Keep the Song Alive in ChildrenSong
Donation protected
Keep the Song Alive in ChildrenSong
ChildrenSong of New Jersey is a non-profit community children’s chorus which offers a special place for young musicians who have a strong passion for singing. The program spans boys and girls aged 7-18 in a four choir tiered program. Singers work their way through each level by achieving a certain level of vocal technique and music literacy. Singers are taught to read and understand music, interpret a score, and develop a strong appreciation of many styles of vocal music. The choir presents two seasonal concerts each year, a soloist fundraiser dinner concert, a skill-building choir camp in August, and an outreach song festival each spring to highlight a chosen country’s culture. The singers rehearse once a week at Haddonfield Middle School on Monday evenings with occasional Saturday mornings.
This non-profit program, started in 2000 by Haddonfield School District’s elementary and middle school vocal music teacher Polly Murray has been providing excellent training and experiences for 16 years. The Choir has performed in many exciting venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center, and Mann Music Center and with outstanding ensembles such as The Philadelphia Orchestra and Symphony in C. The Choir also travels on tour outside of the state for intense vocal study.
Recently, ChildrenSong has come upon hard times financially. The Choir needs to raise $3000 by June 30th in order to continue the wonderful vocal training program into next season without a financial shortfall. Please consider making a donation to our non-profit program so we can continue to provide training for budding young singers. Many of our program participants have no vocal music program in their school; others are homeschooled. ChildrenSong’s high level vocal training program enables young singers to perform choral masterworks at a young age, build vocal technique in a safe singing environment, develop self-esteem, discipline, and express themselves through music-making among their peers. Older singers appreciate vocal music so much, they pursue music degrees at the college level to share their love of music with others.
The Choir is also conducted by one of the many alumna of the program. Maggie O’Neill of Haddonfield grew up singing in ChildrenSong with Ms. Murray. She recently graduated from Westminster Choir College with a master’s degree in education and has served as co-conductor of ChildrenSong for three years.
Maggie isn’t the only singer to have pursued a music degree after singing with ChildrenSong, there are many others who are enrolled in programs for music education, music therapy, and vocal performance. Shannon Lally, a junior at Haddonfield High School was recently accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music “Summerfest” program, a highly competitive program mainly for college students. She intends on pursuing a vocal performance or music education degree when she attends college.
In order to continue providing this wonderful experience to young singers of Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties, the choir needs financial support from donations. These donations help cover our general operating expenses, music staff, sheet music, and scholarships for financially needy choristers. Singers do pay a modest, affordable tuition to be in the Choir, but it doesn’t cover all of the expenses.
Please consider assisting ChildrenSong with its mission “to provide high level vocal music experiences to children due to the circumstances of their schooling, regardless of their race, gender, or ability to pay tuition. I hope our story encourages you to make a donation to keep the song alive in ChildrenSong. Thank you for your support!
ChildrenSong of New Jersey is a non-profit community children’s chorus which offers a special place for young musicians who have a strong passion for singing. The program spans boys and girls aged 7-18 in a four choir tiered program. Singers work their way through each level by achieving a certain level of vocal technique and music literacy. Singers are taught to read and understand music, interpret a score, and develop a strong appreciation of many styles of vocal music. The choir presents two seasonal concerts each year, a soloist fundraiser dinner concert, a skill-building choir camp in August, and an outreach song festival each spring to highlight a chosen country’s culture. The singers rehearse once a week at Haddonfield Middle School on Monday evenings with occasional Saturday mornings.
This non-profit program, started in 2000 by Haddonfield School District’s elementary and middle school vocal music teacher Polly Murray has been providing excellent training and experiences for 16 years. The Choir has performed in many exciting venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center, and Mann Music Center and with outstanding ensembles such as The Philadelphia Orchestra and Symphony in C. The Choir also travels on tour outside of the state for intense vocal study.
Recently, ChildrenSong has come upon hard times financially. The Choir needs to raise $3000 by June 30th in order to continue the wonderful vocal training program into next season without a financial shortfall. Please consider making a donation to our non-profit program so we can continue to provide training for budding young singers. Many of our program participants have no vocal music program in their school; others are homeschooled. ChildrenSong’s high level vocal training program enables young singers to perform choral masterworks at a young age, build vocal technique in a safe singing environment, develop self-esteem, discipline, and express themselves through music-making among their peers. Older singers appreciate vocal music so much, they pursue music degrees at the college level to share their love of music with others.
The Choir is also conducted by one of the many alumna of the program. Maggie O’Neill of Haddonfield grew up singing in ChildrenSong with Ms. Murray. She recently graduated from Westminster Choir College with a master’s degree in education and has served as co-conductor of ChildrenSong for three years.
Maggie isn’t the only singer to have pursued a music degree after singing with ChildrenSong, there are many others who are enrolled in programs for music education, music therapy, and vocal performance. Shannon Lally, a junior at Haddonfield High School was recently accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music “Summerfest” program, a highly competitive program mainly for college students. She intends on pursuing a vocal performance or music education degree when she attends college.
In order to continue providing this wonderful experience to young singers of Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties, the choir needs financial support from donations. These donations help cover our general operating expenses, music staff, sheet music, and scholarships for financially needy choristers. Singers do pay a modest, affordable tuition to be in the Choir, but it doesn’t cover all of the expenses.
Please consider assisting ChildrenSong with its mission “to provide high level vocal music experiences to children due to the circumstances of their schooling, regardless of their race, gender, or ability to pay tuition. I hope our story encourages you to make a donation to keep the song alive in ChildrenSong. Thank you for your support!
Organizer and beneficiary
Polly Murray
Organizer
Haddonfield, NJ
Patti Fuhrmeister
Beneficiary