EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
MUSIC EDUCATION
From its inception, education has been central to the mission of Schola Cantorum on Hudson. The same breath that blew life into the first SCH performance season also birthed its Siamese twin, in the form of education programs. At no point has the work been about ‘pretty sounds today,’ but rather about building ‘bridges to impact,’ through skill development and meaningful experiences. Schola’s Boards of Trustees, from the very beginning, embraced a vision that was long-range and broad-scale—a vision that meant bringing many along on the journey. That meant education; and it still does!
Schola Cantorum on Hudson (SCH) was founded on the belief that music plays a vital role in every life. This philosophy informs all of our activities and is nowhere more evident than in our education programs. Read on to discover where you might fit in!
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
CHORAL SCHOLAR PROGRAM
SCH’s Choral Scholar Program is designed to provide professional-level training and performance opportunities for high school students with outstanding vocal promise who intend to pursue a career in music. A Choral Scholarship enables a student to participate fully as a singing member of SCH and to receive partial tuition for private vocal instruction. Our Choral Scholars also receive written recommendations as they apply to conservatories and music schools. Additionally, they and their families are guided through the complex process of conservatory auditions.
- Audition (including a prepared song, sight-reading, and aural skills testing)
- Interviews with the Artistic Director and various committees
- Musical experience
- Recommendations
Basic information and an application form is available by clicking here. Applications should be submitted in April of the sophomore or junior year of high school for consideration for the following academic year. SCH supports no more than two Choral Scholars at any one time.
The Choral Scholar Program was instituted in the group’s very first season (1994-95), and has been active throughout its history. Click here for a chronology and biographies of our Choral Scholars.
Interested candidates for the SCH Choral Scholar Program are welcome to contact the Artistic Director via e-mail or by phone (888) 407-6002.
CANTORUM YOUNG SINGERS
In 1999, SCH introduced the Cantorum Kids program, since renamed Cantorum Young Singers (CYS), to encourage young people’s life-long involvement with singing. The program is designed to nurture musical and ensemble skills through collaborative experiences between school-age musicians, members of the community, and the SCH membership.
Through a competitive application process, SCH selects a school that demonstrates a lively, well-run choral program for year-long involvement in SCH's self-produced concert season. SCH's Artistic Director visits the school during the year to interact with students and their director and to prepare the CYS ensemble for the planned musical collaboration. The number and nature of shared events is arranged with the director of the adopted program. Repertoire is chosen collaboratively by SCH's Artistic Director and the CYS ensemble director.
Applications for the CYS program are reviewed in the fall of each year for the following season. Applicants are encouraged to include a recording of live performances, among other materials, when submitting the application.
Click here to download an application.
For more information relating to the CYS Program, please contact the Artistic Director via e-mail or by phone at (888) 407-6002.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROVIDER
Schola Cantorum on Hudson is accredited as a registered New Jersey Education Professional Development Provider. New Jersey public school teachers are eligible to apply for continuing education credits earned through membership and participation in our performances and educational programs.
MEMBER INREACH
Member Development
We nurture the development of our members through educational offerings that cultivate a professional standard in musical skills, vocal development and performance technique. This educational component ensures the ongoing evolution of this marvelously diverse mix of singers.
Weekly Class
Committed to the development of our singers, in January 2006, SCH took the innovative step of providing its members with weekly pre-rehearsal classes in advanced vocal technique and assertive sight-reading skills. These classes are offered exclusively to members of SCH.
Dramatic Coaching
Musical performance is about ‘presentation’ just as much as it is about vocal technique. The cast of Schola Sings Solo receives a session with a well-known dramatic coach each year. Stage Director and Master Teacher Dan Yates will coach the singers and stage the production for the 2011-12 Season. SCH members who are not part of the Solo cast are encouraged to learn from this session as active observers.
