In 1997, director Kris Mason and the board of Seattle Children’s Chorus pursued an opportunity to serve the Puget Sound area children’s choir community by hosting a festival for young, newly formed children’s choirs  The Seattle Children’s Chorus hosted the Puget Sound Children’s Choral Festival at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington, in June, 1997, which included a grand performance in the McCurdy Performing Arts Pavilion.

In June of 1998, the Chorus fulfilled one of its long time dreams as they embarked on their first overseas tour to England , performing in London and southern England and participating in a week of concerts and events at the MusicMakers Festival in Bournemouth, England . The Chorus (with choristers ages 10-18) received top honors as Senior Youth Choir of the Year, competing against all-high school groups.

The Chorus attended the Pacific International Children’s Choir Festival in Eugene , Oregon in June, 1999 when 70 choristers participated in conjunction with the Oregon Bach Festival  In the summer of 2000, another significant festival opportunity became reality for both our Performing Chorus and our newly formed Chamber Singers as they participated in the International Choral Kathaumixw in Powell River, British Columbia.

In 2000, the Seattle Children’s Chorus broadened the offerings available to our younger choristers by participating in the first festival for our Intermediate Choristers (now Intermezzo) at Fort Worden in Port Townsend  This first touring experience readied our 10-12 year old choristers for the World of Children’s Choirs Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia in March, 2001.

The Performing Chorus (Arioso) and Chamber Singers (Camerata) toured Sweden and Norway in the summer of 2001, delighting their Scandinavian audiences. They performed in Troldhaugen, the concert hall at the home of Edvard Grieg in Bergen, at the Uppsalla Cathedral near Stockholm and in a number of churches in the surrounding area of southern Sweden.

In the summer of 2002, the Performing Chorus participated in the Pacific International Children’s Choir Festival as a featured choir and performed as part of the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Oregon. The Performing Chorus (now Arioso) participated in the Heritage Children’s Choir Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia in April, 2003.

Camerata was honored to be featured at the Niagara International Music Festival in Ontario, Canada in 2003.  Jonathan Willcocks, guest clinician at the Niagara Festival, complimented Camerata indicating…what a great pleasure it was to spend time with you and work with your fine choir in the recent Niagara Festival. I was full of admiration for how they sang…they sing with such commitment and musicality.  Barbara Clark, artistic director of the Niagara International Music Festival also wrote: Your performances at the Niagara Festival were certainly a highlight for me and I know, for others as well.  The beautiful tone and blend that your singers have in voices so young are just superb.

Seattle Children’s Chorus is becoming recognized in American choral circles as an outstanding vocal arts youth organization. Arioso was honored to be invited to sing for the American Choral Directors Association regional convention in Seattle in the spring of 2000  Camerata has also been invited to perform at the ACDA regional convention in Boise, Idaho in March of 2004.

Recently, Arioso performed for the Chorister’s Guild Directors’ Enrichment Conference in Tacoma , Washington   Duane Roth of the Choristers Guild responded to the performance by saying: Your sense of musicality and wonderful technique inspire us all in the art of singing.

The Chorus toured Eastern Europe in the summer of 2004, making stops in Salzburg, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic; and Krakow and Warsaw, Poland.

Arioso and Camerata will be embarking on a wonderful musical tour to the country of Brazil in July of 2007. An exciting itinerary is being planned with stops in Rio de Janeiro, home of the famous cable car ride up Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer statue; Petropolis, where SCC is honored to participate in the Brazilian National Congress of Children’s Choirs; and the city of Paraty, located on the coast with beautiful Portuguese colonial architecture and cobbled streets.

ACDA National Convention 2005 – The ACDA is one of the largest professional organizations for choral directors in the world, with a membership of over 18,000 directors representing one million singers. Composed of choral musicians from schools, universities, churches, communities and the music industry, the ACDA holds its national convention every two years, with each of the seven ACDA divisions meeting on the off years.

A performance at the ACDA National Convention is the Super Bowl of choral music, and you’re not accepted to sing at the ACDA National Convention unless you’re an outstanding choir. This is an acknowledgment of the hard work invested by the membership and by the conductor.

The American Choral Directors Association presented its biennial National Convention in Los Angeles, February 2-5, 2005. Approximately, 6,000-7,000 choral directors from around the world will be there for this premier choral event. Seattle Childrens Chorus’s Arioso was invited, and did participate in this convention.

Based on a record high number of choirs who auditioned for a convention performance, the record number of interest session proposals submitted for consideration, and the very impressive quality of the applications received, the 2005 National Convention promises to be a truly historical event for the organization. Arioso was among the 100 choirs who were invited to sing at the convention.

Venues for concerts include the recently opened Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, the Wilshire Christian Church, and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Headlining the convention will be performances of Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as performances by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Camerata Tour: Festival of Gold – Camerata has returned from the festival of gold with honors and standing ovations! As Director John Hendrix stated, “In all aspects of this trip, both musical and non-musical, I could not have been more proud to be associated with you. You have represented SCC with great honor. As always, I continue to be impressed by your level of musicianship, strong character, and faithful participation. Your performance received recognition for a reason.” Congratulations Camerata!

Heritage Festivals was established in 1980 by a group of music educators and educational tour professionals who believed that bands, choirs, and orchestras deserved new performing opportunities. Thus began a 27-year partnership with music educators that continues to grow in strength and responsiveness. Today that tradition of excellence remains unmatched. Heritage Festivals strives to promote excellence among choirs, bands, and orchestras by providing the best opportunity for learning through seeing, experiencing, and interacting with other student performers and top music professionals. Committed to offering the ultimate music festival experience with adjudicated, national performance opportunities, Heritage Festivals is a “partner in music education.” For more information http://www.worldstrides.com/heritagefest/pages/Difference.asp