On December 13, 14, and 15, over 115 high school students joined the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus for an expanded "Holiday Edition" of our High School Affiliates program. Students from Oakfield Alabama, West Seneca West, and Barker Central learned all of the music for the concert, got to work with Erin Freeman (Music Director of the BPC) and JoAnn Falletta (Music Director of the BPO), and performed for thousands. To read more about our High School Affliliates program, visit our website.
Here are some thoughts from Oakfield Alabama:
From Danielle Rodgers, Director of the Oakfield Alabama Swing Choir.
Reaching our youth is one of the most important things we can do as musicians. They are and will be our future-our future members, our future audiences, our future donors, and our future voices in the community. What we do to serve them plants the seeds that keep our garden of music growing and thriving. It also teaches them about humanity. In this day and age of cell phones, iPads, video games, and countless other distractions, young students have so little time saved away in their day for true human interaction. Making ensemble music is an important lesson for them, as well as for our audiences. We are a testament to the positive and exciting things people can do with a shared goal and purpose. We share the true beauty of human nature every time we meet, and that makes a huge impression on young minds. I want to share a few thoughts my students wrote down when asked what this experience meant to them.
To the members of the BPC: Thank you for showing your grace and humanity to my students. Your efforts were well worth it and well spent. We may never directly see how our efforts affect individuals in the future, but I can tell you from experience that they will.
From the students:
“Singing with a full choir and orchestra takes my breath away and gives me chills!”-Andreah
“It was an unbelievable honor to sing with such a dedicated and prestigious group, yet everyone made us immediately feel welcome. I’ll never forget the nights I spent singing my heart out with all these wonderful people.” –Amber
“The music was so cheery, the people were so nice and helpful, the conductor was so supportive, and the experience was so fun and rewarding.” –Sean
“ I am so glad I got to be a part of something so exciting! I know how different it must have been to handle a bunch of high schoolers and I appreciate that the choir dealt with us so nicely and supportively.” –Alyssa
“Thank you for allowing our swing choir the amazing opportunity to sing with such a talented group. We all learned so much in just one short week. I greatly appreciated the warm welcome we received!” –Danielle
“I have a lot more confidence in my abilities as a singer after performing with the BPC. I feel extremely privileged to have been given the opportunity to sing with a professional choir.” –Iris
Here are some thoughts from Oakfield Alabama:
From Danielle Rodgers, Director of the Oakfield Alabama Swing Choir.
Reaching our youth is one of the most important things we can do as musicians. They are and will be our future-our future members, our future audiences, our future donors, and our future voices in the community. What we do to serve them plants the seeds that keep our garden of music growing and thriving. It also teaches them about humanity. In this day and age of cell phones, iPads, video games, and countless other distractions, young students have so little time saved away in their day for true human interaction. Making ensemble music is an important lesson for them, as well as for our audiences. We are a testament to the positive and exciting things people can do with a shared goal and purpose. We share the true beauty of human nature every time we meet, and that makes a huge impression on young minds. I want to share a few thoughts my students wrote down when asked what this experience meant to them.
To the members of the BPC: Thank you for showing your grace and humanity to my students. Your efforts were well worth it and well spent. We may never directly see how our efforts affect individuals in the future, but I can tell you from experience that they will.
From the students:
“Singing with a full choir and orchestra takes my breath away and gives me chills!”-Andreah
“It was an unbelievable honor to sing with such a dedicated and prestigious group, yet everyone made us immediately feel welcome. I’ll never forget the nights I spent singing my heart out with all these wonderful people.” –Amber
“The music was so cheery, the people were so nice and helpful, the conductor was so supportive, and the experience was so fun and rewarding.” –Sean
“ I am so glad I got to be a part of something so exciting! I know how different it must have been to handle a bunch of high schoolers and I appreciate that the choir dealt with us so nicely and supportively.” –Alyssa
“Thank you for allowing our swing choir the amazing opportunity to sing with such a talented group. We all learned so much in just one short week. I greatly appreciated the warm welcome we received!” –Danielle
“I have a lot more confidence in my abilities as a singer after performing with the BPC. I feel extremely privileged to have been given the opportunity to sing with a professional choir.” –Iris