Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) is proud to present two spring choral concerts entitled Rooted in Music, featuring more than 50 regional youth in grades 4-12. The singers will present music with a natural theme featuring songs about animals, the environment, and the power of children. Joined by local collaborator, the Caterpillar Lab, concert goers will have the opportunity to meet caterpillars and butterflies up close with trained naturalists before each performance.

Under the direction of Esther Rhoades, GMYC  Artistic Director, singers have had the unique opportunity to learn the fundamental skills of choral singing with a group of enthusiastic young musicians outside of school. Singers come from more than 15 different schools and share the same post-covid dream of inviting singing back into their lives. No one knew what this year would look like, and for these singers, it is a way to reconnect with a shared passion. Rehearsals have been a place where kids reviewed long forgotten musical ideas, learned new musical skills, and they are proud to share their accomplishments with you. Make an impact in the lives of young singers in our area and support the GMYC by attending one of our public weekend performances.

Rooted in Music will feature GMYC’s Peterborough-based choir for singers in grades 4+, Choristers, and the Keene-based sister choir, Elm City Singers. Accompanied by Carin Torp, these choirs will sing the music of Carolyn Jennings, Benjamin Britten, Edvard Grieg, Andrea Ramsey, and Moses Hogan. The Cecilia Ensemble, with pianist Margaret Dodson-Buhl, will present folk songs from Japan, Newfoundland, and the UAS, and music by Kim Baryluk, Ola Gjeilo, Z. Randall Stroope, and Charles Albert Tindley. GMYC’s SATB chamber choir will make their debut performance with music by James Taylor and Thomas Tallis. At the conclusion of the performance, all singers will join together to perform a newer choral piece, The Little Creek, by Matt Carlson. 
 
On Saturday, May 14, 2022, 2:30pm, at St. James Episcopal Church, 44 West St. Keene NH, GMYC singers will present their first public concert, Rooted in Music. On Sunday, May 15, 2022, Rooted in Music will again be performed in Peterborough, at Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church, 25 Main Street, Peterborough, NH for a 2:30pm performance. This performance will feature a special senior recognition ceremony and a special senior performance. Admission to the performances is $15/adult, $5/child, or $35/family. 
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This weekend will also feature a private, family and guests only, debut performance by Rise Up,  GMYC’s newest ensemble for children in grades K-3. With 19 singers, rehearsals have been filled with singing and music games and performance etiquette tricks and techniques. The Cecilia Ensemble will welcome our newest GMYC singers with some special singing, and at the conclusion of the Rise Up performance, the two choirs will perform together. 

Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) is delighted to announce that the organization will move forward with choral programming for children in grades 4-12 despite the rise in Covid-19 cases. Starting in September, both Keene-based and Peterborough-based GMYC ensembles will rehearse outside under a shelter with everyone wearing masks at all times. In mid-November, the ensembles will present outdoor performances to live audiences.
 
Keeping safety at the center of the mission, GMYC will provide this essential activity for our region’s youth. This fall, GMYC is focused on the value of singing together, having fun, and enjoying and expanding our singing talents.
 
Just as GMYC cancels rehearsals when ConVal School District closes school due to snow, GMYC has aligned itself with the ConVal Reopening and Recovery Plan, and will follow their Covid-19 singing protocols. GMYC will also continue to monitor the progress of Covid-19 in our area, modify programming as needed based on best practices, and communicate any changes to families and the community.
 
Auditions for singers in grades 4-12 will be held August 25/26/30 in Peterborough from 4pm – 9pm, and August 27/31 in Keene from 4pm – 9pm. To schedule a private 20 minute audition, visit www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org/audition
 
Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs is the performance-based choral music program for young singers in the Monadnock Region. GMYC has served thousands of singers in five different choirs drawing from more than 20 towns in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. GMYC is a 501-c3 non-profit organization. For more information about the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs, visit us online at www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org

Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) is delighted to announce that the Cecilia Ensemble will present their Italy 2020 Homecoming Performances on Father’s Day weekend. The performances come after a long hiatus due to Covid-19, and celebrate the ensemble’s successful tour of Italy in February 2020. Under the direction of Esther Rhoades with pianist Christopher Evatt, the full-length performances will feature music by both Italian and American composers from a variety of eras and musical styles.

In February, 2020, the ensemble embarked on a trip of a lifetime; the singers completed an eight-day concert tour of Italy just as Covid-19 was quickly spreading in the Lombardi region of the country. “We all felt the gravity of the situation, and tried to navigate a difficult situation with grace,” Rhoades reflected. The choirs were still able to complete three formal performances in Rome, Florence, and Lucca, and dozens of street performances in airports, restaurants, piazzas, hotels, museums, and the even the Vatican. The ensemble was flexible and strong in the face of challenge.
 
The Cecilia Ensemble met remotely to finish Spring 2020’s season, but “it didn’t feel like the Italy Tour had come to a close – we hadn’t even had our Homecoming performances yet,” remembered Rhoades. “The singers and I needed to come together again, to be together to celebrate their accomplishments, and to provide closure to such an uncertain time.”
 
Since April 2021, Cecilia Ensemble singers who traveled to Italy in February 2020, including graduated seniors, have been rehearsing outside, donning singers masks, and distancing. From windy, cold spring afternoons to hot, sun-filled summer evenings, the choir has rehearsed their Tour Repertoire, dedicated to each other and their performance. Finally, they will present their homecoming concerts.
 
On Saturday June 19th at 7:00pm, the choir will perform outside at Cathedral of the Pines, 10 Hale Hill Road in Rindge. On Sunday June 20th at 7:00pm, the choir will perform at Robin Hood Park, Roxbury Road in Keene. Guests are welcome to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and dinner to Robin Hood Park. Suggested donation is $10 per adult, and $20 per family, but donations of any amount are gratefully accepted, and everyone is welcome. Please visit our website (www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org) for further details about the concert weekend and information about the two specific venues. If you cannot make it to the concerts but want to invest in GMYC’s programming, please donate today by visiting www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org/give.
 
 
About the Cecilia Ensemble
 
The Cecilia Ensemble, directed by Esther Rhoades with collaborative pianist, Christopher Evatt, is one of the five choirs that makes up the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs. It is the region’s premier high school treble chorus performing both sacred and secular repertoire drawing from a range of languages, cultures, time periods, and traditions. With rehearsals only once per week for two hours, these singers must be self-motivated, responsible individuals and dedicated musicians ready to learn high-level music. The choir is auditioned, and is made financially accessible to all accepted singers.
 
This fine treble choir takes an international concert tour every two years. In the past, the choir has traveled to Canada, Germany, Czechia, Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and France. In 2020, the ensemble toured Italy.
 
The members of the Cecilia Ensemble are very active in school and community events, they play sports, are active in theater, music, language programs, and community service. Graduates pursue diverse paths, often motivated by their love of music and passion for world cultures and languages. They are inspiring and unique individuals!
 
Auditions for the Cecilia Ensemble will take place in August for all singers entering grades 9 – 12 in Fall 2021. All accepted singers will begin rehearsals in late August and continue through the academic year. If you or someone you know may be interested in auditioning for GMYC, you can learn more and schedule an audition at our website www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org/audition
 
Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs is the performance-based choral music program for young singers in the Monadnock Region. We have served thousands of singers in five different choirs drawing from more than 20 towns in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. GMYC will be auditioning singers in grades 4 and higher to start in the Fall 2021. If you or someone you know may be interested in auditioning, visit us online. GMYC is a 501-c3 non-profit organization. For more information about the Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs and the Cecilia Ensemble, visit us online at www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org

Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs Board of Directors and staff have made the difficult decision to pause all choral activities from July through December 2020. The decision comes after five national choral and singing organizations recommended that no choral singing or choral-related activities take place until we have reliable ways to trace, treat, or vaccinate for Covid-19. “It is hard to imagine a world without singing together,” says Artistic Director Esther Rhoades, “because no matter if you’re 2 or 102, singing and music are central to every one of us.”
 
According to a May 5th webinar hosted by The National Association of Teacher of Singing (NATS), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Chorus America, Barbershop Harmony Society, and Performing Arts Medical Association (PAMA), a singer can project her breath up to 16’, and wearing masks effectively could pose serious risks for any singer, especially those with asthma or other respiratory conditions.
 
“Choral organizations like ours must keep the health of our singers and community at the center of the mission,” says Rhoades. “We want to make sure it’s safe for audiences to gather once again, too.”
 
Even though we will cannot bring choirs together at this time, GMYC will be working behind the scenes so that choirs can hit the ground running to offer exceptional choral opportunities and experiences to our region’s youth and communities. This month, GMYC will make public an important collaborative choral project. GMYC is grateful for the support received from community members and grants from foundations. Rhoades says, “we’re eager to reopen, to press ‘play’ once again, but it just needs more time.”

Like many youth and arts organizations, Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs will close our season remembering impactful moments, people, and experiences instead of the clapping and cheering for the talent and hard work of loved ones, friends, and children of our community.

We remember how each rehearsal gets us closer to the true essence of music: collectively and individually, the music begins to breathe through us as we develop a deeper understanding of reading music, listening while singing, vocal pedagogy, being trusted and trusting others, leading from within, and the inner workings of the composers' intentions. Before we know it, we have surpassed what we ever thought was possible. Explained both by growth mindset and flow theory, collectively we are transformed by our experiences in performance by the music.

Covid-19 has challenged us to seek peace within uncertainty. It's not easy finishing the season without our typical concerts and high fives. We are hungry for musical nourishment. We are seeking our choral communities now more than ever.

GMYC celebrates every 2020-2021 singer! Congratulations to:
Keene Youth Chorus Singers: Caitlyn Williams, Cason Requa, Chloe Patek, Clara Rudy, Delilah Christiansen, Emelia Robinson, Evy Swartout, Gianna Racano, Hazel Rhoades, Holden Norris, Jocelyn Neurock, Josephine Bruno-Simarano, Kaelyn Swan, Lilian Bruno-Simarano, Madeline Meade, Maiya Williams, Mimi Meade, Navya Vaishnav, Sarah Schumaker, Serenity Russell, Vivian Leinau, KYC Interns: Alexis Davis, Bailey Hundley, Indigo Goldman
 
Trebles Singers: Jem Russell, June Cates, Lily Marcum, Nampreet Landis, Todd Parison, Trebles Interns: Aeryn Moon, Teagan Bultemeier, Autumn Moran

Elm City Singers: Bailey Hundley, Calista Scott, Cora Haines-O’Hara, Emily Ross, Emma Majoy, Indigo Goldman, Iris Kilton, Iris Morehouse, Katy Leineau, Mackensie Stacey, Olivia Del Priore, Phoebe Diven, Tessie Sproul, Thompson Norris, Intern: Alexis Davis
 
Choristers Singers: Aeryn Moon, Amelia Blanchette, Autumn Moran, Cadence Manuel, Cadence Reynolds, Teagan Bultemeier, Connor Mulverhill, Gavin Niemela, Jules Sherman, Lauren Graham, Liam Manuel, Lydia Russell, Phoebe Honeywell, Reese Honeywell, Ryker Ramirez
 
Cecilia Ensemble Singers: Alexis Davis, Alissa Cutting, Amanda Bergeron, Ava Accorsi, Bailey Anderson, Evelyn Simmons, Fiona Birch, Grace Phillips, Grace Keller, Hadi Lancaric, Helen Martynushka, Isabelle Howard, Isadora Crane, Julia Breckenridge, Madison Christgau, Megan Spindler, Paulina Allen, Remington Currier, and Sophia Davidson
 
We want to especially congratulate GMYC seniors, Amanda Bergeron, Paulina Allen, and Fiona Birch, on their accomplishments, leadership, and musicality. Thank you for your dedication to singing and to Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs. We will support you always!
 
We look forward to joining together once again to raise up our voices in song. We have so much to look forward to!
 
GMYC is the performance-based choral music education program for young singers in the Monadnock region. GMYC ensembles frequently perform regionally at festivals, events, and public gatherings, collaborate with area choirs and arts organizations, and travel regionally and internationally. GMYC is based in Peterborough and Keene and offers professional rehearsal and performance environments that foster musical expression, a deep appreciation of music, and meaningful, lifelong friendships. GMYC offers a bully-free environment for all youth accepted through audition.
 
To learn more about GMYC, please visit www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org or contact Esther Rhoades, GMYC Artistic Director, at GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs@gmail.com.

There is nothing quite like singing to bring a community together in times of crisis and uncertainty. GMYC is the performance-based choral music education program for young singers in our region. During these times of physical separation, GMYC is dedicated to continue to provide the valuable link to the musical arts for our young people.
 
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) is providing meaningful and important ways for young singers to continue to sing together, while apart. GMYC is offering a free music resource for children and adults from anywhere, called GMYC Online. The videos are accessible through the website (www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org), and provide lessons on
solfege, rhythm, vocal warm-ups, and songs. With over 50 people visiting GMYC Online each day, most families who are accessing the online music education videos live locally, although many families are also using them from around the world.
 
GMYC singers are also recording themselves to create a performance video. Singers also connect together through a video platform each week.
 
GMYC has made the decision to pare down to only core operations, a move designed to be sure the organization remains financially strong and ready to start rehearsals and performances again when it is the right time.
 
GMYC is the performance-based choral music education program for young singers in the Monadnock region. Auditions for the 2020 – 2021 performance year will take place in September. GMYC ensembles frequently perform regionally at festivals, events, and public gatherings, collaborate with area choirs and arts organizations, and travel regionally and internationally. GMYC is based in Peterborough and Keene and offers professional rehearsal and performance environments that foster musical expression, a deep appreciation of music, and meaningful, lifelong friendships. GMYC offers a bully-free environment for all youth accepted through audition.
 
To learn more about GMYC or to access GMYC Online, please visit www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org or contact Esther Rhoades, GMYC Artistic Director, at GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs@gmail.com.