Opportunities abound for children's choir

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Some day you might be able to attend a concert of an all-Aboriginal children's choir at one of the major venues in the city, if Sherryl Sewepagaham, the artistic director of the Edmonton Aboriginal Children's Chorus has anything to do with it.

Her chorus practices every Tuesday evening at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples. It is attended by both girls and boys in grades four to six. Sewepagaham said the acoustics are wonderful at the church and the priest, Jim Holland, was pleased when asked if they could use the space.

She said compared to other choirs in the city, membership fees are very low. It costs only $30 a year to participate.

"I was doing some research and regular city choirs cost up to $150, and that is just for minimum charges. I wanted our choir to be accessible to kids who love to sing, but do not have the financial resources to join a choir," she said. Practices include a snack at break.

Experience is not necessary, said Sewepagaham, but when she is looking to add to the chorus she looks for potential. She said that if the child is gifted as a singer, then it is great. But she looks for children who have potential in their vocal range but need some guidance and training.

"I also look for social compatibility... and I also look for reading skills, because in the choral training component it requires a lot of reading. If they had absolutely no range in their voice, it would be very, very hard for them and they would have to have a lot of extra help," she said.

Sewepagaham, who balances the pressures of a full-time job and the needs of her 10-month-old son, sings with the group Asani, an Aboriginal women's voice ensemble. She said she does the best she can, but does not have the time to provide one-on-one training with students.

"So they have to have some sort of range in their voice," she said.

Darlene Auger and Lauressa Pawlowski, the pianist, help keep things running smoothly during practice and snack time. Despite Sewepagaham's busy schedule, she's thinking of starting a youth choir in September, for children grades seven to 12.

Sewepagaham said it was a long-held dream of hers to see Aboriginal children in a choir. She started the choir, after noticing that there were no formal Aboriginal choirs anywhere in the province. She wanted to work with this type of choir rather than a school choir because Sewepagaham believes that there is a greater need within Edmonton and the surrounding area.

"I've been in choirs all my life... and most of the time I was the only Aboriginal student there. I just love the sound of children singing. I absolutely love it. Throughout my school years as a child and also my education years in university, I did not see any Aboriginal children in any of the city's choirs. I would deliberately look for them and I would not see any and I know that Aboriginal kids can sing," she said.

Sewepagaham said that theirs is the first Aboriginal choir to be registered with the Alberta Choral Federation. They will be eligible to join festivals and access all kinds of other opportunities.

Sewepagaham, who has a bachelor of education degree focusing on elementary music, teaches the young people to read music.

"I think that if you cannot read music, it would be pretty hard to read the choral sheets and how to follow on the notes. So we look at the physical markings in the choral sheets and I point them to the group on what they mean," she said.

The choral year runs from September to June.

"I divide the year into three semesters, from September to December, which is the first semester, and then from January until March for the second semester, and from April until the end of June is the third semester. We will have a concert at the end of every semester. The next concert will be on March 20 at the church," she said.

The kids are taught a variety of music, including works in Cree, English, French, and German. Irish folk music is also included. Sewepagaham aid she wants children to be aware of the great variety of music in the world.