Celebrate Singing Choral Festival

The Celebrate Singing Choral Festival (CSCF) was created by the Ames Children’s Choirs (ACC) program in 2008.  The host choir is ACC's Chorale. Throughout the years, CSCF has provided the opportunity for school and community choirs to hear and perform with other choirs. This festival developed as an outgrowth of the ACC sponsored Midwest Children’s Choir Festival (MCCF), which includes select singers from children’s choirs throughout the state of Iowa. Music teachers who have participated in MCCF expressed an interest in having an opportunity for their entire choir to participate in a festival experience.

2018

Date: Friday, March 23, 2018, 7:30 pm
Venue:  Gilbert High School, 312 Gretten Street, Gilbert, IA
Host:   Ames Children’s Choirs – Chorale
Mass choir conductor:  Chris Johnson, music director of Roland-Story and Gilbert Middle Schools.
Participating choirs include:

  • Ballard East Elementary School Choir, Cambridge
  • Ballard 6thGrade Choir, Huxley
  • Chorale ~ Ames Children’s Choirs, Ames
  • Gilbert Intermediate School Choir, Gilbert
  • Gilbert 6thGrade Choir, Gilbert
  • Nevada Middle School Choir, Nevada
2016

Date: Friday, April 15, 2016, 7:00 pm
Venue: Ballard High School,
701 Ballard Ave., Huxley, IA
Host: Ames Children’s Choirs – Chorale
Mass choir conductor:  Mindy Phomvisay, music director of Ames Children’s Choirs.
Participating choirs include:

  • Ballard East Elementary School Choir, Cambridge
  • Ballard 6th Grade Choir, Huxley
  • Nevada Middle School Choir, Nevada
  • North Scott Elementary School Choir, Eldridge area
  • United Community School Choir, Boone
2014

Date: Friday, April 25, 2014,  7:00 pm
Venue:  Ballard High School
Host:   Ames Children’s Choirs  – Chorale
Featured conductor:  Michelle Swanson, music director of UNI Children’s Choirs.

Participating choirs include:

  • Ballard East Elementary School Choirs, Huxley
  • Fellows Elementary School Chorus, Ames
  • Nevada Elementary School Choirs
  • UNI Children’s Choirs
2012

In April, Celebrate Singing Choral Festival was held in the Ballard High School. Four central Iowa choirs and the Heartland Youth Choir participated in the event. Michael Ching, our guest conductor (also an ACC parent) gave a presentation about composers and careers in the music areana. The mass choir closed the evening with a premiere of Ching’s choral work “Hear our Prayer” (from his opera “Slaying the Dragon”.) The Festival participants included:

  • East Elementary Chorus, Cambridge
  • 4th-5th Grade Fellows Chorus, Ames
  • Crestview Elementary Choir, West Des Moines
  • Choral Connection Choir, Huxley
  • Chorale, Ames Children’s Choirs, Ames
  • Heartland Youth Choir, Des Moines
2010

The April 2010 festival premiered a new work “Fight of the Year (Winter vs. Spring)” by Carolyn Jennings. Festival participants were

  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Fellows Elementary School, Ames
  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Sawyer Elementary School, Ames
  • 6th Grade Chorus, Ogden Middle School, Ogden
  • Middle School Chorus, Fair Oaks Middle School, Fort Dodge
  • Chorale, Ames Children’s Choirs
  • University of Northern Iowa Children’s Choir
2008

The inaugural CSCF celebrated the life of Carleen Anderson (1953-2006) who taught general music and 3rd Grade in Ames schools for more than 30 years. The following choirs participated in this festival:

  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Edwards Elementary School, Ames
  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Fellows Elementary School, Ames
  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Meeker Elementary School, Ames
  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Mitchell Elementary School, Ames
  • 4th-5th Grade Chorus, Sawyer Elementary School, Ames
  • Chorale ~ Ames Children’s Choirs
  • Ragazzi Youth Choir ~ Nebraska Children’s Chorus

The festival was held at Ames Middle School. Each choir sang two selections separately and joined together as a mass choir of 270 singers to premiere a new arrangement of “How Can I Keep From Singing?” for two-part chorus and harp by Sylvia Munsen in honor of Carleen.