brass Quintet Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 3
November 5-7, 2015
with National Symphony Orchestra Christoph Eschenbach, conductor Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano Women of Choral Arts Society Concert Chorus
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – Concert Hall, Washington, DC
About Children’s Chorus of Washington
The Children’s Chorus of Washington provides outstanding music education programs that engage and educate vocalists ages 5 to 18 from throughout metropolitan Washington, DC regardless of background, economic status, or prior experience. Emphasizing artistic excellence, responsibility, and personal development, CCW’s approach fosters choristers’ growth as young musicians and leaders.
Internationally recognized and critically acclaimed for its 20-year history of artistic excellence, CCW has reached five continents through domestic and international tours, recordings, and frequent appearances on public radio and television. CCW’s five auditioned ensembles perform frequently in self-produced concerts and a variety of public and private engagements throughout greater Washington, DC. These include a number of performances with leading music organizations at venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, and Washington National Cathedral. Recent engagements include a concert at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Britten’s War Requiem with The Washington Chorus and Julian Wachner and this past fall, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the National Symphony Orchestra and Choral Arts Society conducted by Maestro Christoph Eschenbach.
CCW shares its music education programs with the broader DC community through SING DC! which provides choral music training to under-served DC students at no cost to the schools or students, PREP Class for first-time singers, and Teacher Workshops. CCW is one of only a few children’s choruses that regularly tours domestically and internationally.
CCW has been selected for the 2015/2016 Catalogue for Philanthropy as “one of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region.” In 2012 and again in 2014, CCW was recognized by the Washington Area Music Awards (“Wammies”) – Best Choral Group – and Greater Washington Area Choral Excellence Awards (“Ovations”) – Best Educational Outreach. CCW is the winner of the 2014 DC Mayor’s Arts Awards.
Margaret Nomura Clark, Artistic Director, was the Associate Artistic Director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus (SFBC) from 2009-2015, directing the Intermediate chorus and supervising all tiers of the SFBC Training Chorus School. Together with Artistic Director, Ian Robertson, she has worked closely with the San Francisco Symphony and in many different productions with the nationally acclaimed San Francisco Opera. Ms. Clark has performed and toured with her chorus at numerous festivals including the Grand Teton Music Festival. A highlight of her career was an invitation with the San Francisco Boys Chorus to sing at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009. In the fall of 2015, she was appointed to the choral faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) Pre-college Division and launched a choral program for instrumental students ages 7-18. Ms. Clark’s choruses have consistently earned Gold medals and Unanimous Superior rankings at festivals and choral adjudications.
Contact
Laura Gross, Director of Operations 202-237-1005 ccw@childrenschorus.com

