by Anna C.
On March 24th, the Training Choice, the Apprentice Choir and the Girls Choir all learned from one another at a workshop at Trinity United Church. Each choir regularly has workshops alone, or with one other choir, but rarely does this happen with all three together. During the workshop, we rehearsed our repertoire, learned new songs and clapping games and also did some team-buiding exercises together. “My favourite activity at the workshop was singing with all the three choirs together because the sound of so many voices is beautiful,” said Nia, a member of the Apprentice Choir.
Leslie Bricker, the Training Choir’s conductor, said she is always impressed by the sense of community in the Cantiamo family. At the workshop, “older choristers mentored younger singers, ensuring that they felt comfortable. And as the day progressed, it was wonderful to watch our younger choristers develop the confidence to share their ideas and their music with singers in the other choirs. It was a day for leadership, mentorship, sharing, and growth!”.
According to Jackie, who conducts the other two choirs and is Cantiamo’s Founding Artistic Director, “the best parts about a workshop like this are the sense of community, team buliding and development of leadership skills which as a result allow for oppurtunity for self-discovery and development of self confidence. And of course, the singing is always heavenly!”
Apart from the singing we also did many activities together, such as learn an Inuit clapping game and design a paper quilt made up of decorated squares designed by each choir member. We even read a book together whose words have been turned into a song that we are singing this spring. This song, called If I Were the Moon, was the founding song of the Cantiamo Choirs.”My favorite activity was the song with the raven and the owl in Inuktituk and the special handshake. The words were so distinct and fun to say!” said Mei, a Training Choir member.
These workshops are special to me because we get to know other choristers better, and we have the opportunity to practice over a much longer span of time than our regular rehearsals. As Mei said “the workshop was a great experience for me because we could eat lunch together!!” We made new friends, learned new songs and sang together. A wonderful way to spend the day!
cantiamo.ca 
by Anna C.
On March 24th, the Training Choice, the Apprentice Choir and the Girls Choir all learned from one another at a workshop at Trinity United Church. Each choir regularly has workshops alone, or with one other choir, but rarely does this happen with all three together. During the workshop, we rehearsed our repertoire, learned new songs and clapping games and also did some team-buiding exercises together. “My favourite activity at the workshop was singing with all the three choirs together because the sound of so many voices is beautiful,” said Nia, a member of the Apprentice Choir.
According to Jackie, who conducts the other two choirs and is Cantiamo’s Founding Artistic Director, “the best parts about a workshop like this are the sense of community, team buliding and development of leadership skills which as a result allow for oppurtunity for self-discovery and development of self confidence. And of course, the singing is always heavenly!”
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