Strathmore Children’s Choir makes music fun

By Christine Foshaug Times Contributor

When Loralee Laycock moved to Strathmore with her family 12 years ago, she quickly realized there was a need for a performing arts program for children.
“Brentwood School has a great music program, but there wasn’t much for students at the other schools,” she explained. “It was important to me to give all the children of Strathmore an opportunity to have fun with music and learn how to perform in front of an audience.”
And so the Strathmore Children’s Choir was born.
Choir director Laycock stressed that no music experience is necessary, since she teaches the choristers how to read sheet music.
“So many children love to perform at home,” she said. “Performing with a group takes away the stage fright and allows kids to perform in front of people without fear.”
There are three choirs, based on age, and they rehearse on Thursdays at the Strathmore United Church. The Bravo Choir, for children in kindergarten through Grade 1, rehearses for half an hour. Choristers in Grades 2-6 comprise the Encore Choir, and they practise for an hour. The Finale Choir, for children in Grade 7 and up, rehearses for an hour and a half.
In addition to the choirs, there is a musical theatre group called Showstoppers for children aged 12 and up. The Showstoppers rehearsal is an hour long, following the Finale Choir.
“Showstoppers is a nice addition to the choir,” said Laycock. “It’s a lot of fun, and we incorporate characterization, acting and costumes.”
Members of the musical theatre group play theatre games and learn specific songs that they turn into something special. Last year, they did their own version of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The choirs participate in a number of local events each year, including Strathmore’s Light up the Night, a Christmas concert, a festival preview concert for parents and a year-end spring concert.
Last year, all three choirs and Showstoppers performed at the inaugural Strathmore Performing Arts Festival. Encore, Finale and Showstoppers performed at the Drumheller and District Music Festival, with Encore and Finale receiving provincial nominations.
Finale went on to place second at provincials in Edmonton. They also attended Choralfest in Calgary, where they received a platinum rating.
Laycock is looking forward to a successful 12th season, but with six girls graduating from Finale last April she’d really like to see some new faces, including some boys.
“The Strathmore Children’s Choir is all about making music fun, and connecting to music on an emotional level,” said Laycock. “Our goal is to instill a love of music in kids that they can carry on through the rest of their lives.”
Registration is open, and forms can be found at strathmorechildrenschoir.com. Rehearsals will start in October.