Tickets for all of our December concerts are now on sale. Go to girlchoir.org/tickets to place your order.

Subscriptions for our 2011-2012 concert series are also available. Go to girlchoir.org/subscribe to take advantage of all of the great benefits included in your subscription.

Our December performances include:

• Friday, December 9 * at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale featuring our Concert Choir and Chamber Singers ensembles
• Monday, December 12, at Broward Center for the Performing Arts with the Symphony of the Americas
• Thursday, December 15 *, at Broward Center for the Performing Arts with all of our performing ensembles

As you know, Wendy Boucher has resigned as the Executive Director of the Girl Choir due to health concerns. In the year she held the position, she was instrumental in stabilizing our business practices, increasing our fundraising capability, and preparing us for the move into our very own administrative and rehearsal facility. All of us here at the Girl Choir are extremely grateful for her service to the organization.

The Board of Trustees decided to expand the role of Executive Director into several positions, including a Chorus Manager. We created a search committee which interviewed many qualified applicants. I am happy to report that the committee unanimously recommended Altovise Laster for the position of Chorus Manager. She has accepted our offer, and her first day with us is Monday, October 3, 2011.

Ms. Laster holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theater Performance from Florida International University as well as a Master of Science Degree in Special Education from the City College of New York. She has taught classes in acting, dance, humanities, special education, literature, and film.

In her most recent position, she served as Teen Leader Coordinator of Girls Quest in Wyndham, New York – an organization that nurtures girls to help them achieve their full potential and become active members of their communities by building academic and social competence. In that role, she developed a leadership curriculum for teens, coordinated daily activities of program participants, and supervised and evaluated program leaders.

As our Chorus Manager, Ms. Laster is responsible for the administrative aspects of the Girl Choir. She will work closely with the Board of Trustees, the Artistic Director, and all of our staff members and volunteers. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Laster to the Girl Choir family.

Regards,

Tate Garrett, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
The Girl Choir of South Florida

Youngsters’ voices soar in Fort Lauderdale-based Girl Choir of South Florida

By Julie Landry Laviolette, Special Correspondent

February 19, 2011

Long before “Glee” helped make singing cool again, Wallis Peterson was bringing young people together to cultivate their vocal ability. As founder and artistic director for the Girl Choir of South Florida, Peterson has been showcasing and grooming local talent for the past five years.

The nonprofit, Fort Lauderdale-based group has 120 members ages 7 to 18 from throughout South Florida. Auditions are staged each year in January, June and August for the choir, which offers four levels of varying skill and experience.

“We’re looking for young kids who have an interest that could unfold into a passion for singing,” said Peterson, of Oakland Park. “We try to recruit younger kids because if you can match pitch and keep a steady beat when you are 7 years old, you can learn to be a good musician.”

The chorus practices weekly at venues in Davie or Plantation, but Peterson aims to give each child a full musical education. Members learn to read music and study music theory and history. They also learn to teach by mentoring younger members.

“They’re not just getting together as singers. By the time they graduate, they will be able to use their voice as an instrument, just like a pianist or violinist,” Peterson said.

The choir performs at two major concerts a year, at two to three community events a semester, and is part of the concert series for several churches.

The group is classically based but also dabbles in pieces from Japan, Germany, France, Italy and other countries, as well as Broadway show tunes.

“I want the kids to be exposed to as many different types of music and as many different kinds of composers as possible,” Peterson said.

Peterson said it has always typically been easier to recruit girls than boys to sing, but she credits shows such as “Glee” for upping the popularity factor.

“The upside is that it has made singing cool. The unrealistic side is that every kid wants to have great costumes, be in big productions and always have a band hanging around to accompany them,” she said.

Peterson has taught music for 20 years, but it was a stint at South Broward High School, where she resurrected the school’s choir program, that she rediscovered a love for the women’s ensemble.

“I had an affinity for it,” she said. “There is significant good music that you could make with just women’s voices.”

When she taught with the Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir from 1998 through 2006, she discovered a need in the community for a girls’ group.

“Parents would come to auditions and love the idea, and they would say, ‘Where can I bring my daughter to audition?’” Peterson said. “That was the impetus to start the Girl Choir, because there was really nothing serving the county.”

Annual tuition is $400 to $850, depending on the level, and tuition assistance is available. For more information, call 954-553-2809 or visit http://www.girlchoir.org.

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Sunday, December 5, 2010
Signature Grand
Davie, Florida

Program • Photos

The Apprentice Choir performed for the second year in a row for the transplant recipients, donors, volunteers, and staff members of the Transplant Foundation of the University of Miami.

Set List

Saturday, December 4, 2010
John Knox Village Auditorium
Pompano Beach, Florida

Program • Photos • Video: 1 2 3 4 5 6

The Primes Choir and Apprentice Choir provided morning entertainment for the residents of John Knox Village during their monthly Koffee Klatch. Under the direction of Artistic Director Wallis Peterson and Associate Director Gretchen Fasulo, the choirs presented selections from their upcoming winter concert “Timbrel and Harp” as well as inviting the audience to sing along with a collection of holiday favorites.

Set List

Primes Choir

• A Piglet’s Christmas (arr. Mary Goetze)
• Feast of Lights (Fredrick Silver)
• Rockin’ Rollin’ Reindeer’ (Patsy Ford Simms)

Apprentice Choir

• Carol of the Bells (arr. Wilhousky)
• Little David, Play on Your Harp (arr. Ken Berg)
• Yule Be Swingin’ (arr. Mac Huff)

Combined Choir

• Lullaby
• The Bells
• Christmas sing-along

Saturday, December 4, 2010
Saint Nicholas Episcopal Church
Pompano Beach, Florida

Program • Photos • Video: “O Little Town of Hackensack” and “Wassailin’”

The Concert Choir and Chamber Singers presented an expanded program of music from their upcoming Winter Concert “Timbrel and Harp” in the intimate and resonant setting of St. Nicholas Church. The program featured selections from “Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest” as well as the full “Seven Joys of Christmas”.

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Thursday, December 2, 2010
Jaycee Park
Wilton Manors, Florida

Photos

The Primes Choir led by Associate Director Mrs. Gretchen Fasulo helped to kick off the holiday season for the citizens of Wilton Manors during their annual Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration in their beautiful downtown district. Click “Read More” for the set list.

Set List

• A Piglet’s Christmas (arr. Mary Goetze)
• Feast of Lights (Fredrick Silver)
• Rockin’ Rollin’ Reindeer (Patsy Ford Simms)

Sunday, November 21, 2010
First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach (The Pink Church)
Pompano Beach, Florida

Photos

The Concert Choir and Chamber Singers greeted audience members of the Master Chorale of South Florida’s performance of Haydn’s “Creation” with GCSF favorites as well as music on the program of this season’s Winter Concert “Timbrel and Harp”.

Thank you to Joshua Habermann and Mark Glickman of the Master Chorale for inviting us to be part of your event!

• “Salmo 150″ (Psalm 150) by Ernani Aguiar
• “Ubi caritas” (“Where there is love”) by Eleanor Daley
• “Mi Zeh Hidlik” and “Boruch Ate, Zingt der Tate” from Three Chanukah Songs for Treble Choir, arranged by William Zukof and Elliot Levine
• “Elijah Rock”, arranged by Jester Hairston
• “Bonse Aba” (Zambian: “All that sing have the right to be called the children of God”), arranged by Andrew Fischer