Voice for Life is a curriculum for gaining music-theoretical and performance skills. Its overseeing body is the Royal School of Church Music, located in London in the UK and Princeton, NJ in the States. It is graded, and the goal of the camp is to earn and receive the student’s next or current level’s certification and medal. However, testing will be done daily, and if students are able to achieve two levels in the week, so be it! This curriculum is currently deployed by several churches in the country whose music programs are of utmost priority in their parishes, including St. Thomas 5th Avenue, The Cathedral of St. Philip (Atlanta), Peachtree Road United Methodist, National Cathedral, St. Bartholomew’s in New York City, Grace Cathedral (San Francisco), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Chicago, and dozens more. The concert is this year’s staging of the Cobb Summer Singers, a division of the national Choral Foundation, and their presentation of Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, performed with professional orchestra at Marietta First United Methodist Church on August 22nd at 6 p.m. The CSS is directed by Lynn Swanson with Brian Parks assisting.
Those students who demonstrate superlative conduct, eagerness to learn, and musical proficiency (in that order) will qualify to sing two solo choruses in the concert. Interested students may also participate in the entire oratorio with parental presence (if under 16). Participating in the camp does NOT guarantee a performance spot in the concert. The final decision on concert participants will be determined based on the student’s preparedness of materials and their overall behavior and attitude.
This is an excellent opportunity to work on those skills and will be a beneficial learning experience whether or not a student performs! Students who wish to perform must attend one of the camp weeks.