Voices Rising : Children’s Choir Tries to Fill a Gap in Music Education

Music teachers Diane Simons and Jane Hardester have seen a generation of children who don’t know how to sing. They don’t even know songs like “Hot Cross Buns.” And the veteran musicians are concerned that this is just the beginning.

They worry that the students may graduate from high school without learning about Beethoven and Bach; that they will grow up to be adults who don’t understand the importance of the arts because they were never exposed to such music, and that a generation that never learned to sing in school will never appreciate musical classics.

As a result, the longtime choir directors joined forces to create the first regional choir in the South Bay, which was organized last month. They are astounded that 70 students already have signed up for their South Bay Children’s Choir, and by how eagerly the students want to learn singing.

“Music has been missing from the schools for too long,” Hardester said. “There is a nation of children who are afraid to sing and we wanted to start a choir that would give these kids an outlet.”

Music programs started disappearing from public schools shortly after Proposition 13 was passed in 1978. The initiative that slashed property taxes and thinned government spending across the board left less money for music.

As the slow economy during the early 1990s led to further budget cuts, the arts continued to get the ax.

But according to the American Chorale Directors Assn. in Laughton, Okla., children’s choirs are starting to spring up to combat the cuts. Debbie Mello, national chairwoman for repertoire and standards of children’s choirs, said there are about 7,000 children’s choirs nationwide, and the number is increasing.

“We’re seeing a rise in the number of children’s choirs that are being started because there is a great need for them,” Mello said. “Music isn’t being provided in the schools, especially at the elementary level, and these programs have become very vital.”

Simons, a music teacher at Center Street School in El Segundo, helped form the South Bay Children’s Choir because she realized that while elementary schoolchildren in her district received music education, students in middle schools don’t get music instruction. She also noticed that her school is one of few in the area that still offers music at all.

Over the summer, Simons sent a letter to parents telling them about the choir, which meets on Saturdays in the El Camino College Music Building.

Cinnamon and Robby Fleener, whose daughter Kassandra had Simons as a music teacher in elementary school, signed up their daughter for the chorus; she is in middle school now and has no other musical outlet.

“We want our daughter to have music but there is nothing available to her in the schools,” Robby Fleener said. “This seemed like the perfect way to go.”

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Hardester, a longtime music instructor and choir director at El Camino, has long wanted to start a children’s choir and received the backing of the college to do so. The college is providing the space for the choir and is paying Hardester’s salary.

In addition, the college has arranged for the choir to be set up like a class. Children in the choir, who range in age from 7 to 13, are enrolled in the college and will receive credit for their participation.

Although El Camino has waived the general tuition fee for the choir students, Hardester and Simons are asking participants for a $175 tax deductible donation for the school year to pay for music costs, administrative fees and Simons’ salary. The cost breaks down to $5 per Saturday for the year, and the teachers are willing to work out an arrangement or provide scholarships to students who can’t afford it.

“We don’t want money to be the reason why someone can’t come to sing,” Hardester said.

Although they have just started, Hardester and Simons have big plans for their choir. They want to create two music ensembles, one advanced and one for beginners, which will give several performances.

The college has asked them to perform in an upcoming play that needs a children’s choir, and a local theater company that is putting on “The Nutcracker” has asked the choir to do some pre-show Christmas caroling.

Hardester works with the advanced group, while Simons works with the beginners, teaching them to read music.

They are teaching childhood classics and some more advanced songs. The first performance is scheduled for Dec. 15.

“It’s amazing what this choir will be able to do once it gets going,” said Hardester, whose dream is to create a great performance choir like the Vienna Boys Choir.

“Everyone loves children’s choirs, and we want to make this one great.”

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The Beat

Today’s centerpiece focuses on the South Bay Children’s Choir, a musical troupe recently created to give children a chance to learn choral singing. For more information on the choir or upcoming concerts, call (310) 515-5326.