Letting Sundays Ring Out With Children's Voices

There's nothing like a troupe of bright-eyed eager children, all singing, the same note-more or less-to add just the right spark of enthusiasm and inspiration to a Sunday service. What's not to like about a children's choir? Yet, for many of us it's all we can do to muster an adult choir. A children's choir seems beyond our reach.

But it doesn't have to be. Bob Simiele started one five years ago at UU Church West, Brookfield, WI (370 members). He has 50 children and youth from age five through high school in one choir.

His secret? "I make sure it's a learning experience for them. And we work hard, but I make it fun also. Half the battle is finding a choir director who not only knows music but is good with children," he says. Simiele is a retired high school music director who is director of music at the church as well as director of the adult choir.

He gets kids out to Tuesday night rehearsals by challenging them and taking them seriously. "Our attendance is high even though we compete with soccer and scouts," he says. "Sunday morning practices can work, but picking another time can make choir more important and significant to them." Select music that's fun, educational, and conveys a UU message. Organize occasional choir social events.

"Don't make the mistake of expecting too little from children, he says, or what you'll have will be just a bunch of cute kids singing. I work them pretty hard. It's not just a fun thing." That hard work was recognized last year. Six of Simiele's young singers were selected to be part of the Children's Honor Choir at General Assembly.

The UU Musicians Network has a booklet to help congregations start children's choirs. Two experienced children's choir directors offer to answer questions: Lynne Beasley at First Parish, Brookline, MA, and Alfa Radford, First Church, Belmont, MA. The free booklet can also be obtained from them. See Resources.

One way to start a choir, say Beasley and Radford, is to gather a group of children to sing for a holiday or special event, then use that enthusiasm to build an ongoing group. Other considerations:

• Expect that a choir director will spend 6 to 8 hours per week on a children's choir.

• A salary of $1,200 is a reasonable amount for a small congregation to pay a children's choir director. For larger churches expect to pay $4,500 and up.

• A children's choir that practices weekly might be expected to sing every four to six weeks.

First steps she recommends: talk to the religious educator, music committee, and director of music to determine if there is support for a choir. Then call a meeting of parents to determine their support.

RESOURCES

For information on children's choirs or to order the free UUMN booklet on children's choirs, contact Lynne Beasley, First Parish in Brookline, 382 Walnut St., Brookline, MA 02445 (617) 566-1933, or Alfa Radford, The First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478; (617) 484-1054. Back to top.