ECSU, Arts of the
Albemarle form youth chorale

Youth choir will make
first public appearance April 24

By Robert Kelly-Goss
Albemarle Life Editor

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

The sounds of young voices, “blending” to create music in unison, will soon be heard throughout the Albemarle region. The creation of the area’s newest choral sound — a youth chorale — is a partnership between Elizabeth City State University and Arts of the Albemarle and a man whose pedigree in the music world is rooted firmly in the world of classical choral music fronts it.

Walter Swan, Ph.D., professor of applied voice at ECSU, is the program’s director. The ECSU/Arts of the Albemarle Youth Chorale was launched this past January and will perform for the first time for the public at the ECSU Father/Daughter Banquet on April 24.

The program brings both the university and the area’s premier arts organization together for the benefit of the public, says Swan. It is a bridge that he hopes will fill the cultural gap between ECSU and the community.

“And build the arts in the Albemarle region,” he says.

In January, Swan held auditions for youth ages eight to 14, boys and girls. Children will some experience down to no experience were invited to audition for a place in the chorale.

Swan says children were asked to learn a song and perform it at the audition. From there, he listened to their voices, for ear training, site singing and memory work.

“I would clap a rhythm and they would clap it back to me,” he says of the audition techniques used with the children. “I would play a melody on the piano and they would sing it back to me in pitch.”

Because the children were not expected to have much experience, Swan was looking for the ability to learn to be a part of the choir.

“They do not have to have formal training,” he explains. “They get that through the course: note reading and identification, rhythmic dictation. How to clap and count rhythms. Ear training. How to listen for blend.”

During the January auditions, 20 initial slots in the choir were filled. Swan says he anticipates another 15 to 20 slots will be opened in the future, but auditions for those will be announced at another time.

The choir is funded through both ECSU and Arts of the Albemarle. There is, Swan says, not cost to children who are interested in being a part of the program.

“All the children have to do is learn the music and the only out-of-pocket expense is getting to and from rehearsal at the (ECSU) music department,” he says, “each Saturday morning 9 to 11.”

For the Youth Chorale’s first performance, the children will perform two pieces, “Shenandoah,” and Vivaldi’s “Ladamus Te.”

Swan brings a great deal of professional experience to area youth. He has taught at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., Hampton University in Hampton, Va., Chowan University in nearby Murfreesboro and has performed and recorded with nationally known artists and chorales. He also performed with the Virginia Opera.

As an applied voice instructor, Swan says he’s busy working with university students, on top of his work with the youth chorale. He says this year he will not be performing, taking time to build arts programs in the area.

Aside from performances by the youth chorale — some will take place at the new arts center in downtown Elizabeth City — Swan says he will also be holding recitals for his ECSU students April 14 at 7 p.m. for his university studio students. That performance is free and open to the public at the Fine Arts Building on the ECSU campus.

For more information about the youth chorale, contact Arts of the Albemarle at 252-338-6455.