Aurora piano teacher Madeleine Getz said a choir is "a really great way to bring music to kids" and since she didn't know of any choirs in the community she decided to start one.
It's a community choir, she said, "It's not going to be like the Choir of King's College in Cambridge but just for the love of music."
The choir will be split into groups with children aged four to eight in one and nine to 13 in the other. Kids from the surrounding areas are welcome to register and Getz is hoping to have 20 to 25 kids in each group.
For now, the 45-minute, weekly sessions will be held outdoors, with Optimist Park being eyed as a possible location, but depending on interest sessions could move to an indoor studio space. Five families have already signed up, she said.
Getz said she doesn't want the sessions to be only about singing. She plans to make the sessions enjoyable for kids by bringing music education to it as well.
"We'll be singing, of course, but I also want them to learn through movement and chanting and rhythms. It'll be sort of like a music class with lots of singing.'
Instead of choral music Getz said she plans to focus on various types of music including Canadian folk music because it has a tonality she believes "captures a child's imagination."
Most early music education is learning scales or classical music but you also need to provide the kids with "freedom in music" that is sometimes lacking in traditional music class, she said.
"That's something I'm really trying to bring to my experience in music. I really believe that children need the freedom to make their own music and I think they need to be able to enjoy music and to feel like it's their own. . . to be able to speak the language of music so that's what I'm hoping to bring a little bit to this choir as well."
During the pandemic Getz hasn't held any recitals for her piano students but outdoor recitals might be an option for the choir students.
"I would love for an opportunity for the kids to be able to sing for others. Maybe at the market or something, that could be really fun."
Getz has a long history with music. As a child she learned to sing in a choir and sings relatively well and on pitch, she said. She also studied piano and though she has a masters in medieval studies she always kept up with her music studies by taking courses at university.
After her first child was born — she has four under the age of seven — she began teaching piano to fund daycare costs and found that she loved it.
"I suddenly realized this is what I love, this is what I always wanted to do."
Getz said she's aware of the studies indicating students who took music class had improved academic skills but it also just helps us have a better understanding of who we are.
"It helps you become a more rounded human and I think it brings a joy to your life."
Choir sessions are $60 per month or $110 per family with two or more kids.
Visit Getz' website to sign up for a newsletter and register for classes.
