September 12, 2001
Children face the music at choir tryouts
Third through ninth graders audition for spot in one of five musical choirs
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
It was the humming that got her there.
Eliza Foster, 9, likes to hum and people noticed. Complete strangers noticed, one lady in a grocery store and a man while painting her house. They commented, saying that she should be singing, she had a beautiful voice, perfect pitch.
So, Wednesday evening found Foster and her mother, Cymbre, waiting together on a couch outside the music room at the Fine Arts Building at Northwestern Michigan College. The prospective singer was about to have her first audition, this time for the Northwest Michigan Children's Choir.
Subdued, with just experience singing in school behind her, Foster was ready to face the music.
"I like singing a lot," said Foster, a fourth-grade student at the Montessori Children's House, who emerged from the audition with a place in the Intermediate Choir.
In all, a dozen hopeful singers auditioned that night, most earning a place in one of five choirs.
Heaven Firestone, 9, was another auditionee, though she said she was not nervous before her audition. Firestone loves to sing and does so at least twice a week at school at the Living God Christian School. Last year, she was in the Northwest Michigan Children's Treble choir, the first choir. This year, she was pleased to move up to the Intermediate Choir.
"I was nervous on the way over but I just started singing and got over it," said Firestone, a fourth-grade student. "I sing a lot, even when I'm playing with my friends."
One at a time, the students were summoned into the music room at the Fine Arts building at Northwestern Michigan College, where the choirs directors awaited: Dave and Mary Parrish, Mark and Barb Puchala and Stephanie Schall-Brazee.
Some voices were beautifully pure, others wavered nervously, struggling for the high notes, as each sang "American the Beautiful" while five adults listened, encouraged and evaluated.
Despite the potentially intimidating situation, they worked to put the students at ease. Barb Puchala accompanied on the piano while Mark eased the student through the song plus a few additional exercises. After the student left, a brief discussion, ensued.
"There are lots of ways to determine where a student should be placed," said Mark Puchala, a music instructor and the director of the music department at Northwestern Michigan College. "If it is a borderline situation, just how much a student can adapt tells us how successful they can be with training. What we're looking for is that spark, we don't turn away many students."
Founded by Mark Puchala 11 years ago, the Northwest Michigan Children's Choir is geared to students in third through ninth grade. Based at NMC, the Children's Choir is open to singers in the five-county area.
The choir's mission is to promote singing and provide another venue besides the schools for children to sing. The Puchalas saw that so few schools in the five counties around Traverse City had choirs for their students.
The idea caught on and last year they had 224 students in four choirs. This year they added another choir to meet the demand and hope to have 250 students participate.
"Traverse City has a wonderful, wonderful choral program, but our choir is intended to be much broader audience by design," Puchala said. "There might be some students who can't sing because they are taking another class or playing in a sport. This gives them the opportunity to sing."
Winning a place in one of the five choirs is just the beginning of a wild ride, musically. The choir directors require that their members attend weekly rehearsals and participate in concerts, such as the Home for the Holidays concert scheduled with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra later this year.
"Our choir is not for all kids, it's real discipline and hard work," Puchala said. "But the children learn cooperation, flexibility, teamwork, artistry and musical excellence. Music becomes a meaningful anchor for some students in high school."
Students in grades three through nine are still welcome to audition on an individual basis for the Northwest Michigan Children's Choir. Parents of third and fourth-grade students can call Dave and Mary Parrish at 946-6615; auditions for older students can be arranged by calling Mark Puchala at 995-1338.