Lyrebird Young Women’s Choir starts second session

Article and photos by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

On Sunday nights from 7-8:30, a dozen young women grades 9-12 gather at Chanson Voice and Music Academy, 795 Raymond Ave. They’ve been together since last fall, in an ensemble called the Lyrebird Young Women’s Choir.

Under the direction of Anika Kildegaard and Cassandra McNally, the choir has taken flight with a Metropolitan Regional Arts Grant. The intention of the co-directors was to establish a financially accessible choral program for young women, and with the MRAC grant, they’ve been able to do just that.

Photo left: Choir co-directors Anika Kildegaard (left) and Cassandra McNally (right).

Tuition is payable on a sliding scale, ranging from $20-$150 per five-month semester. Any young woman with an interest in singing is welcome to join; neither lack of funds nor lack of experience is an obstacle.

The Lyrebird Young Women’s Choir exists to challenge and encourage young women singers and to celebrate the wealth of talented female composers in Minnesota.

Photo right: Kildegaard directed the Lyrebird Young Women’s Choir on a Sunday night rehearsal. She said, “Singing with a group creates a beauty unlike anything else.”

In its first semester, four significant Minnesota women composers were able to work with the choir. Kildegaard met Libby Larson, one of Minnesota’s pre-eminent composers, at a music festival. “I took a chance and asked Libby, and she was very excited to get involved with Lyrebird,” Kildegaard said.

Other notable composers who worked with the ensemble were Jocelyn Hagen, Catherine Dalton, Elizabeth Alexander and Linda Tutas Haugen. “There’s such a bounty of music by Minnesota women,” McNally said, “that we could keep this focus going for years.”

Each composer shared their musical gifts and their personal stories. They came to composing from many backgrounds—but all shared one common element. “Each felt the continual pull to write music; a pull that just wouldn’t let go,” Mcnally said.

Singing with a group is a very different experience than singing alone. Each voice contributes to something greater than itself, and the chorus would be slightly less without the contribution of each singer. One of the best things about singing in a choir is being part of a community. Singers learn to be team members, to work well with others both on and off the singing stage.

“We’ve been amazed by how quickly the young women have formed a sense of community,” Kildegaard said. “You can see it when a new student joins. The others are warm and welcoming, and when they sing, there’s a real strength in being surrounded by other young women’s voices.”

The co-directors met as instructors at Chanson Voice and Music Academy.

Kildegaard graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in vocal performance. She has sung locally with Vocal Essence, the Minnesota Chorale and Magpies and Ravens, an ensemble composed of half professional and half high school singers.

McNally earned both her B.S. and M.A. in vocal performance from the University of Iowa. She has sung locally with the Minnesota Opera, the Mill City Opera and Mixed Precipitation, a troupe that brings opera, food and outdoor fun to parks and gardens throughout Minnesota in the summer months.

Photo left: Students practice technical warm-ups to learn to use their voices skillfully.

The Lyrebird Young Women’s Choir will be working toward a May 21 performance at the Danish American Center this semester. There are still openings for aspiring young women singers. To schedule a visit or to get more information, call 612-630-1599.

Also, there is a Lyrebird Youth Choir for girls, grades 6-8, that meets on Sunday afternoons at Chanson from 5-6:30. There is no sliding scale for tuition for this choir.