Treble Choir Kids Lend Their Voices to a Worthwhile Cause

The Boston-Sderot Project logo

Nine kids from Campanella Children's Choir's Treble Choir took part in a charity concert that raised money for a children's summer camp in Sderot, Israel.

Located near the Gaza strip, the city of Sderot faces a number of economic challenges, and it has been a frequent target of rocket attacks. Since 2000, Boston's Russian-Jewish community has been raising money for the Boston-Sderot Project -  a ten-day program that would take kids out of the city for 10 days and give them a chance to relax and have fun.

To help fund the program, the Russian-Jewish community has been holding annual concerts for a number of years. This year, Chicago area's Russian-Jewish community has worked together to organize a concert of its own.

The Children Of Chicago to Children Of Sderot took place on April 6, at Northbrook Community Synagogue of Northbrook, Illinois. The concert was so well-attended that the synagogue parking was filled and guests had to park along the nearby streets.

The Treble Choir kids are grateful for the opportunity to take part in this event, and they were happy to lend their voices to such a worthwhile cause.

Campanella Children’s Choir attends Heritage Festival of Gold

Campanella Children's Choir Performs at Festival of Gold

On March 14-28, the Campanella Children’s Choir had the privilege of attending the 2014 San Francisco Heritage Festival of Gold.

The choir has attended the festival before, but it was still honored to be invited. It got a chance to perform at the prestigious Davies Symphony Hall and work with renowned conductors and adjudicators. Overall, the festival has been a good experience for students and instructors alike.

The Festival of Gold is part of the Worldstrides Heritage Performance Program. The program was created 35 years ago to enrich the lives of students though musical performance. Every year, the program looks at hundreds of choirs to take part in the Festival of Gold, choosing a few that fit its standards. Here's how the program's website describes those standards.

“Acceptance into the Festival of Gold program is reserved for groups who've achieved a Gold rating at a WorldStrides Heritage Performance standard festival, Superior rating at a state contest, or by audition.”

This year, chosen choirs did a series of performances that culminated in the Encore Concert at the San Francisco's prestigious Davies Symphony Hall. Campanella artistic director Marianna Kosaya was very impressed with how the performance turned out.

“I would like to congratulate all Campanella choristers for a very good performance at Davies Symphony Hall,” she said. “It was not easy for such young children and such a small group to perform in this temple of music, but they faced the challenge head on.”

Campanella choir members also chance to have one-on-one time with renowned conductors Christopher Aspaas, Elena Sharkova and adjudicator Tim Sharp. They provided valuable feedback that should help the choir continue to reach new heights of quality.

Aspaas praised Campanella's excellent intonation and energy, and its ability to handle the a very challenging repertoire. Sharp praised the energy, the tuning, the tone and the intonation of the choir's performance. He congratulated soloists Abby Froyshteter on her performance and applauded Campanella on its repertoire selections.

Sharkova praised the choir's performance of "Ave verum," "Balulalow" and "Wolcum yole," describing it as very clear, energetic and sweet. She said that she always enjoys Campanella's performances - they always stun everybody and it is such outstanding work. She said that Campanella's choir director gives its community huge gift.

Overall, the Festival of Gold has been a great experience for Campanella.

“We enjoyed every minute in this tour and especially the music part of this trip,” said Kosaya. “The choir directors Elena Sharkova and Christopher Aspaas did great professional and inspirational work. It was such a great opportunity to work with them in this festival.”

“MozArtiana” Masquerade event a success

Campanella members get into the spirit of Mozart with 18th century costumes

Campanella Children's Choir's “MozArtiana” Masquerade event entertained children and adults alike with music, games and 18^th century costumes. The event, which took place on Saturday, January 11, celebrated the life and works of famed composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Over the past few months, the Campanella Educational Center and Campanella Choir have been focusing on Mozart's works and his contributions to the art as a whole. As a child prodigy, Mozart is an inspiration for any child trying to explore his or her talent. During his life, he created many beautiful pieces of music. Since his untimely passing, his work continued to delight listeners from all over the world – and his work continues to inspire artists and composers to this day.

The Campanella Choir members have been working hard for this concert, attending many rehearsals rain or shine. The concert was a culmination of months of hard work and preparation.

The concert was divided into two parts. During the first part, the choir performed arias, duets, trios from the "Magic Flute" - one of Mozart's most famous operas. Chicago Trio, Campanella Choir's long-time collaborators, provided music, while Tanya Ilina provided the visual accompaniments. The second part gave the kids a chance to move around and interact as they played games and danced.

To put our guests in the spirit of Mozart, Campanella Choir turned the concert into a masquerade. Children and guests were encouraged to wear 18th century costumes – or, at the very least, baroque style masks that would be perfectly at home at the sort of masquerade ball Mozart would attend.

The concert has been pretty well received. It even earned praise from Arts4Kids Foundation, a Vernon Hills based non-profit dedicated to supporting arts as a tool of growth and cultural enrichment.

“Wonderful production,” Leonard Mogul, the organization's founder and CEO, wrote on Campanella Children's Choir's Facebook page. “ On behalf of Arts4Kids Foundation, I would like to congratulate Marianna Kosaya, all of the participants, and all others who work hard to put this together”

The organization's official Facebook account joined in on the praise.

“It is an honor to support such events,” it said. “Introducing children to arts is what we do. And it would not be possible without such organizations as the Campanella Children's Choir.”

We Want You for Campanella Choir and Campanella Center Classes

The new Fall season is upon us - and Campanella Center has plenty of opportunities for your children to join in on the fun.

Drawing - this class will help children develop the basic skills in drawing and painting using different mediums , exploring color, perspective, volumes and to learn about Art in general. It will introduce children to the world culture and help to appreciate the beauty of the nature.

About the instructor: Anna Gnoenskaya is an artist and an art teacher with Masters Degree in Art Education from the Moscow State University. In 2001, she won the e Fund Soros competition “Childhood Without Violence and Cruelty” and a "Teacher of the Year” award from Moscow Department of Education.  She has an extensive experience teaching at Montessori schools.

Art History -  this class will explore the art and history of the Ancient Greek civilization. The class is designed to sync with our drawing class. For more information, click on the class title

Campanella Choir - we are looking for singers in Beginner, Prelude, Intermediate and Advanced  choirs. Children ages 3-9 can apply for Beginner, Prelude and Intermediate choirs (depending on their skill level), while kids 10-18 are encouraged to apply for Advanced level. Please call Marianna Kosaya at (847) 361-7989 to schedule an audition.

MozArtiana Club - a multimedia program that explores the life and works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart though music, arts and literature. The club meets every Saturday, at 2:00 - 3:00 pm. The first session starts on September 7. Click here for more information.

We are also have spaces left in our Science, Russian Language and Math classes. You can register for our classes here.

If you have any questions, please contact Marianna Kosaya at this address

Campanella Children's Choir Announces Auditions for 2013-2014 Season

It's that time again, ladies and gentlemen. The Campanella Children's Choir is announcing placement hearings for our 2013-2014 season for kids ages 3-18. 

We are looking for kids who want sing and are willing to commit to a regular rehearsal and performance schedule. Whether your kids are starting out or already have some choir experience, Campanella has a place for them. 

For more information, please contact us at marianna@campanellachoir.com or visit our website.

Fall 2013 Campanella Choir and Eductation Center Class Registration is now open

Well, it's that time again. The registration for all Fall 2013 semester Campanella classes is now open!

To see what classes we're offering this semester, please click here

To register, please click here.

Campanella Children's Choir Performs, Learns at 2013 Youth Choral Festival Concert

Courtesy of Chicago a capella

For the last two years, Chicago a capella [sic] ensemble brought together singers from across the Chicago area. And, as we wrote last month, Campanella Choir was one of the choirs invited to participate. Other choirs included Downers Grove based South Madrigal Singers, Chicago's Hubbard High School Advanced Ensemble and a capella's own interns. 

The festival, which took place in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, in churches along Woodlawn Avenue, was made up of two parts. First, the participating choirs attended workshops at the First Unitarian Church. The workshops dealt with improving performance and enhancing vocal techniques. The final workshop, “Music Beyond High School” talked about how the choir members could continue utilizing their talents once they graduate. The workshop tried to be realistic without being discouraging, emphasizing that, while most of them probably wouldn't be able to make a living from singing, there are other ways to stay involved in the field that could be just as fulfilling. 

After the workshops wrapped up, the choirs walked two blocks south, to the classically ornate Rockefeller Chapel, where they spent the next two hours preparing and rehearsing for the second part of the festival – the concert. At the concert, the choirs would take turns performing before coming together at the end as one single Festival Choir. Suffice to say, getting four different choirs who never worked together before to come together as one was no mean feat – but a capella artistic director Jonathan Miller made it look effortless. 

The concert took place at the Rockefeller Chapel's main hall. Like the classical European cathedrals, it featured excellent acoustics that carried the performers' voices all across the long, tall space. Campanella's portion of the concert highlighted two recurring features of the choir's repertoire – it performed “Vere Languores Nostros,”a Eouropen classical piece by Antonio Lotti, and “Veniki,” a Russian folk song.  

Campanella Artistic Director Marianna Kosaya was impressed with festival workshops. 

“[a capella members] offered support, which helped [the kids'] musical development and their development as growing people,” she said. 

The entire festival experience also helped them emotionally.” 

“It increased their self-confidence,” said Kosaya. “They definitely got an emotional boost [from attending the festival]” 

The fact that festival  proved to be a great networking event didn't hurt, either.  

“Head of a capella said he'd help us with fundraising,” said Kosaya. “He also offered educational support.”