Welcome to a New Season of Song

This Fall, the Alexandria Children’s Chorus (formerly Kinderchoir) will return to something approximating a traditional in-person, indoor season. It has been a long time coming, and WE CAN’T WAIT!

It gives me great pleasure to welcome back Dr. Benjamin Hutchens, who will lead the Alexandria Children’s Chorus through the 2022-2023 season and beyond!

Dr. Hutchens was the Artistic Director from 2918-2020 and is delighted to return. He is a native of Statesville, North Carolina. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Alabama, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Furman University. Currently, Dr. Hutchens is also the Director of Music Ministries at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Alexandria. At Westminster, he conducts a 60 voice adult choir, multiple handbell ensembles, a robust graded children’s choir program, and serves as organist. When not making music, he enjoys travel, cooking, and sailing.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. We can’t wait for your children to experience the joy of connecting through singing as we embark on the newest chapter of the Alexandria Children’s Chorus!

Introducing Our 2019-20 Season: “From Darkness into Light”
This season, we will honor the beauty and struggle of social justice through music. Our Kinderchoir will use music to explore movements of justice and peace in cultures from around the world. We will connect these with our own culture, culminating in a celebration of our unity as one human family!

Performances Emphasizing Community, Collaboration & Service
We are tremendously excited to announce a line-up for the 2019-20 season which not only embodies “darkness into light,” but also delivers on many of our core principles. In addition to a traditional winter and spring concert, performance opportunities will include:

• Art on the Avenue (Oct.)—Kinderchoir will perform on the Concert Band Stage for Del Ray’s biggest street festival of the year, joined by Alexandria Choral Society.
• Lantern Night (Nov.)—Always a favorite Kinderchoir event, this fall’s lantern night will take place at Convergence, drawing together different community groups and incorporating a chance to give back.
• Special Commission with Alexandria Choral Society (Mar.)—A joint concert with Alexandria Choral Society to celebrate our organizations’ respective 5th and 50th anniversaries with the premier of a piece of music commissioned just for us by a local composer!
• Performance Field Trip to Monticello (Apr.)—Older singers will have an amazing chance to visit Thomas Jefferson’s historical site in Charlottesville, participating in private tours of the house and slave quarters and then performing for an audience on the beautiful Monticello grounds.

All performance dates and times are listed on our website.

Introducing Our Special April/May Term: ENCORE!
This year, our formal spring concert will take place before Spring Break. When choristers return from break, they will embark upon a special five-week term. These weeks will build on the music from the previous months but also move beyond singing for our season’s final production, which will include choreographic elements and lots of FUN

Welcome to Our Kinderchoir Manager

We are delighted to welcome Kay Sidahmed—Kinderchoir founder and favorite face in our community—into the newly-created Manager position. Kay will be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the choir, working closely with Dr. Hutchens to ensure a smooth, successful, and enjoyable experience for all our families. Kay will be stationed outside every rehearsal to answer your questions and can always be reached at manager@alexandriachildrenschorus.org. 

Welcome to Our New Assistant Director

We are also thrilled to welcome Cindy Gossman to our artistic team. Cindy will be leading all of the musicianship classes, as well as teaching our new Kindergarten Prep Program. Cindy’s background in music education is extensive, but you might know her from the seven years she recently spent teaching Music Together classes in our area. Cindy is also the founder and director of Blessed Sacrament’s children’s choir program. Cindy is a dynamic and engaging teacher, and her passion for music is contagious. Our children will be in great hands!

Join Us!
We will be holding one last round of auditions for new students in Grades K-7 on Thursday, September 5 at 4:30pm at Convergence. More details on the website. 
Additionally, private auditions can be scheduled by emailing Dr. Hutchens.
Please spread the word!

Enjoy these last weeks of summer. It’s always bittersweet to see it end, but many wonderful new memories await your children in the fall with The Alexandria Kinderchoir!

Melissa LaSalle
President

The Alexandria Kinderchoir

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to keep The Alexandria Kinderchoir going strong! Donate here!

Some thirty-five years after my first ever choir practice, I was sitting in my friend Paula’s cozy kitchen in Alexandria on a snowy January afternoon in 2015. She had similar fond memories of growing up in a choir environment, and our children had reached the ages where we wanted them to be part of a choral group embedded in our community. At this point, Alexandria did not have a community children’s choir. Over the years, several people had approached me with the idea of starting a singing group for children. After two cups of Paula’s delicious tea, the idea took shape and an outline was jotted down on a piece of paper. One month later, twenty-four children filed into my living room and thus began the first ever rehearsal of what was then The Del Ray Kinderchoir. For the next three months, we met every Wednesday afternoon for one hour at my home. Our singers came from various neighborhood schools. We sang, clapped, and danced folk tunes, rounds, and songs in different languages. Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors, The Del Ray Artisans, we were able to use their beautiful gallery space for our recital that May. The children beamed with joy and excitement to share the bounty of their work with families and friends.

Over the course of the summer in 2015, we registered as a non-profit (501c3) organization in the city of Alexandria and secured rehearsal space in the Del Ray United Methodist church. My husband, Stefan, took on the duties of Treasurer and my friend, Elizabeth, a singer herself, became our first Board President. And so, our Kinderchoir’s journey began. Just like today, we had regular performances at community events, collaborations with local musicians and groups, and two free concerts per season.

Four years later, some of our original choristers are still singing with the Kinderchoir, and many friendships have been formed over the years. At the heart of this venture has always been our guiding principles of inclusiveness and accessibility to all children in our community. To see this mission being protected and carried forward as The Alexandria Kinderchoir grows and blossoms under new leadership, is both gratifying and heartwarming.

–Kay Sidahmed, Founder of The Alexandria Kinderchoir

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to keep The Alexandria Kinderchoir going strong! Donate here!

We think our new video is proof that The Alexandria Kinderchoir is nurturing the joy of singing in both our children and our community. We invite you to support our mission!

Currently, tuition covers only 60% of The Alexandria Kinderchoir’s operating budget, with private donations and grants filling in the rest. The Kinderchoir was founded on the belief that every child can sing. Our commitment to keeping tuition costs low helps to encourage the diversity which makes a community choir like ours so vibrant.

We invite you to ensure the continued success of The Alexandria Kinderchoir by contributing with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate here.