About the North Georgia Children’s Chorus
WHAT WE DO
Below you will read the model for what we have done in past seasons and what we hope to build upon and continue in the future. However, for the Fall 2017 season due to lack of personnel, we will only be able to offer the UPBEAT SINGERS (elementary) track. That being said, we welcome singers from age 8 (reading competently) up to age 14 for this term.
JUBILANT SONG (ages 12-16)
UPBEAT SINGERS (ages 9-12)
Music literacy, sightreading, vocal training, and basic musicianship/artistry are presented in a comprehensive program to singers ages 9-16. An eclectic mix of unison and two- and three-part literature is selected for each program.
PRIMARY CHOIR (ages 6-8)
To build a strong foundation for music and future choral singing, children ages 6-8 receive training in First Steps in Music, a program providing instruction in singing, musicianship and movement. The older children in this group, who will be moving to upbeat singers, will receive additional vocal training.
PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS
We have performed regularly at Gloria Shott Auditorium on the campus of the University of North Georgia, Dahlonega campus, and at various locations in Dawsonville and the Gainesville area. The Fall 2017 concert will be held at Dahlonega Presbyterian Church.
REHEARSAL LOCATIONS
Rehearsals are held in downtown Dahlonega at Dahlonega Baptist Church on Mondays at 4:00 p.m., and end at 5:30 p.m.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
RUTH PURCELL, Founder and Director, earned a B.A. degree in music at George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, and Level 2 Orff-Schulwerk certification. She is a folksinger/songwriter, choral singer, freelance violist and fiddler, and a music educator for over thirty years. She received her teacher certification from NGCSU in 2003 while teaching general music and launching an after-school chorus at Westminster Christian School (now North Georgia Christian School) in Gainesville. After studying two summers with Dr. John Feierabend, she adopted the First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege programs into her preschool, primary grades, and elementary music classes.
A former director of two children’s choirs at First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, Mrs. Purcell maintains an active piano and strings studio. A current member of Chorus America, she is also a former member of the Choristers Guild, an organization dedicated to the support of leaders of children’s choirs in churches and schools. In July of 2012, she graduated from the Choristers Guild Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, a three-year certification program for directors of children’s choirs. She was a member of the Lanier Chamber Singers from 2009 – 2015, and has sung several seasons with the Dawson County Chorale, the UNG Singers and La Bella Voci. Mrs. Purcell is a certified substitute teacher for the Lumpkin County Schools, and an occasional accompanist for Mr. Tee Smith. She is also a fiddle instructor for the Georgia Pick and Bow School in Lumpkin County.
MEET OUR ACCOMPANIST
CLAY BURNETT is a native of Lumpkin County and a graduate of Lumpkin County High School. He has been playing the piano for 11 years, and is a sophomore student of Dr. Joe Chapman at the University of North Georgia. In addition to studying piano, Clay also is studying music education and voice at UNG. He is the pianist for Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, and gives private piano lessons as well.
MEET OUR NEW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
JULIA MORANG attended Dawson County for elementary through high school. In 2008, she was accepted into (then) Reinhardt College as a Music Education major, where she participated in many performances, and acquired many techniques for teaching students PK-12, graduating in 2012. She was hired as a substitute teacher for Dawson County in the Fall of 2012 and became a part-time music teacher for Black’s Mill Elementary School in the spring of 2013. In 2015, Mrs. Morang was promoted to a full time position at Black’s Mill Elementary School. She has produced Kindergarten musicals, 5th Grade musicals, and has started an after-school group, BMES Chorus Cubs. She has taken multiple 5th graders to Dawson County’s 5th grade Honor Chorus. Believing strongly in the importance of music in child development, she hopes to continue working in Music Education, preschool to 12th grade.