The Bel Canto Youth Chorus offers workshops

The Bel Canto Youth Chorus is offering workshops for students aged 13 to 18 led by Larry Lipkis of Moravian University.

Workshop 1: Composing for Choirs (limited to 10 students)

Part A: students will embark on a creative journey, composing short pieces that will be performed by the Youth Chorale at their spring concert on April

21. These compositions will be centered around themes of spring, the natural world, and more.

Part B: students will continue their musical exploration by composing short pieces for the Concert Choir. These pieces will be featured in the choir’s winter concert in December 2024 and possibly at the Bach Choir Christmas Concert, capturing the essence of wintertime and the holiday season.

Workshop 2: Food of Love: Songs from Shakespeare’s Plays

In this workshop, students will delve into the world of Shakespearean music. They will sing choral arrangements of songs from Shakespeare’s plays, originally composed by his contemporaries. To gain a deeper appreciation of the context, students will also engage in reading and acting out the lines preceding the songs. This immersive experience will include props and costumes, such as a smoking cauldron and witches’ hats for the Macbeth-themed songs. Select compositions from this workshop will be performed at the Youth Chorale’s Spring concert on April 21 and on various dates during the “On the Green” show at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in the summer.

Tuition for each workshop is $125. Scholarships are available for both workshop sessions.

For more information about the workshops, including schedules and registration details at forms. gle/zFe2eMRmmVeThEDHA. Info: Leah Kun, choir manager, at leah@bach.org.