The Chandler Children’s Choir (CCC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the vocal education of youth in the East Valley. It’s focus on vocal fundamentals, classic repertoire, and varied performances have made the CCC the premier children’s choir in the East Valley. This would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of the parents and those listed below:
| Executive Director: Adam Stewart Artistic Director: Aimee Stewart | Bio Asst. Director: Lynette Kidman | Bio Accompanist: Jeremy Peterman | Bio Board Member: John Morley President: Becky Hall |
Vice President: Barbara Spreen Vice President: Wendy Darling Treasurer: Julia Miessner Secretary: Lisa Wooten Choir Manager: Katie DePoy Public Relations: Anna Gentry |
Advisory Board: Gregory Gentry Elizabeth Palmer Anne Kopta |
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I love music. I have always loved to sing. I am the oldest of five musical children. As a child, my home was filled with classical and jazz music. My parents met in the Mormon Youth Symphony and have been making music ever since! My mother is the concertmaster for the Salt Lake Symphony and my father sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Recently, my younger sister, Erin Morley, graduated from Juilliard and debuted with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Growing up, my sister and I both sang in The Salt Lake Children's Choir. This gave us both a wonderful foundation in singing correctly, singing a wide variety of musical styles, and learning the theory behind making beautiful music.
I started out as a violinist in the footsteps of my mother. In college, I was a founding member of the Cantus String Quartet and played violin with them for 6 years. Gradually over the years, I have moved more towards singing than violin, and choral music is my love. As we have moved around the country, I have had the chance to sing with The Roanoke Symphony Chorus, The Utah Baroque Ensemble, The Connecticut Master Chorale, Riznica Chamber Choir, and currently, The Phoenix Symphony Chorus. I have studied voice privately with vocal professors for over 16 years and received my degree from BYU in Elementary Education. I have taught violin, voice and piano privately for over 10 years. I studied conducting with Jana Minov and had the chance to conduct many different choral groups over the years in church and school settings.
Many parents have asked me over the years if I could teach their young child voice lessons. My response was always the same: Find a good quality children's choir in your area. Your child will learn much more about singing than they would in private voice lessons.
Why is that? It’s because so much of singing is learning about intonation, blending your tone with the voices around you, and listening for and creating harmonies. A young singer’s voice needs to be natural, free, open; and be agile and resonant. Singers need to be able to hold their own part, and they need to be able to read music. Choral music helps facilitate all these attributes. In the music that I carefully select, there is a large vocal range and ample opportunities to harmonize that develops the voice far beyond solo vocal children’s literature. The music we sing is classically based, but also age-appropriate, so that our young singers will be exposed to a wealth of beautiful music.
You can't get that in a private lesson, which is why a choir setting is the best place for a young singer to learn how to sing.
Which brings me to our Choir. When our family moved to Arizona in 2006, I looked around our area for a choir nearby for my children. When I couldn’t find one to meet my needs, I realized that with my unique skill set, I would be able to combine my extensive musical background with my ability to teach young singers in a way that is creative and educational, combining my love of teaching children and my love for choral music.
As a mother of 4 young children, I know how busy kids’ schedules are. I wanted to create a choir that would be accessible to as many children as possible – by rehearsing just once a week, holding rehearsals in a convenient location, and efficiently using the time we have together. I wanted a choir that was family-based, with high-quality experiences that would fit within a family’s busy schedule. So, together with my husband, we created the Chandler Children's Choir to meet this need.
We hope to offer you a chance to be a part of something special by becoming a part of the Chandler Children's Choir family, either through patronizing our concerts, supporting us through donations, or becoming members of the choir. I truly believe in our motto that “Every Voice Counts” – certainly in singing, but also in many other various ways of support. I invite you to come make your voice heard with us.
