Welcome to the SCCHE Choirs!

A Letter from Our Director

Dear Parents/Guardians,

My name is Melody Dotson. I am beyond thrilled to be leading the SCCHE Choirs this year and sharing my love of music with your students! Music is a wonderful gift that the Lord has given to us. Our goal, as a choir, is to use this gift to bring glory to God and to bless those around us. I am looking forward to a wonderful year in choir and I am so glad that you have chosen to be a part of it!

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.” — Psalm 100:1–2

Musically yours,
Melody Dotson

Cantando Choir

The Cantando Choir is made up of students from grades 3 to 6. Our rehearsals are every Wednesday from 3:35–4:30 at Liberty Church. During our rehearsals, students will learn to develop their voices by singing two-part songs. This will build their independence and confidence as a singer while also fostering unity and teamwork as a choir! Students will have many opportunities to perform and hone the talents that God has given them throughout the school year. If you are interested in joining Cantando or have already joined, please have students read through our goals and expectations for Cantando members. If students understand the goals and expectations, they can sign our handbook and return it to Mrs. Dotson at the first rehearsal of the year.

The Cantando Handbook can be found HERE

Goals

• Choral participation will enrich the quality of our lives and the lives of those for whom we sing.
• Singing will help us to develop our presentation skills and our voices in a healthy and confident manner.
• A knowledge of music will help us to understand the historical and theoretical nature of music, both as an academic subject and in practical application.
• Belonging to the choir will foster a cooperative learning environment and engender friendships based on shared musical experiences.
• Singing great choral literature will lead us to understand that music is a wonderful gift that God has given to us! We will always strive to honor Him with our voices.

Expectations

• Rehearsal Attendance: Please be at all rehearsals unless absence is pre-approved.
• Rehearsal Expectations and Etiquette: It is expected that students read and follow all of the expectations listed in the Cantando student handbook.
• Performances: Choir members are expected to participate in all performances. Students should be in uniform and ready to sing at the required time.
• Behavior: It is expected that students in Cantando behave well at all times—on stage, in rehearsal or during out of Choir trips. We represent SCCHE and strive to set a Christ-like example in all that we do. If a student has difficulty meeting this expectation she/he may be dismissed from choir for the remainder of the year.
• Commitment: As with any extra-curricular activity, choir members are expected to commit for the duration of the season – in this case the remainder of the year. Please understand that, by the nature of this group, a student who leaves choir due to behavioral or academic concerns will not have an opportunity to return until the next year (or possibly at the semester break). As with math, we learn new skills every day and to expect a student to know and demonstrate skills learned in his/her absence would be unfair.

Required Material and Supplies

• 1/2 inch 3 ring binder – Cantando students will receive music at our rehearsals that they will learn to read and practice at home. This binder should be brought to rehearsals every week and should be replaced if broken or lost.
• A choir pencil – Cantando students will receive a special choir pencil that only writes in music at their first rehearsal! This should be kept in their choir folder and brought to rehearsals weekly.
• A Cantando T-Shirt – Cantando students will have several informal performances throughout the year. The uniform for these performances is the choir T-shirt and nice jeans. Please see the page titled Uniforms and Choir Swag for information on how to purchase our T-shirts.
• A Formal Uniform – For our Christmas and Spring concerts, students in Cantando will be required to wear our formal uniforms. The girls will wear a floor-length, black dress with a sash and the boys will wear black pants, a black shirt, and a black tie. Please see the page titled Uniforms and Choir Swag for information on how to purchase these uniforms.

Concert Choir

The Concert Choir is made up of students from grades 7 through 12. Our rehearsals are every Tuesday from 2:30–3:55 at Liberty Church. During our rehearsals, students will build on their musical skills by learning how to sight-read, sing with solfege, and sing in the four main voice parts. Reading music is not a prerequisite for Concert Choir, but will be learned throughout the year. Concert Choir members will learn challenging music and the performance skills that make a piece of music exciting for our audiences! If you are interested in joining Concert Choir or have already joined, please have students read through our goals and expectations for Concert Choir members. If students understand the goals and expectations, they can sign our handbook and return it to Mrs. Dotson at the first rehearsal of the year.

The Concert Choir Handbook can be found HERE

Goals

• Choral participation will enrich the quality of our lives and the lives of those for whom we sing.
• Singing will help us to develop our presentation skills and our voices in a healthy and confident manner.
• A knowledge of music will help us to understand the historical and theoretical nature of music, both as an academic subject and in practical application.
• Belonging to the choir will foster a cooperative learning environment and engender friendships based on shared musical experiences.
• Singing great choral literature will lead us to understand that music is a wonderful gift that God has given to us! We will always strive to honor Him with our voices.

Expectations

• Rehearsal Attendance: Please be at all rehearsals unless absence is pre-approved.
• Rehearsal Expectations and Etiquette: It is expected that students read and follow all of the expectations listed in the Concert Choir student handbook.
• Performances: Choir members are expected to participate in all performances. Students should be in uniform and ready to sing at the required time.
• Behavior: It is expected that students in Concert Choir behave well at all times—on stage, in rehearsal or during out of Choir trips. We represent SCCHE and strive to set a Christ-like example in all that we do. If a student has difficulty meeting this expectation she/he may be dismissed from choir for the remainder of the year.
• Commitment: As with any extra-curricular activity, choir members are expected to commit for the duration of the season – in this case the remainder of the year. Please understand that, by the nature of this group, a student who leaves choir due to behavioral or academic concerns will not have an opportunity to return until the next year (or possibly at the semester break). As with math, we learn new skills every day and to expect a student to know and demonstrate skills learned in his/her absence would be unfair.

Required Material and Supplies

• 1/2 inch 3 ring binder – Concert Choir students will receive music at our rehearsals that they will learn to read and practice at home. This binder should be brought to rehearsals every week and should be replaced if broken or lost.
• A choir pencil – Concert Choir students will receive a special choir pencil that only writes in music at their first rehearsal! This should be kept in their choir folder and brought to rehearsals weekly.
• A Concert Choir T-Shirt – Concert Choir students will have several informal performances throughout the year. The uniform for these performances is the choir T-shirt and nice jeans. Please see the page titled Uniforms and Choir Swag for information on how to purchase our T-shirts.
• A Formal Uniform – For our Christmas and Spring concerts, students in Concert will be required to wear our formal uniforms. The girls will wear a black shirt and skirt and the boys will wear black pants, a black shirt, and a black tie. Please see the page titled Uniforms and Choir Swag for information on how to purchase these uniforms.

Chamber Choir

The Chamber Choir is made up of young women from grades 7 through 12. Our rehearsals are every Tuesday from 4:00–5:00 at Liberty Church. This is an auditioned group that will be performing high level music. During our rehearsals, students will build on their musical skills by learning how to balance their voices in a small ensemble, sing a cappella, and perform in three- to four-part music. It is not necessary for students who are in Chamber Choir to also be enrolled in Concert Choir, but it is encouraged. Please have students prepare their audition for Chamber Choir as this will take place for all enrolled members before Chamber Choir rehearsals or after the first rehearsal. If you are interested in joining Chamber Choir or have already joined, please have students read through our goals and expectations in the Concert Choir and Chamber Choir handbook. If students understand the goals and expectations, they can sign our handbook and return it to Mrs. Dotson at the first rehearsal of the year.

The Concert Choir and Chamber Choir Handbook can be found HERE

Goals

• Choral participation will enrich the quality of our lives and the lives of those for whom we sing.
• Singing will help us to develop our presentation skills and our voices in a healthy and confident manner.
• A knowledge of music will help us to understand the historical and theoretical nature of music, both as an academic subject and in practical application.
• Belonging to the choir will foster a cooperative learning environment and engender friendships based on shared musical experiences.
• Singing great choral literature will lead us to understand that music is a wonderful gift that God has given to us! We will always strive to honor Him with our voices.

Expectations

• Rehearsal Attendance: Please be at all rehearsals unless absence is pre-approved.
• Rehearsal Expectations and Etiquette: It is expected that students read and follow all of the expectations listed in the Concert Choir and Chamber Choir student handbook.
• Performances: Choir members are expected to participate in all performances. Students should be in uniform and ready to sing at the required time.
• Behavior: It is expected that students in Chamber Choir behave well at all times—on stage, in rehearsal or during out of Choir trips. We represent SCCHE and strive to set a Christ-like example in all that we do. If a student has difficulty meeting this expectation she/he may be dismissed from choir for the remainder of the year.
• Commitment: As with any extra-curricular activity, choir members are expected to commit for the duration of the season – in this case the remainder of the year. Please understand that, by the nature of this group, a student who leaves choir due to behavioral or academic concerns will not have an opportunity to return until the next year (or possibly at the semester break). As with math, we learn new skills every day and to expect a student to know and demonstrate skills learned in his/her absence would be unfair.

Required Material and Supplies

• 1/2 inch 3 ring binder – Chamber Choir students will receive music at our rehearsals that they will learn to read and practice at home. This binder should be brought to rehearsals every week and should be replaced if broken or lost.
• A choir pencil – Chamber Choir students will receive a special choir pencil that only writes in music at their first rehearsal! This should be kept in their choir folder and brought to rehearsals weekly.
• A Concert Choir/Chamber Choir T-Shirt – Chamber Choir students will have several informal performances throughout the year. The uniform for these performances is the choir T-shirt and nice jeans. Please see the page titled Uniforms and Choir Swag for information on how to purchase our T-shirts. (If students are involved in both Concert Choir and Chamber Choir, they will only be required to purchase one T-shirt.)
• A Formal Uniform – For our Christmas and Spring concerts, students in Concert will be required to wear our formal uniforms. The girls will wear a black shirt and skirt that is the same as the Concert Choir uniform with the addition of a pin. Please see the page titled Uniforms and Choir Swag for information on how to purchase these uniforms.

Chamber Choir Audition

The Chamber Choir audition process is meant to ensure that students will be able to balance their individual voice timbre, sing independently on a voice part, and match pitch when singing in an ensemble. The audition process will be done blindly to keep the audition process impartial and fair. Students will be asked to:

• Sing a short scale warm-up
• Echo solfege/pitches that they hear
• Sing Happy Birthday with no piano accompaniment
• Sing a harmony part against a melody

Meet Our Choir Team!

• Melody Dotson: Director
• Victoria Carr: Accompanist
• Jeana Dixon: Choir Manager
• Maria McFarland: Choir Administrator
• Jessica: Ensemble Assistant
• Hila Turner: Cantando Student Leader
• Sarah King: Cantando Student Leader

Contact Information and Social Media

• For any choir questions, you can contact Melody Dotson at [email protected].
• We will be sending out reminder text messages to parents through the app called GroupMe. We will also have a separate GroupMe that is for Concert Choir students only. These will be practice reminders throughout the week and will be monitored by our choir leaders.
• Students can also ask questions and practice their music on our Concert Choir/Cantando/Chamber Singers Google Classroom page! I will post all of our practice videos on Google Classroom, so that students can learn their singing parts at home.
• Lastly, we would love to keep you updated with all of the things happening in the life of our choirs! The SCCHE choirs have an active social media presence. Check us out on Facebook or Instagram!