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Date: 10/5/2022
SPRINGFIELD – Under the guidance of new Director of Children’s Chorus Laurie Ellington, the Community Music School of Springfield continues to offer a vision for developing young voices across the community.
Ellington is a vocalist, conductor and music educator who has amassed 15 years of educator experience across all ages. She also boasts over 20 years of experience in her singing career across a variety of bands, musical theater performances, a cappella groups and classical choirs.
Ellington views her new position at the Community Music School of Springfield as a meaningful way to reinforce the impact of the music school’s children’s chorus.
“There’s something that’s absolutely magic about singing in an ensemble that you can’t really get when you’re signing as a soloist … I look at this as the perfect opportunity to relaunch the children’s chorus,” said Ellington.
Ellington grew up surrounded by music with her mother working as a choral director. Soon after graduating from Harvard in biological anthropology, Ellington pursued a professional career. She experienced a plethora of musical outlets as she worked in Germany across 13 years.
“I don’t remember ever not loving music,” said Ellington. She also earned a Master’s in Music Education from Boston Conservatory.
Ellington said her experience embracing chorus music originated from a cathartic moment at her mother’s funeral. During the procession, roughly 200 attendees stood up and sang as former members of her mother’s chorus.
“She touched so many people’s lives and was so beloved of so many people … It changed my life because I said that’s what I want to do, that’s the kind of impact I want to have,” said Ellington.
Since that experience, Ellington began teaching choruses of all ages in 2006. Along with the children’s chorus, Ellington also teaches older adults through the Community Music School’s Joyful Voices chorus.
The Community Music School of Springfield originated in 1983 and works with 2,000 youths on a weekly basis. Executive Director Eileen McCaffery shared that school accomplishes its music education through different outlets. The Sonido Musica and Adaptive Music programs operate as a part of partnerships with Springfield Public Schools. The music school also includes a preschool of the arts –which is the only arts-integrated preschool in Western Massachusetts – and a variety of other programs at their 127 State St. location.
Amidst all the programing, McCaffery shared that chorus education remains a staple of the school’s educational efforts.
“Chorus and vocal music has always been in the DNA of the music school, so it’s had over 40 years of beautiful variations and interpretations of what that looked like,” said McCaffery.
The school merged its chorus program with the Children’s Chorus of Springfield in 2017. One of the children’s chorus founders, Vera Baker, now serves on the board of the Community Music School. McCaffery said the partnership has been essential in forming the presence of chorus music in the community before and in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Together, we have been forging a path forward for having choral music live in Springfield, and after the pandemic, the reimaging phase of what coral music can do to lift up the community,” said McCaffery.
McCaffery and Ellington stressed that the children’s chorus meets all students where they are at in their vocal training. The school’s vocal education places an emphasis on understanding students’ vocal capabilities and teaching in a way that embraces their diverse talents. McCaffery expressed that the chorus group benefits participants with a renewed sense of community and positive reinforcement.
“Not everyone thinks they can sign like Beyonce, but they do find when they sing with other humans, something beautifully transformative happens,” said McCaffery.
The Community Music School of Springfield breaks down their children’s chorus groups by three age tiers. The Willows Street Chorus focuses on children aged 6 through 9 the Neighborhood Chorus includes children aged 9 through 13 and the City Chorus focuses on children from 13 to their graduation.
“The vision of this program is we can take a child starting at five or six and they can sing all the way through eighteen,” said Ellington.
McCaffery shared that each age tier represents a continuum of growth for participating students.
“It’s a continuum, but what’s also embedded in that is those community roots that keep growing,” said McCaffery.
For the choruses upcoming programing, Ellington revealed that the school will have multiple collaborations with the Connecticut-based choir Chorus Angelicus in the spring. She aspires for collaborative efforts and other programming to help reinforce the importance of the children’s chorus.
“It’s a very important safe space where kids can be validated,” said Ellington.
Readers can learn more about the Community Music School of Springfield at https://www.communitymusicschool.com/.