GMYC Announces Rise Up Keene to Join Area Youth Choir Organization

Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs (GMYC) is pleased to introduce the region to Rise Up Keene: GMYC’s
newest choir for children in grades K-3 who love to sing. In January, Rise Up Keene will join GMYC’s
many children’s ensembles including Rise Up Peterborough, Choristers, Elm City Singers, Chamber Choir, and the Cecilia Ensemble. Rise Up Keene will be directed by GMYC Artistic Director, Esther Rhoades, and will meet on Tuesday afternoons.

In Fall 2021, GMYC and interested local parents identified the regional need for children’s singing and choral programming for young children, and then Rise Up Peterborough was born! Since Spring 2022, Rise Up Peterborough has met its maximum capacity every session and has drawn  families from throughout the Monadnock Region. Because of a growing interest from families in the greater Keene area, GMYC is thrilled to offer Rise Up Keene beginning in January 2023. 

This semester, Rise Up Keene will offer two separate sessions: Winter Session (January through March)
and Spring Session (April through early June). Both sessions will rehearse seven times on Tuesday
afternoons for one hour. Every week in rehearsal, children will sing, dance, and have fun all while
developing fundamental skills of music and singing through movement, rhythm instruments, rhymes and poetry, performance etiquette, playing rhythmic and melodic games, and singing songs. To celebrate their musical accomplishments and to mark the occasion, children will participate in a show & tell style performance for Rise Up families and their guests.

GMYC is currently accepting registration for Rise Up Keene, and other ensembles for children in grades K-8 at www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org. Rise Up Keene rehearses on Tuesday afternoons, Rise Up Peterborough rehearses on Saturday mornings, Choristers is for singers in grades 4-8 rehearsing in Peterborough on Mondays, and Elm City Singers is for singers in grades 4-8 rehearsing in Keene on Tuesdays. Registration will remain open until 20 children are enrolled in each ensemble, and maintain a waitlist once the ensembles are at capacity. Cecilia Ensemble and Chamber Choir are not currently accepting new singers.

So often, parents wonder how to foster their child’s love of music and ask for voice lessons. Rhoades
says, “honestly, all children benefit so much from singing together in a choir because they can learn so
much more with a group of kids who are all at the same musical level. When a singer gets to high school and wants to hone their skill with a voice teacher, of course I support them. But at these earlier ages, and even throughout middle school, children can get so much out of just singing with a choir.”

Children do not need any experience or prior ability to sing with Rise Up Keene, Rise Up Peterborough,
Choristers or Elm City Singers. There is no audition requirement of any kind for singers in grades K-8,
only a love of music. GMYC provides tuition assistance through application, and feels strongly that
finances will not be a barrier for children who want to sing with GMYC.

GMYC Artist Director Esther Rhoades has directed choirs and taught music to singers of all ages for more than 13 years. Her energetic teaching style, expertise in music, and infectious positivity allow GMYC singers of all ages to thrive and grow not only musically, but also as individuals. Rhoades believes that singing is fundamental to the human experience, brings people closer to each other, gives us a way to express ourselves, allows us to reach beyond new artistic capacities using a growth mindset, makes us braver and teaches us to support each other, connects us with new friends, creates life-long memories, facilitates whole-brain neurological connections, and it’s FUN!

Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs is the performance-based choral music program for young singers in the Monadnock Region. It is a non-profit 501c3 organization, having served thousands of singers in its many different choirs since its founding in 1997. With choirs based both in Keene and Peterborough, GMYC is the only choral arts organization bridging the region through singing. GMYC does not discriminate, and creates a safe space for all children who love to sing. GMYC has a comprehensive tuition assistance program through application. For more information about Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs, visit www.GrandMonadnockYouthChoirs.org.

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