BRATTLEBORO-St. Michael's Episcopal Church Rector the Rev. Mary Lindquist recently announced that the St. Michael's Choir School, which its previous music director, Susan Dedell, started in 2014 and ran until the pandemic, is coming back this fall, although with a new name and new focus.
"This children's choral program sponsored by St. Michael's, now named Beloved Community Youth Choir, aims to develop both social and musical skills in youth by using music to instill the practices of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence," said Lindquist.
The program will also use as a model "El Sistema," the Venezuelan network of community music centers and youth ensembles focused on social development through free, high-quality music education for underprivileged children.
Activities in the St. Michael's Episcopal program will include listening to and singing a diverse repertoire of music, with an emphasis on songs about social justice and peace, as well as learning to improvise and collectively compose original songs with a goal of regularly sharing music with the Brattleboro community.
The children's choral program will be led by St. Michael's music director Keane Southard, who studied El Sistema-inspired programs in Brazil as a Fulbright scholar and wrote his doctoral dissertation of how such programs can incorporate King's philosophy of nonviolence to enhance social justice outcomes.
The program is open with no charge to all children "who love to sing and want to learn more," in grades 2–6 in Brattleboro and surrounding communities says Southard. "There is no requirement of an affiliation with St. Michael's and no requirement for previous musical training or experience."
Rehearsals will be in the music room of St. Michael Episcopal, at the corner of Bradley Avenue and Putney Road, on Tuesdays from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m., with the option to come at 3:30 p.m. for a snack. The program begins on Sept. 24.
Register at stmichaelsvermont.org or bit.ly/781-choir. Contact Southard at [email protected] for more information
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.