August 14, 2024
Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” Palatine Children’s Chorus, Allegro, and Palatine Concert Band bring music to life at Palatine Park District!
The benefits of music are bountiful from boosting your mood and increasing lung capacity, to supporting cognitive development and building confidence. Palatine Park District’s musical programs are tuning up for a new season this fall.
Palatine Children’s Chorus (PCC) includes children from four to 18 years in six individual choirs, led by seven adult staff members. Music is featured from all over the world and sung in a variety of languages.
Melissa Schlesinger, Managing Director of PCC, said “Many of our singers make lifelong friends at PCC and coming each week to sing with them is a highlight. We have the time and ability to focus on the individual singer as well as the group as a whole, making this a very personal experience for everyone. Some of our older singers are also involved in their school band, choir or orchestras, but love adding additional musical opportunities or love the ability to work on their sight reading or musicianship outside of school as well.”
If your child has no musical experience that’s ok too. PCC includes everyone who wants to sing!
Schlesinger said there are numerous benefits to joining PCC. “Your child will sing challenging music with older and younger singers, learn the importance of a polished performance, and learn music theory that supports music education in school.”
All of the PCC instructors have extensive experience teaching music. Directors, Ron Korbitz, Kirby Meza, and Kathy Sbarboro have been teaching for several years. In addition to their degrees in music, they have specialized training in specific age groups.
PCC’s Welcome Night takes place Monday, August 19 at 6:30pm at Community Center. This opportunity is for new singers and their parents and those considering joining the choir. “Welcome Night is a time for parents and their singers to come and meet our staff, find out more about our program including our performances, our mission and vison and even our performance uniforms,” Schlesinger said. “There is nothing to prepare and it is not an audition, it just allows us to find the right choir for each singer,” she added.
Adults who enjoy singing are invited to join Allegro Community Chorus. Under the direction of Kevin Kelly, Allegro provides a musical opportunity for those 18 years and older. “It’s a chorus of friendly and supportive individuals from all walks of life who love to sing and who enjoy each other’s company,” said Kelly. “We sing a wide variety of music, but mostly it’s pop music and songs from Broadway and the movies from as early as 1920 through the present day.”
Allegro’s Fall Meet and Greet will be held Wednesday, August 28, 7:00pm at Falcon Park Recreation Center. “One can expect good conversation with present and potential members, some light refreshments, and a short overview of the songs I’ve programmed for the coming season,” Kelly said. RSVP by August 22 to allegro@palatineparks.org. Participants do not need choral singing experience to join. “People can certainly join with no experience although choral singing experience and reading music can be helpful to both the singer and the chorus,” he added. No audition is required to join; however everyone is asked to do a voice check so Kelly can determine what voice part they sing. And what are the benefits of singing in a group? “For me it can be the thrill of making a glorious choral sound that simply can’t be made by singing on your own. And of course, there’s all the great tunes you get to sing that you might not encounter otherwise.”
From voices as instruments to wind instruments, Palatine Concert Band is a volunteer musical organization made up of 75 members who play wind instruments. While it is considered a “concert band”, the band’s history can be traced back to the 1870’s, during the Golden Age of wind bands. The band was inactive during the depression years and WWII then was relaunched in 1955 with 18 members. Micheala Tuminello, Vice-President of Palatine Concert Band, said “Today the band exists to enhance the quality of community life by increasing the audiences’ music appreciation and improving the members’ musical abilities by performing high quality, challenging yet entertaining band music.”
Palatine Concert Band plays a little bit of everything! “Our programming encompasses a wide range of music, from original works for band, to well-known classical works, movie soundtracks, medleys from Broadway musicals, pop/rock tunes, big band medleys, marches, overtures, dances, patriotic songs and of course, holiday music that everyone knows and loves,” he said.
“It’s an activity that appeals to people of all ages and is something that they can do well into their retirement. The camaraderie and social connections forged through participation in ensembles also foster a strong sense of community and teamwork. Most importantly- it’s fun!”
The band performs four indoor concerts from fall to spring at Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center, and three summer concerts at the Fred P. Hall Amphitheater as part of the Sounds of Sumer music series. Find upcoming concerts at palatineconcertband.org.
