Vol. 23, No. 3 Spring 2024 | |
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Happy Spring! As we approach the final months of our 29th season, there is a great deal of excitement surrounding our upcoming performances this spring and next season, culminating in the celebration of our 30th anniversary Spring Concert at Carnegie Hall on May 10, 2025!
On May 1 the Chamber Singers will perform at the Fairfield Holocaust Commemoration at First Church Congregational. This will be the 20th consecutive year we have participated in the Fairfield, or the Bridgeport JCC’s, commemoration. This is one of our most important community service projects!
On May 5 at 3:00 PM we will present the FCCC Spring Concert, Why We Sing, at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. The program will feature nearly 300 choristers performing a wide variety of selections, many of which will celebrate the joy of singing, including How Can I Keep from Singing, Lift Every Voice and Sing, I’m Gonna Sing When the Spirit Says “Sing”, When Children Sing and Music Down in My Soul. Highlights will include the Spiritual Plenty Good Room, the jazz standard When I Fall in Love and in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the choir will perform Joyful, Joyful from Sister Act 2. Many other wonderful pieces will be featured.
On the third weekend in May, two of FCCC’s choirs will be busy with exciting collaborations. On May 18 the FCCC Chamber Singers will perform Mahler’s 3rd Symphony with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra at Norwalk Concert Hall at 7:30 PM. In addition, the FCCC Concert Choir will have a very special collaboration with Voce, a professional chamber choir from Hartford https://www.voceinc.org/ featuring the music of Dan Forrest, with the composer in residence. This collaboration is the result of efforts by FCCC’s Chorus conductor, Ashley Zadravecz, who is a member of Voce! There will be two performances: on Saturday, May 18 at 7:00 PM at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford and Sunday, May 19 at 3:00 PM at First Church Congregational in Fairfield.
On June 2 at 4:00 PM our Chamber Singers will return to First Church Congregational in Fairfield for a full-length concert as part of their prestigious Music in the Meetinghouse series. The program will include classical pieces, folk and world music, Gospel and spirituals, as well as Broadway, popular and jazz selections.
The FCCC Chamber Singers annual summer tour will take us to Philadelphia from June 24 - 29, with full-length concerts at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia, and the Lenape Valley Church. We will also have a wonderful collaboration with the Princeton Girlchoir and Boychoir, and Le Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal (a middle and high school boy’s choir from Montreal, Canada), culminating in a concert at Bristol Chapel of Westminster Choir College.
For next season, as we do every five years, we celebrate our anniversary with programs we call “The Best of the FCCC”. The conductors will select the repertoire for the Winter and Broadway concerts, and for the Spring Concert at Carnegie Hall we will invite our audience to help us select the program. Watch for a survey in September!!
Jon Noyes
Music Director & Founder
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From the President of the Board | |
As we come to the close of our 29th season, I’d like to thank the FCCC conductors, staff, choristers, parents, and other supporters for their hard work to make this a successful season.
Our annual Broadway concert and auction were an outstanding success thanks to the auction committee volunteers and committee chairs, Katie Kearney and Megan Reddy for their countless hours of work to coordinate our most important fundraiser of the year. This fundraiser supports our commitment to keep tuition low.
Our 2nd annual summer music camp is still accepting choristers from 3rd to 7th grade. After our first camp in 2023, we garnered excellent feedback from choristers and parents and know that this is a valuable experience for young choristers. Camp will be held at Stratfield Elementary School in Fairfield from June 24 – 28 with a concert finale on Friday, June 28th. Please find additional information below.
It has been my extreme privilege to be your Board President supporting this outstanding group of committed musicians.
Have a safe, restful summer and we’ll see you in September.
Sincerely,
John Ellis
President
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Auditions - For Kids Who Love to Sing!
Auditions for our 30th anniversary season will take place on various dates in May and June. We welcome children currently in grades 3 - 11 to audition for the choir next year. Please consider inviting friends and neighbors to audition. To make an audition appointment please email manager@SingFCCC.org. Visit SingFCCC.org/sing/ for information.
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FCCC Summer Camp
Week of June 24th | 9:00 am - 1:00 pm | Stratfield Elementary School
FCCC will hold our 2nd annual summer camp for students entering grades 2-7 (next fall) from June 24 – 28. Participants will celebrate the joy of making music together through choral rehearsals, movement, music games, and more with FCCC conductors Jacqueline Sugrue-Tait and Ashley Zadravecz, both of whom are FCCC alumni. Campers will enjoy an experience focused on personal growth as a singer, development of performance skills in choral music, and healthy singing technique. The week will conclude with a concert for family and friends on June 28. For more information visit SingFCCC.org/fccc-music-camp/.
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New Singers: $400
FCCC Members: $375
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Chorister Profiles | 2023 - 2024 Seniors | |
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We bid a fond farewell to our 29th class of graduating seniors. Best wishes to Natalie Compare, Aidan Coppola, Melanie Dreizen, Anne Gombos, Cecilia Illuzzi, Samara Negrin, Ellen Ou, River Peterson, Vicky Sgaglione, Mihaela Siretanu, Lilly Strazza, Anne Taylor & Phoebe Tunnell. They have given so much of their talents and time to our choir!
In addition, we congratulate five of these seniors who will receive our Choral Scholar Award. This is given to choristers who have been members of the FCCC for the maximum term of nine years. We are so happy that these seniors ‘found us’ way back in 2015 when they were finishing third grade!! They are Ellen Ou, Anne Gombos, Mihaela Siretanu, Lilly Strazza & Phoebe Tunnell. We have enjoyed reading the profiles of this group, and we have one final set of profiles for this edition of Quarternotes.
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Name: Natalie Compare
Age: 17
School: Fairfield Ludlowe High School
Town: Fairfield
Favorite FCCC Song: One Voice
It is so bittersweet to say goodbye to FCCC. Ever since I joined in sixth grade, it has been such a wonderful space and community to spend my Wednesday nights with. FCCC has helped me make so many friends and find people who share my love of music. It’s been such an amazing experience to be able to perform this level of music and to become a better singer and musician through FCCC. I am so grateful to all of the conductors who have taught me and fostered my growth. I have been so lucky for my experiences in FCCC and I am so glad I auditioned and stayed all the way through!
(see Natalie’s other big news below)
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Name: Lilliana Strazza
Age: 18
School: St. Joseph High School
Town: Fairfield
Favorite FCCC Song: Biebl Ave Maria, City Called Heaven & Children Go Where I Send Thee
FCCC is not only a community but a way of living! I have been in the choir for nearly half of my life and it has given me a family and unforgettable experiences. I can't exactly describe the way music makes me feel but it has been pointed out that I get a lot more emotional than the average chorister. Being in a group with passionate talented people who are from different towns and age groups is such a refreshing experience, especially since I grew up in smaller Catholic schools. Bragging about FCCC is something I will truly miss. My friends at school get so confused when I tell them "sorry, can't I have choir" or "not tonight, I get to sing at Carnegie Hall with the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland". FCCC is a way of living because of its community, the caliber of music, its consistency and professional expectations. I would not trade my experiences at this choir for anything!
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Name: Anne Taylor
Age: 17
School: Fairfield Ludlowe High School
Town: Fairfield
Favorite FCCC Song: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Ever since joining FCCC in sixth grade, it has been an incredible experience for me. Through the choir, I found a new sense of community and belonging that I had never experienced elsewhere. Singing in unison during practice sessions brought everyone closer together and created a strong sense of connection among us. This choir inspired me to challenge myself and to push my boundaries musically, which not only helped me grow as a musician but also led me to form deep bonds with my choir mates, some of whom became my closest friends. This experience ignited a passion for music within me that has continued to thrive over the years. The memories made and the skills learned during my time at FCCC have had a lasting impact on me, shaping not only my musical abilities but also my sense of community and friendship.
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FCCC member Maya Desai won 1st place in the State of Connecticut PTA Reflections contest in the music composition category at the intermediate level. This year’s theme was “I’m hopeful because…” Her piece is entitled “Harmony” and includes these original words:
“I’m hopeful that we can make a change in the world.
I hope for the better as we all come together
As a community in harmony.”
FCCC member Natalie Compare was named a Finalist in the 2024 Competition for National Merit Scholarship awards! Over 1 million students initially entered the competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Only 15,000 finalists were selected based on their outstanding academic records, strong leadership qualities, and significant contributions to their schools and communities. The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizes and honors these finalists for their exceptional achievements, providing them with the opportunity to compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced beginning in April. Natalie is also a candidate for The United States Presidential Scholars Program, which recognize some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors.
Congratulations to these two amazing young ladies!
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Congratulations to Audrey Mbwa-Mboma, a Psychology major and Legal Studies minor at American University in Washington, D.C., who will be taking part in the Pathways to Psych Careers Program though Weill Cornell Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry this coming summer! Audrey recently sent an update to Jon Noyes: | |
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Hi Mr. Noyes!
I hope that you and everyone at FCCC are doing well! I was hoping to be able to catch one of the concerts this year, but I ended up coming home after the winter concerts, and I unfortunately won't be home until after the spring concert.
I realized it has been a while since I gave an update about my life. I think I mentioned to you that I was elected as the Assistant Music Director of my a cappella group for our fall semester, but I don't think that I mentioned that I have been serving as the Co-Music Director this semester! Additionally, of the 9 songs we'll be performing at our final concert this semester, 5 of the songs are my own arrangements!
Throughout this whole semester, after working with the group on our blend, pitch, vowels, energy, stage presence and more, I continue to find myself grateful for everything that I learned about singing as a group at FCCC. I also find myself reminding the group that we should "have fun being awesome!" While it's been a big adjustment this semester, I think that my experiences at FCCC have made this process easier, and far more enjoyable.
Again, I hope that you have been doing well, and I apologize for not giving an update for a while!
Best,
Audrey Mbwa-Mboma
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Congratulations to Emily Hoffman who performed her senior recital as a voice major at UConn!
FCCC conductor (and Emily’s elementary music teacher) Lisa Bettke proudly attended!
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In March, Concert Choir Conductor Chris Anne Powers attended the OAKE (Organization of American Kodály Educators) Conference in Chicago. She presented a session entitled "An Ear-First Approach to Teaching Ensemble Harmony & Improvisation." While there, she had the good fortune of hearing Samara Negrin (FCCC Concert Choir member) sing in the National Chamber Choir. Congratulations to Samara on an incredible concert! | |
In April, Mrs. Powers' school in Greenwich staged a production of Finding Nemo, Jr. FCCC Concert Choir member Adam Fuller assisted with lighting for the production. Many thanks to Adam for his help! | |
As you may know, Chorus Conductor Ashley Zadravecz was a chorister in the FCCC and last year she invited some members of the FCCC to sing at her wedding. Now, Ms. Z is very excited to announce that she is expecting a baby in the fall! She has no doubt that when the time comes, there will be a new member of FCCC! | |
Jon Noyes presented a workshop on choral warmups, repertoire and music literacy to the combined music departments from the West Hartford, Farmington and Canton Public Schools on election day in November 2023. | |
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Thanks to the generosity of this wonderful community, we met our 2024 auction fundraising goal! We deeply appreciate your support and are excited to create more fun ways to expand the reach of FCCC's mission together.
Special thanks to Katie Kearney, Megan Reddy, and the entire Auction Committee for an amazing continuation to the revival of our largest fundraiser. On behalf of all of us at the FCCC, I sincerely thank the parents, alumni, alumni parents and Board members who worked tirelessly, and with great skill, to put together a fun and fruitful event, including Meredith Anand, Shelley Dreizen, Jen & Dave Giudice, Lauren Noonan, Barb Robbins, Teryl Taglieri, Angie Tuason, and Fran Wilder. Bravissimi!
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A contribution to the Fairfield County Children's Choir is an investment in the future. We train outstanding young performers and help them to grow – both as musicians and as responsible, caring young adults. Your support makes it possible for us to bring our world-class choir experience to musically talented children, many of whom receive tuition assistance. Your gift is tax deductible, and we gratefully thank you for your generosity.
Fairfield County Children's Choir
P.O. Box 1528
Fairfield, CT 06825
SingFCCC.org
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Remember the FCCC Motto:
Have Fun Being Awesome!
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The Mississippi River in New Orleans, LA | | |
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MUSIC STAFF
Music Director & Founder - Jon Noyes
Concert Choir Conductor - Chris Anne Powers
Chorale Conductor & Accompanist - Lisa Bettke
Chorus Conductor - Ashley Zadravecz
Accompanist - Rodney Loren
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STAFF
Executive Director - Katie Kearney
General Manager - Barbara Peck
Assistant Choir Manager - Alicen Gachi
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