“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.” 

Campanella Choir Delights Seniors at Covenant Village Retirement Community

Campanella Kids perform in front of attentive seniors

 On March 8, at 6:30 PM, the Campanella Choir came to Northbrook’s Covenant Village retirement community to perform for its residents. The performance was part of the choir’s ongoing efforts to lend its voices to worthwhile causes and to give back to the community. Some of the past events included a performance at the Northbrook Court for Deerfield-based Orphans from the Storm animal shelter's Holiday Music Series.

The choir was invited to perform at Covenant Village because some of the residents heard Campanella’s live performance on WFMT last May. The retirement home regularly hosts musical performances and other entertainment programs in an effort to make its residents’ lives more fulfilling and culturally enriched – and Campanella Choir was happy to be part of it.

The Campanella kids performed a variety of classical pieces created by some of Europe’s most distinguished composers, as well as the more modern pieces and popular Russian folk songs. Much of their repertoire was drawn from past performances. Covenant Village residents got a chance to hear pieces featured in the Legend of the Unicorn and Hansel and Gretel.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. After the performance was over, resident after resident approached choir director Marianna Kosaya to tell her how much they enjoyed it and how talented the Campanella kids were.

The response was so positive that some of the residents even wondered if Campanella Choir would come back.

“We’d love to,” said Kosaya, adding that she and Covenant management may be able to arrange something in the future. 

"Legend of the Unicorn" Event a Success

The Legend of the Unicorn performance, which we wrote about last month, went off without a hitch. Campanella director Marianna Kosaya said that she was pleased with everything – the singing, the audience reaction and the atmosphere the performance created. 

The response from the audience has been fairly positive.  

“Thank you for the great night,” Lora Kogan commented the event’s Facebook page. “It was a wonderful event, a celebration of talent, Light and Love!” 

“Great idea, great performance,” Chicago resident Tania Goldina joined in. “The connection between choir and choirmaster was amazing. My mother-in-law was crying - it was so touching.”

"I wanted to let you know that my mom and Sophia REALLY enjoyed Unicorn performance," commented Maria Sarkisyan  "My mom said she was surprised with style and quality. Thank you." 

The Campanella Choir is grateful for everyone who attended. We would like to remind you that our next major performance will take place this coming Saturday at 5:30 PM as Campanella Choir takes part in the 2013 Youth Choral Festival. We hope to see you there!