Perth Choral Institute + Oxford & Cambridge Singing School

Following the success of last year’s course, the Perth Choral Institute and Oxford and Cambridge Singing School are again collaborating to provide young singers in Perth with an outstanding opportunity to enjoy great music-making and improve their choral skills. We will be returning to the beautiful surroundings of Aquinas College for two courses; introducing children to high-level choral repertoire, music theory, history and appreciation; and, of course, the excitement of performance.

Each course will cater for Junior and Senior cohorts, and will be structured so that there is continuity of theme and repertoire between the April and September sessions. Participants in the Senior group are encouraged to attend both courses so as to create, by the end of the September course, a polished chamber choir. Singers who have shown promise in the Junior group in April may be invited to join the Senior group in September. Read on to find out more about Senior and Junior groups.

Oxford and Cambridge Singing School are offering two courses in 2024, 10th - 13th April & 25th - 28th September. The course has been set up so those who attend the April course will continue their learning in the September course, with the structure also allowing for those only attending one or the other, to still get the full experience.

How Does Registration Work?

You have two choices - a full course or a single day, or multiple single days. Discounts for up to 2 siblings (3 kids total) are applied automatically at checkout.

Full Course

A full course registration is the best way for your child to get the most out of the experience as the continuity will build on the previous day's learnings, with the Septmeber course providing continued learning for those who attended the April course. Full course options for April or April & September are available now with a discount automatically applied if both full courses are booked.

Registrations for the September-only program will go on sale on the 1st July, 2024.

Single Day

Single day options are available if your child can't make the full course. The full couse is $400 (a discount applies if April & September are booked) and each single day is $140 (plus booking fees). Discounts are provided for up to 2 siblings. You will be asked to completed details about the participant/s during the registration process.

Is This Course for Me?

Age Range

We welcome children aged from 7-17 and will divide participants into an upper-voice ensemble and an SATB choir.

Experience

Our coaches are able to accommodate a wide variety of experience. We will be learning some music from scores, and others by heart or just from word sheets. Knowledge of musical notation and theory is not necessary – this is something we will be teaching during the course.

Voice Type

As well as upper voices, we are keen to encourage male voices in transition. For our SATB group we have chosen music which is particularly suited to the young adult male voice

Am I a Senior or Junior?

The Junior group will normally sing in unison in the upper range. Girls and boys aged 7-13 will typically be included in this group; though we may make exceptions for boys whose voices have already broken,and boys and girls who have particular proficiency at note-reading. If a child has shown exceptional ability in the April course, they may be invited to join the Senior group for the September course. The Senior group will work on polyphonic music for soprano, alto, tenor and bass. It is expected that members of this group have greater musical proficiency and have some experience of note-reading. Because of the greater challenge of this repertoire, members of this group are strongly encouraged to attend both courses as part of a longer-term programme of development. The Senior group will also have an extra hour of coaching after the Junior group has departed.

Schedule

Wednesday - Friday

0900-0930 Registration
0930-1000 Full group session: vocal exercises/technique
1000-1045 Full group session: repertoire
1100-1145 Small group sessions: sectional rehearsals
1145-1230 Small group sessions: music theory
1230-1315 Lunch break
1315-1400 Small group sessions: music history and appreciation
1400-1500 Full group session: repertoire
1500-1515 Break
1515-1530 Full group session: performance (Juniors depart at 1530)
1530-1630 Seniors continue with additional repertoire rehearsal

Saturday

0900-0930 Registration
0930-1200 Full morning of rehearsals
1200-1245 Final Performance

Vocal Exercises/Technique

Each day begins with vocal warm-ups: exercises which prepare students for the day and teach the basics of singing technique. These include breathing, stance, pronunciation, articulation and performance.

Repertoire

Junior Group

The Baroque Era

Fairest isel, Henry Purcell
Ombra mai fu, George Fredrick Handel

The Romantic Era

Who can express the noble acts of the Lord?, Charles Wesley
The Joyful Eastertide, Charles Wood

20th/21st Century

Cautironary Tales (after Hilaire Belloc), Liza Lehmann
It was a lover and his lass, Errollyn Wallen
Fire & The little girls of rain, Jonathan Dove

Senior Group

Passtime with good company, Trad
Fair Phyllis I saw sitting, John Farmer
Locus iste, Anton Bruckner
Ave verum corpus, Edward Elgar
Cantique de Jean Racine, Gabriel Fauré

Sectional Rehearsals

Work on repertoire in three groups. These sessions provide an opportunity to work with students at a pace more appropriate to the group’s age range and experience. Some repertoire may be designated specially to sectional groups.

Music Theory

The aim of these sessions is to teach elements of music structure, compositional technique and notation, with particular focus on the course repertoire.

Delivered in three groups, organised according to age and musical experience.

Level One
Sessions in which the coach can explain elements of the musical notation encountered in the set repertoire that may be unfamiliar. Other activities for this level include music puzzles and games aimed at developing familiarity with music terminology in an entertaining way.

Level Two
To involve elements of Level One, but include the creative application of music notation in the composition of a song or the adaptation of an existing work (e.g. the composition of a new accompaniment to a folk song).

Level Three
Focussing on the syllabus, engaging with all elements of musical notation and terminology

Music History & Appreciation

These sessions provide greater historical and musical context to the course repertoire, with reference to other works by the featured composers and to other composers of the same period. The range of music encountered in these sessions extends beyond specifically vocal/choral genres; sessions will also engage with social/political history, other art-forms and critical/emotional responses to the music.

Quiet time & Listening to Music

A valuable period in the busy schedule for the children to relax and listen to an extended piece of recorded music related to the course repertoire; introduced by one of the course coaches.

Performance

Afternoon sessions conclude with an informal performance of course repertoire, as a means of honing presentational skills. These are intended as ‘work-in-progress’ performances and are an important part of the learning process. The final day will conclude with a longer, formal performance (see ‘Suggested Day-to-Day Schedule’).