Wholehearted Kids Chorus

Spring Season Wholehearted Kids Chorus Registration Open Now!
March 9 – May 31

Registration is open to all kids, ages 6 – 14 for another season of joyful, empowered singing, and playing in community.

This 11-week program directed by Lisa G. Littlebird, Anastasia Eichorn, Theo Maehr, Pacia Platzek begins Monday, March 9 and is designed to encourage a positive, loving and playful relationship between your child and their voice. In a world where the arts are becoming less valued in education and where singing expression is often characterized by showmanship more than self-expression, my aim is to contribute to their joyful and healthy self-concept through singing. The season cost includes practice recordings, t-shirt and two family tickets to the big concert on May 31st.

The kids’ chorus meets Mondays, during the season, from 3:45 to 4:45 at the American Legion Hall in Monterey, 1110 Veterans Dr. OR Wednesdays at the Big Sur Grange Hall from 4:15 – 5:15.

Season fees are $175. $140 for kids of adult Wholehearted members or $280 for two kids in the same household.

Please contact Lisa if your family is in need of financial assistance – no child is turned away. There is a partial scholarship option upon request at a rate of $80 per child.

We are making some important refinements in 2020 to ensure a successful and fulfilling season for all participants:

• Pre-registration is required before or at the first class on March 9.
• Up to 50% financial aid is available. Please email Lisa for an application.
• Starting this year, all participants must be 6 or older. It is important that all children in our group can demonstrate the ability to sit still for periods of time and to participate in focused activity for a full hour.
• New Monday Hours! This season the kids chorus will meet earlier, on Mondays from 3:45 to 4:45 at the American Legion. (You can drop your kids off starting at 3:30pm.)
• New small ensemble option! The main Kids Chorus will be the same as ever, open to kids 6 to 14, and focused on singing together for the joy of it, with opportunities for play, songwriting, and singing in the concerts. We are adding an optional sub-group, for kids 8 and older, who are self-driven and passionate to learn more complex songs and harmonies, to stay until 5:15 to work on more challenging material. There is no additional charge for the extra time, but these kids must demonstrate a consistent ability to match pitch, focus, listen to others, participate fully, and learn songs both in and outside of class time. Please talk with your kids about this opportunity in advance of the season to ensure they understand what this commitment entails and can make a choice to participate. They can also try it the first week and decide after that.
• Free childcare is available on Mondays again this season from 4:45 until 7pm for parents singing in the Adult Chorus. Please make sure your child has food and a quiet activity.
• Big Sur Kids Chorus – We will continue to meet on Wednesdays starting March 11, remaining at the previous hours of 4:15-5:15 weekly.
• Family Commitment – All parents of kids participating in the Chorus are expected to support their child’s participation in the following ways:
  • Dropping off and picking up each week, on time, and ensuring they attend a minimum of 75% of classes.
  • Ensuring that your kids have had a snack before class and bring their own water.
  • Ensuring your kids leave with all of their belongings.
  • Playing the practice recordings regularly with your kids between classes.
  • Supervising your child throughout the full Wholehearted Chorus Concert experience on Sunday, May 31st from 1 to 5pm. There will be several periods of time that the kids are not on stage during these hours and parents are responsible for remaining with their children at all times they are not on stage. Parents who are singing with the adult chorus are responsible for finding another guardian that can fulfill this commitment.

DATES OF NOTE (Subject to changes until March 1):

• Monday, Mar 9, 3:34 to 4:45pm – First Class / Registration Deadline
• Monday, May 18, 4:45 to 6:30pm – Mandatory, later class in Monterey for all Monterey and Big Sur Kids participating in the Kids Concert
• Thursday, May 21, 4:45 to 7:30pm – Kids Concert at the American Legion (Concert start is 6pm for guests)
• Monday, March 25 – NO KIDS CLASS, Memorial Day
• Wednesday, May 27, 5 to 6:30pm – Mandatory, later class in Monterey for all Monterey and Big Sur Kids participating in the May 31st Concert
• Sunday, May 31, 1 to 5pm – Wholehearted Chorus Concert at PG Performing Arts (Concert start is 3pm for guests)

A Note from Lisa – How You Can Support Your Child In This Program:

This program is designed to be absolutely inclusive of all experience and styles of self-expression. We only ask for your child’s respect for the group through appropriate listening skills and a basic willingness to participate without disruption to the group. If that becomes an issue I will speak to you about it and work in collaboration with you to make adjustments.

I ask for your child’s attendance and punctuality at most or all sessions to maximize their potential for inclusion and success in learning. Their learning will be supported by the use of practice CDs (included in your registration and provided about halfway through the season.) I encourage you to play these with your child often in the car, in the mornings during breakfast or to create some other kind of regular routine so the songs become very familiar. If you don’t have a way to play CD’s, let me know and I can send you mp3 files.

I endeavor to be diligent about offering feedback characterized by encouragement and supportive refinement for their growth. You can assist the development of a healthy relationship with their voice by encouraging their singing as often as possible and avoiding critical or comparative feedback. In the tender ages of youth, I have seen even one misconstrued judgment shut down an entire avenue of self-expression for a lifetime. A tip: rather than saying “You have a great voice” or “you sing better than _____”, I recommend sharing more personal encouragements, like: “I love listening to you sing”, “your singing is so inspiring to me” or “when you sing I feel _____.”

Before age 14 or so I do not make qualitative refinement a dominant intent of my work with kids. However if you notice your child is singing different words or tune than the CD and you feel they are able to make adjustments without taking offense or withdrawing, you might try asking questions or offering invitations, such as “can you tell me the words you are singing there and what they mean to you?” or “can I sing that part with you?”

Of course one of the best and most often overlooked supports is to cultivate and demonstrate your own positive relationship with your voice. The more self-forgiving and willing you are to sing without self-judgment the more you will model that to your child in important ways.

I really look forward to getting to know your child ! If you’d like to further support our program, I will be ever grateful for your contributions toward our scholarship fund and you can help promote our concert ticket sales. Please don’t hesitate to share your constructive feedback any time. Your contributions will help us continue to refine our offering.

Thank you so much for introducing your child to the joys of music. May it be a wonderfully enriching and positive experience for all of us.