INCITE FOUNDATION: The joy of song
The Incite Foundation for the Arts supports the contributions of the Hamilton Children's Choir.
The Incite Foundation for the Arts has contributed more than $9 million to 50 Hamilton-area organizations in grants from $2,500 to $300,000 since it was founded in 2011.
It is the legacy of the late Carl and Kate Turkstra who believed the arts are key to quality of life and critical to the future of Hamilton. And they believed anyone, regardless of circumstance, should be able to enjoy and pursue music, theatre and visual art. HAMILTON CITY Magazine is showcasing the incredible, creative and talented recipients of Incite grants.
HAMILTON CITY Magazine is showcasing the incredible, creative and talented recipients of Incite grants. Here we share the work of Hamilton Children’s Choir.
Hamilton Children's Choir
Hamilton Children’s Choir is gearing up for our 50th anniversary season – September-June 2024-2025 – a huge milestone!
Our choral programs are offered to children and youth as young as 18 months and as old as 24 years. For our little ones, we offer a robust early years program that includes parent/guardian toddler/preschool classes, and groups divided by age that learn the foundations of music and movement through fun exercises and songs.
As children get older, they dive deeper into choral music through our Komenci and Esplori programs, as they learn to sing in harmony with one another.
Once children reach our Esprimas program, they learn to add more musicality to their repertoire as they express the music they sing.
Our eldest ensemble Ilumini provides exceptional music education that allows singers to delve into complex vocal music, build high levels of musicianship, and perform on national and international stages.
We are proud to now also offer a lighter program, Lumo, which allows singers from grades 6-12 to participate in HCC’s programming without participating in the heavier commitment level of our Esprimas and Ilumini ensembles.
By the time of this publication, Ilumini will have just travelled to Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, an annual festival that brings together 4,000 performers from all over the world to compete, perform, and learn from one another.
HCC will be competing in four categories, for children’s choirs, open choirs of all ages, and folk song categories.
Our Summer Singing Camp is made possible through the support of the Incite Foundation for the Arts. This week-long day camp is offered to singers with all levels of musical experience, including beginners. Thanks to Incite, we are able to offer this camp for the low price of $50 for the week. Participating in daily vocal warm-ups, learning songs in multiple languages, choreography, and performance skill-building, campers will have fun learning new skills and preparing to put on a final performance at the end of the week.
Sing As You Are is a free program that we run in community spaces to bring our love of singing to children throughout the city who may not already be part of our programming, or be available to participate in an ongoing or regular way. Through easy-to-learn songs and exploring percussion and movement, we build a pop-up choir for the day! Like our Summer Singing Camp, no experience is required.
Our music theory program, All Young People Deserve to Make Music, is available for music educators and students at no charge via our website. Our hope is that these accessible resources can help young singers (and their teachers) whether they’re learning in a classroom, choir, or virtual setting.
“Hamilton’s arts community wouldn’t be as strong as it is today without the generous support of the incite Foundation for the Arts,” says Gillian Alexander, executive director of HCC.
“Time and time again, Incite has provided HCC with the means to launch new programs, such as our Summer Singing Camp, execute our full artistic vision, and most importantly, ensure the accessibility of our programs to children and youth in Hamilton. We are so deeply grateful for their ongoing support to our organization, and their commitment to enriching the lives of Hamiltonians through the arts.”
