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Summer Family Dinner

We are a collective of like-minded individuals who embrace and promote singing

not as only a learned skill

but also as a human behaviour, independent of formal instruction.

About

What is community singing?

Instructed singing cultivates in students a vocal technique and ear that allow musical precision, maximal resonance, and freedom of expression. This also comprises formal choral singing, to the extent that a director chooses repertoire, leads the chorus, and emphasizes a polished performance.

Community singing is informal, often spontaneous, group singing where participants learn by ear, receiving minimal, if any, guidance on “how to sing.”

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What are examples of community singing?
 

  • Singing a lullaby to an infant or child

  • A camp sing-along

  • Joining in singing a favourite song, or seasonal songs, at a family or social gathering

  • Late-night singing at a pub or party with friends

  • Sports fans singing team songs in an arena

  • Audience participation during songs performed at public events, including concerts, protests, and rallies

  • Sing-along breaks during the school day, whether in the classroom, at an assembly, or during recess

  • Community programs where participants informally share, learn, and sing songs together 

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Why is community singing important?
 

In North America, most acts of singing take place in the context of instructed singing.

 

In schools, music educators teach to nationally or provincially developed standards. As children make their way through school, barring other family, faith-based, or community-centered music participation, they begin to learn that singing is about creating a polished performance from exactly notated parts, led by a director who offers constructive feedback on how to sing.

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They also listen to songs performed only by professional artists, coached and digitally perfected to exacting standards. These songs are composed and recorded as showpieces for the artists who sing them, with extended ranges, advanced technique, and vocal embellishments. By contrast, songs well suited to community singing feature a modest vocal range, moderate tempo, steady rhythms, and lyrical, repeated melodies that stand on their own without elaborate accompaniment.

 

Community singing welcomes everyone as they are and encourages maximum participation by building a collection of familiar, well-known, singable tunes. Songs are typically learned by ear through repetition. Singing them creates a shared bond among those who know these songs and can join in singing them together, throughout their lives.

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By encouraging community singing, people of all ages learn by osmosis that singing is something everyone does. 

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What do we do?
 

We reduce the barriers to community singing by, first, singing with others in public and in private. We sing, share, and teach one another songs that are culturally and personally relevant to those we invite to join in, and that can be meaningfully carried through the course of one's life. 

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We work to de-stigmatize singing outside of professional or instructional contexts. We recognize the culture of shame that exists around earnest efforts to sing, whether the raised eyebrow, put down, or outright ridicule on popular television shows. We want people to feel comfortable singing, and we foster welcoming environments for them to do so. 

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In our music and general classrooms, we embrace teaching students in the early grades songs that they could sing as adults, and continue singing those songs in each grade. We teach songs by ear or using simple lyric books, rather than moving to music notation before students have internalized the sounds they sing. We have children sing at every school assembly, and family and community members join in at every school concert—not just the national anthem, but singable tunes that they feel resonate with them. We repeat favourite songs at these events, rather than skipping over them in favour of perpetually unfamiliar repertoire.

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In our voice studios, we encourage learning simple tunes by ear as well as vocal improvisation. Our students sing together informally in studio class by teaching one another songs by ear.

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As teaching artistswe create community engagement opportunities where participants of any age and background feel welcome and safe to raise their voices in song. We celebrate every voice and take joy in hearing people sing together. 

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We understand that singing is something everyone does, and that expressing oneself through song—whether as a lullaby to a child, friends singing together as they walk down the street, or a spontaneous eruption of song in a large crowd of people—is natural, healthy, and part of being human.

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Who are we?
 

We are a growing collective of singers, teachers, and artists, launched by:

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Hannah Pagenkopf

Praised for the “special, silvery beauty and expressiveness” of her singing (Calgary Herald), classical soprano Hannah Pagenkopf has performed extensively in her hometown Calgary and abroad. She has been featured as a soloist and performer by Luminous Voices, Cowtown Opera, Early Music Voices, the Calgary Bach Society, and the Pro Arts Society, among others. She has also appeared as a soloist with several orchestras including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, and baroque chamber orchestra Rosa Barocca. Other highlights include two solo recitals in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and competing in the NATS Artist Awards in New York City, placing 2nd in the finals and winning an additional award for "Singer with the Most Potential".
In addition to her solo performances, Hannah sings with the Christ Church Anglican choir and is the soprano section principal of the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus. She is also passionate about working with senior citizens, performing regularly at seniors residences as well as programs for the Alzheimer Society of Calgary. During Covid-19, Hannah has adapted her work with seniors for the virtual realm, offering interactive performances over Zoom several times a week to a variety of organizations.

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Stephania Romaniuk

Stephania Romaniuk has sung professionally with opera companies, as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles, and in recital in North America and Europe. She has developed innovative curriculum as a Calgary Board of Education Resident Artist and teaching artist for Massachusetts-based “What Is Opera, Anyway?” She recently completed her Master’s in Music Education at the Eastman School of Music where she was awarded the Teaching Assistant Prize for group voice instruction. Stephania is also an award-winning Ukrainian folk and retro singer, and she has led many artistic and educational initiatives in the Ukrainian-Canadian community, where she grew up singing.

Stephania currently works as a teaching artist for Calgary Opera's Community Ambassadors Program, where she leads a cross-cultural singing group for the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association, facilitates mindful music listening sessions for frontline workers, and teaches voice development workshops, among other community-based initiatives. She also writes and conducts research on music education topics.

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events

First CSC Think Tank

Time & Date TBD

Online on Zoom 

Activities will include:​​

  • Participant networking

  • Sharing of special topics related to community singing

  • Guest speakers, round table, and/or facilitated group discussion

  • Group sing

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For more information, please contact us using the form below.

Contact Us
Contact Us

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