No matter what your age or your musical experience, the Concord Community Music School invites you to sing with us this fall. The following choruses are seeking new members: the all-women Songweavers and the Purple Finches children’s chorus (for children in grades K – 8). For those not yet in Kindergarten, a Music & Movement class gives children just finding their voices the opportunity to sing and dance with a parent or caregiver by their side. All choruses and early childhood classes are open to the public. We invite new students to sample our offerings during the first week of classes (before registering) with no obligation. Financial aid is available for all programs.

Songweavers™, founded in 1990 by Carolyn Parrott, its director, is offering Open Sings on Tuesday night, September 15, 7:30-9 pm and Wednesday morning, September 16, 9:30-11 am. These sessions are free and open to women and girls of all ages. Rehearsals during the semester also meet at these times each week, with the two groups coming together for a performance in the spring. Music-reading skills are not a pre-requisite, and singers with young children are welcome to bring them to the Wednesday morning sessions.

Also seeking new members is the Music School’s children’s chorus, the Purple Finches, named in honor of New Hampshire’s state bird. Chorus Director Maria Isaak is a certified specialist in the Kodály approach to choral music and has directed choral and musical theater performances through the Music School’s partnerships with Manchester Housing Authority and the Manchester School District’s 21st Century program. The Purple Finches meet Monday afternoons and perform both at the Music School and off-site a number of times during the year. Last December, the Purple Finches performed with Christine Lavin at the Capitol Center for the Arts, and they are scheduled to perform at Canterbury Shaker Village late this fall.

Sunflower Singers, led by Katy Gibney, brings adults with developmental disabilities and their care providers together from across central New Hampshire to sing familiar songs, accompanied by spontaneous harmonica and percussion playing. This joyful sing-along meets Wednesdays at 12:30 pm at the Music School and is open to all, free of charge, thanks to the generosity of its funders.

Additional opportunities to sing at the Music School include the Teen Chorus and Karitas, a small ensemble designed for women who would like to sing in parts, learn to read music, and improve their vocal techniques and supportive breathing. We also offer private lessons with voice faculty members. Parents, grandparents, caregivers and young children age 6 months - 6 years can sing together in Music & Movement classes. These early childhood classes begin the week of September 21st, and spaces are still available. Call 603-228-1196 or visit www.ccmusicschool.org for more information.