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Happy Thanksgiving to all OCC students and families!
Don't forget about JAS Boys and Girls performing on November 26th!
Also, Girlchoir and Boychoir perform at Oakway on November 27th!
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Important updates from Oregon Children's Choir!
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IMPORTANT: Please add occ-news@comcast.net to your contacts! Future newsletters will be sent from that address. Thank you!

We are so grateful for the gift of music!

Dear OCC Families,

I have been spending some time looking at  the Scars to Your Beautiful video made by our own choirs with Evynne Hollens. What a beautiful message to the world Evynne has chosen to share.  Light shines in each of us, hope that’s waiting for you in the dark, you are beautiful just the way you are, beauty goes deeper than the surface, no better life than the life we’re living... are all messages that are brought to the world through music using ths video format.  What a lovely way to bring people into our OCC family and to spread this positive message into our community.

There are several well-known children's choirs across the world that use music and video to create and share their music and a positive message into the world. Here are some links to great examples of this:
"Glorious" performed by One Voice Children's Choir
"True Colors" performed by One Voice Children's Choir
African Children's Choir
"The Prayer" performed by Loboc Children's Choir  

In this time of online everything and instant access, these videos are viewed by a lot of people that may have never seen our choirs before.  These videos are also a huge opportunity to spread a positive message of much to the community and world around us.  What an awesome goal it would be to build community around us to lift up all those that are in need of help or connection.

How could we affect the world if we intentionally share our music with the world in hope that we would spread and message of light, happiness and hope to all?  OCC is looking into finding more outreach ways to positively affect our community through music.  Do you have an idea?  Please feel free to communicate these at oregonchildrenschoirinfo@gmail.com . OCC welcomes your ideas and feedback!

As we go into this season of Thanksgiving I want to tell you all that I am so thankful for Oregon Childrens Choir and what a positive community it has been to my family and to many others.   

Music Connects, Inspires, and Moves Us All!

Dody Hansen

OCC Executive Music Director

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Holiday Concert Update!


Our holiday concerts are coming up very soon!
High School Choirs -- December 5th
Middle and Elementary Choirs -- December 12th


We are seeking donations of concession items and/or crafts that we can sell at the concerts.  To help with fundraising, we will be selling concessions and crafts during both concerts (please: no nuts and pre-packaged items!)  If you have any questions, please email Kathryn Genoves at oregonchildrenschoirbilling@gmail.com

Thank you!


Parents, we are always looking for volunteers to help in a wide variety of capacities! Click here to sign up for a volunteer position at one of our events! (This Signup Genius page will be updated throughout the year!)

Right now, we are also specifically looking for an
 alumni coordinator
as well as fundraisers.


Please remember that all families are asked to volunteer for at least 2 tasks per year. The other option is to pay $100 (tax-deducatible) and be excused from volunteering duties. To inquire about that option, send an email to oregonchildrenschoirbilling@gmail.com

If you have skills in any of these areas, please let us know!
Just email oregonchildrenschoirinfo@gmail.com
Thanks so much!

Rehearsal Days/ Times/ Locations


Here is the schedule/ location for each choir:

Prelude (K-1): Monday 4:30-5:30 in room 19
JAS Boys (Gr. 2-5): Monday 4:30-5:30 in room 11-12
JAS Girls (Gr. 2-5): Monday 4:30-5:30 in room 16
Girlchoir (Gr. 6-9): Monday 4:15-6:15 in Basement/Office
Boychoir (Gr. 6-9): Monday 5:15-7:15 in the Youth Center
Young Men's Ensemble (Gr. 9-12): Monday 6:45-8:45 in the Youth Center
Young Women's Ensemble (Gr. 9-12): Monday 6:45-8:45 in room 19
Noteworthy (Gr. 6-9): Thursdays 4:30-5:30 in room 16
Outburst (Gr. 9-12): Sunday 4:30-6:30 in room 8 (subject to change)
Synergy (Gr. 9-12): Sunday 2:00-4:00 in room 11-12
Sforzando (Gr. 9-12): Sunday 4:00-5:00 in room 11-12
Some Cool Guys (Gr. 9-12): Sunday 2:00-4:00 in room 19
Intermediate Mixed A Cappella (Gr. 9-12): Sunday 1:30-3:30 (location TBA)


NOTE: OCC strives to make all singers feel welcome and comfortable, regardless of where they fall on the gender spectrum. We use gender-based names for our choirs mostly to distinguish between higher and lower voices, and we are happy to answer any questions you have about placement in one of our choirs!
 

Mark Your Calendar!

(Note the changes!!!)


Free admission to all official OCC concerts! (Each choir may have additional performances throughout the year.)

We have made some slight adjustments to the concert schedule based on feedback received from OCC families. Please note these dates and times carefully!

Winter Concert - High School Choirs
December 5, 2016 at 6:00pm - 7:30pm
First United Methodist Church

Winter Concert - Elementary & Middle School Choirs
December 12, 2016 at 6:00pm - 7:30pm
First United Methodist Church

Benefit Concert
March 5, 2017 at 1:00pm - 4:00pm
South Eugene High School
(Elementary School  choirs perform 1:00-2:00pm, Middle and HIgh School choirs perform 2:15-3:15pm)

Final Concerts

May 7, 2017 at 4:00pm - 5:30pm 
Prelude, JAS girls, Girlchoir, YWE and Synergy, Intermediate A Cappella 

May 7, 2017 at  6:00pm - 7:30pm
JAS Boys, Boychoir, YME and SCG, Noteworthy, Outburst, SFZ

June 4, 2017 at 7:00pm - 8:30pm
All OCC A Cappella Concert 

Additional Performances

Nov 26 - JAS Boys and Girls sing at Hult Center for Nutcracker Remix

Nov 27 – OCC Oregon Girlchoir and Oregon Boychoirs sing at Oakway Mall

Jan 27 – Synergy and Some Cool Guys ICHSA

March 4 – A Cappella in Albany – HS A Cappella with Madison Kettwig

April 15 – Rose City Sing Off – Synergy and Some Cool Guys

April 18 – Oregon Children’s Choral Festival – GC and BC in Hult Center

We hope to see you all at all the concerts, and we encourage choristers to support each other! We think that our youngest choristers will benefit the most from these changes, as it is especially hard for them to sit through longer performances.  Thanks for your patience and thoughtfulness of others' schedules.  Please let me know if you know of any major conflicts for large groups of our singers.  The directors and I are trying to accommodate as well as we can. Thanks!
Trip Scholarship Drive!

Can you help us to raise money for scholarships?

Last year OCC provided nearly $2,500 in trip scholarships to those who needed financial help for choir trips. This year we have a 25% increase in membership and will be taking bigger trips, so we anticipate an even greater need for financial assistance than we saw last year. Our goal for 2016-17 is $3,000.

These are the trips we know of so far:

Boychoir – Disneyland

Girlchoir – Bend

YME – Portland

Synergy and Some Cool Guys – Disneyland*

*unless Synergy or SCG wins the ICHSA competition in January...
then they go off to New York, instead!!

We are hoping that we can get at least 100 OCC members
to donate at least $30 each for our trip scholarship fund
so that we can reach our goal of $3,000. 
Just click here to donate!
Thank you for helping our choristers have such memorable experiences!!

Calling all high school female singers!
We're bringing back the Young Women's Ensemble!

Rehearsals begin October 10th!
 

The fabulous and delightful Megan Perdue, a former OCC chorister and an accomplished choral director, is excited to be directing this group, especially since she was once a part of it! This ensemble will perform more traditional choral repertoire and will focus particularly on the nuances of the female voice. If you are interested, please register on our website -- and invite a friend or two!
Did you know? Any choristers registered with another OCC group can ADD this group for only $150 for the whole year! 

Have you heard about the
Oregon Young Mens' Ensemble?


The Oregon Young Men's Ensemble was once a widely known and admired part of Oregon Children's Choir, and after several years of being on hiatus due to budget constraints, the choir is coming back! The ensemble will be led by Chris Dobson, who is a former member of YME and is now an award-winning choir director.  He plans to retain the high level of musicianship and atmosphere of deep camaraderie the choir achieved in the past while aiming for the future with creative performances of challenging literature.
The best part is: any choristers registered with another OCC group can ADD this group for only $150! 
Learn more at http://www.oregonyoungmensensemble.com/

Director Spotlight! 

Get to know
Andria Martin!
 


Andria Martin is a certified music teacher with a Master in Education from Antioch University and a Bachelor in Communications from the University of Puget Sound with an emphasis in music. Andria is currently the music specialist at Maple Elementary in Springfield and also teaches after school music enrichment classes and general music classes at Edison Elementary.  In addition to teaching in elementary schools, she has taught music classes at several Eugene preschools and enjoys attending Orff-Schulwerk classes and conferences whenever possible. Andria’s classes are high-energy and engage students through movement, dance, instruments, singing, and games. In her spare time, Andria enjoys playing jazz piano at several local venues. professionally with Slightly Retro Jazz. Andria has had the privilege of performing with many top jazz musicians such as Hubert Laws, Kenny Drew Jr, Bobby Shew, and Dick Oatts.  When she is not performing, Andria also loves travelling, hiking, running, and biking with her two daughters, ages 9 and 11, and her husband. 
 

-What's your favorite past time? 
Traveling.  I love seeing new cultures and countries.  I traveled to Thailand last summer and will visit Europe next summer.  I also enjoy running, playing piano, and spending time with my family.

-What was one of your favorite songs as a teen? 
I loved learning jazz standards as a teenager and playing them on piano with various jazz groups.

-Favorite Restaurant? 
Ta Ra Rin.

-What is one of your favorite singers? 
Julie Andrews.  I've always been a huge "Sound of Music" fan!

-How did you get interested in music and choir?
 I started taking piano as a 2nd grader and loved accompanying choirs beginning in middle school.  When I started teaching elementary music in 2001, I realized how much I love hearing children sing.  It brings me a lot of joy!

-Who is your favorite composer?  
Chopin.  I love the expressiveness and complexity of Chopin's music.  

-What would be the greatest performance of your life? 
I would love to bring a group of children to another country where we could learn and sing together.  Combining my love for music and travel would be a dream come true!

- What is one of your favorite moments with OCC? 
I loved singing songs with harmony at our final spring performance last year.  I was very proud of what Prelude choir accomplished by the end of last season.  I am very excited about Prelude choir this year!  We are going to sing some amazing songs!

- Any closing thoughts? 
I am delighted to be part of Oregon Children's Choir and look forward to making music with wonderful children every week!  

Guess what?

Not only do we have a new website, but we have also created a new Facebook Page! 

The Oregon Children's Choir Group is limited to OCC members, but the Oregon Children's Choir Page is visible to the public, and we'll be using it to share our news with the community! Take a look!

Oregon Children's Choir is growing!
We need your help!

We are so delighted by the growth that our organization has seen over the past few years, and we are eager to welcome many new students into our fabulous choirs! As we stretch a little in order to accommodate this growth, we need some financial support from our community in order to launch new programs and expand existing programs. We want to be sure that we can offer a high-quality, comprehensive choral program for all of the youth in our community! Here's how you can help:

1. Make a donation. Whether it's big or small, it will help us to reach our fundraising goals! (It's tax-deductible, too!)
2. Seek business sponsorships. We need help soliciting local businesses to sponsor our choirs!
3. Invite your friends. Whether they join a choir, attend a concert, or make a donation, telling your friends about OCC helps tremendously! 

Thank you so much! We're thrilled about our future, and we're glad that you're a part of it!
Copyright © 2016 Oregon Children's Choir, All rights reserved.


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