Thank You for Making a Difference in 2018!
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As we say goodbye to 2018 and begin looking forward at the new year, we'd like to take a moment to say
THANK YOU
to all our supporters, volunteers and families for a wonderful year at Milwaukee Children's Choir. We are honored to have a small hand in helping build a fantastic performing arts community here in Milwaukee.
Here's a quick look at Milwaukee Children's Choir in 2018:
✰ Lynn Swanson became MCC's new Executive Artistic Director.
✰ MCC students performed in 16 Nutcracker shows with the Milwaukee Ballet.
✰ Singers traveled to Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Illinois for concert tours.
✰ More than 650 students participated in our choirs and in-school programming.
Milwaukee Children's Choir is able to
give children an outlet for their creativity and energy
thanks to your love for the arts. We can't thank you enough for being a part of our community!
Cheers to a successful 2019.
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Between the Lines:
Message from the Executive Artistic Director
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Our Face~
What’s your first thought when you see the word FACE?
The word can mean so many different things –
If you’re a musician you might think of the four space notes of the treble clef.
Certainly, most of us would assume we are talking about the face of a person – the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the chin.
But, we could also be talking about the face of a clock – the way we track the setting of the sun or how we know when we are supposed to be where.
Then, there’s wanting to “save face” – what some cultures do to preserve one’s dignity at all costs.
There’s the most frequently seen side of something, perhaps the façade of a building, even an organization.
It’s easy for the Milwaukee Children’s Choir to determine what our first thought is when we see the word “face”.
The face of our organization IS the face of our children.
What first comes to my mind when I think of the face of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir? It’s the uninhibited smile of a child realizing they can’t live without singing. It’s the genuine smile of a child realizing that can’t live without making music with their friends.
As I was conducting voice assessments this week (to understand how our children’s voices may have changed since the beginning of the season), I asked one Mandy Dulle, a singer in Voices of Eterna, what she liked about MCC and what she would change if she could. She suggested no changes, but did say that what she liked was how singing makes her happy. She feels she cannot live without singing. My first thought to hearing this was - what if everyone realized that singing makes you happy.
What’s the face of our organization?
It’s HAPPY.
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Jimmy John's
Supports MCC's
Opening Season Concert
A very big thank you to Jimmy Johns for their generous sponsorship of the Opening Season Concert on November 3, 2018.
As a monetary sponsor, Jimmy Johns helps reduce the costs associated with our programs, and ensures that the monies raised at concerts can be used to support MCC, our programs and students.
MCC is truly an educational treasure within our city with so much to offer our singers. Thank you, Jimmy Johns for seeing the value of our mission and the importance of performing arts opportunities for youth in the Milwaukee area.
Now let's support Jimmy Johns! Get yourself a freaky fast sub today.
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ROSKA FAMILY
In this installment of
In the Spotlight
, we feature a pair of first-rate volunteers: Jeff and Janeen Roska.
The Roska family are not only made up of terrific kids but outstanding parents as well. Jeff and Janeen make for an unstoppable team.
The phrase most often used to describe Jeff and Janeen: Parent Gurus.
Jeff and Janeen have both served as Rehearsal Assistants for most of the duration of their children's involvement, which is more than 8 years! You can understand why the phrase Parent Gurus has been bestowed upon them.
The Roskas have also served as chaperones on MCC concert tours, festivals, retreats, camps and workshops. Wherever the kids are singing the parents are chaperoning.
Recently, Janeen moved from Rehearsal Assistant of Prelude Choir to Accompanist for Training Choir East.
The family motto is obviously to serve where needed.
It's not just that they are closely involved, it's that they do so with the utmost integrity. They show respect to all. They practice fairness in all situations. They remain committed in all cases and provide encouragement to staff with gentle reminders and smiles that say,
"We can do it!"
Their three singers are an exact reflection of who they are as humans. It's a joy to be a part of their children's lives in music.
Thank you Roskas!
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The Board's Corner: A Message from the Board President
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! As we enter into the New Year, I wanted to announce some changes within our Board of Directors.
My name is Emily Schley. Having served as a member of the Board of Directors, I was delighted to accept the nomination and unanimous board vote to become the new President of the Board of Directors which fills the vacancy left by outgoing President Katie Rasmussen. Katie did a wonderful job taking us into our 25
th
Season. I hope to bring us through that 25
th
season and position our organization to continue to bring high-level choral music to children in the Milwaukee area for the next 25 years and beyond!
I am an attorney who works at J. F. Ahern Co. with a love of fine arts. I became a member of the Board of Directors in November 2017 because I wanted to be a part of a prestigious organization that introduces, develops, and instills a passion for the fine arts in our youth.
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MCC
Upcoming Events
Admirals Hockey Game:
Saturday, January 26, Resident Choirs and Lake Country Choirs will be singing the national anthem before the Milwaukee Admirals Hockey Game. Come by to support our singers, then cheer on the Admirals.
Tribute to the American Black Composer:
Join us Saturday, February 23, 2pm for a spectacular concert honoring the contributions of American Black Composers as a part of the extensive musical fabric of our country.
St. Sebastian Parish
5400 W. Wisconsin Avenue. Featuring special guest,
Dr. Wallace Cheatham.
25th Anniversary Concert:
MCC is ending our 25th concert season with a dramatic performance on Saturday, May 18 at St. Sebastian Parish. MCC founder, Emily Crocker will be joining us for this monumental event. Not only will she be conducting past pieces she composed, but we will be premiering a new piece written by Mrs. Crocker specifically for this event.
Visit our
website
to view all our upcoming performances!
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UPAF Supports the Arts
The United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) has been setting the stage for more than 50 years by providing critical investment in our region’s vibrant performing arts scene. Since its inception, UPAF has raised over $300 million for the performing arts.
UPAF funding is critical to the sustainability of these community treasures and allows them to focus on what they do best: creating, performing, inspiring and educating.
Milwaukee Children's Choir has been a member of UPAF for more than a decade, and we couldn't be a success without their unwavering support. And MCC isn't alone. UPAF supports more than 25 performing arts groups, inclu
ding the Milwaukee Ballet, First Stage, Skylight Music Theatre and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
When you support UPAF, you enrich the lives of area residents young and old and help keep our arts culture thriving.
Thank you UPAF and to all the performing arts supporters out there. You are a vital part of every performance.
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We want to hear from you. Which composer do you prefer more, Beethoven or Mozart?
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October's 'A Quarter Question Poll' answered:
Should choirs learn by rote?
When asked if choirs should learn by rote,
39% said yes
and
61% said no
. So what's the correct answer?
Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. Sight-reading is not the emphasis but rather where teacher-student echoing is emphasized and students emulate a sound that their teacher makes.
When it comes to rote learning, research varies. Some strongly believe that students learn best when a teacher's instruction is based in rote techniques, while others stand behind meaningful learning and the important cognitive skills they take away from those lessons.
At MCC, our introductory level Prelude Choir does rely some on rote and repetition, but with a greater emphasis on audiation. Auditation requires the brain to hear and internalize what has been sung as opposed to just repeating what has been sung. As their listening skills get stronger, they begin to add other elements to build musicianship which will always include rote, repetition and audiation, but then recognizing music notation among other important musical skills.
Thanks for voting and sharing your opinion.
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Shop Amazon?
You'll Love AmazonSmile
Great news! Everyone's favorite web retailer, Amazon, is making it easy for shoppers to give-back all year round with
AmazonSmile.
The AmazonSmile site offers the same prices and selection as Amazon.com. The only difference is that when you shop on smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates a portion of your purchase to a charitable organization. So every time you shop on AmazonSmile, you donate - and all from the comfort of your couch.
Make your shopping experience a little more meaningful and choose Milwaukee Children's Choir as your AmazonSmile charity of choice.
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Thank You for Supporting Us During #GivingTuesday
Thanks to your efforts, Milwaukee Children's Choir had a wonderful #GivingTuesday! The combined proceeds from our social media fundraisers, online donations and matching gifts totaled more than
$1,000
in donations!
Proceeds from #GivingTuesday will help us reach our annual fund goal this season, which keeps the lights on and kids singing.
If you didn't give during the #GivingTuesday campaign, there's still time. After all, we could still use your help.
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New Years Resolutions?
Check Off Your List & Volunteer
We need you. We need you to share your time, expertise and experiences as part of our ongoing effort to build a wonderful community at Milwaukee Children's Choir.
We encourage you to become a volunteer! A wide variety of opportunities are available to suite your interests and time. No matter the job, our youth need your support to be successful.
We hope you'll join us at MCC. You'll feel good knowing you're serving an organization that is making an impact in Milwaukee.
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25 Reasons to Give
during
MCC's 25th Anniversary
B
ecause it is our 25th year, we asked our Board of Directors, volunteers, families and staff to share a reason why they donate their time, money and resources to Milwaukee Children's Choir, creating our
25 Reasons to Give
list. We loved what they had to say and wanted to share them with you. Here are 5 of 25 reasons.
1. Because of the power of singing! MCC gives children an outlet for their creativity and
energy through the best instrument they have available to them, their voice.
2. MCC believes in partnerships. No one can accomplish as much alone as we can
accomplish together. MCC is proud to work along side like-minded organizations to
bring music education and singing to the youth of Milwaukee.
3. MCC is committed to inclusion. MCC has developed programs to bring greater
ethnic, racial, gender, and economic diversity into the membership of its choirs.
4. MCC believes that knowledge is power. Through hosting the Milwaukee Choral
Conference, MCC helps generate conversations between school, religious, and
community chorus conductors in order to explore solutions for promoting and
preserving the choral arts of today and for future generations.
5. Giving to MCC introduces children to the importance of generosity. Sharing the
experience of donations with youth shows them that they can make positive
changes in the world.
We look forward to sharing 20 more reasons with you soon.
Thank you, all for your support!
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Meet our Board of Directors. Visit us online by clicking here:
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