Indianapolis Children’s Choir’s Virtual Summer Camp: What to Expect

The Indianapolis Children’s Choir (ICC) has made some big changes to their summer plans to bring young Indy singers summer programming, despite restrictions.

Rather than in-person summer camps, ICC is bringing fun and interactive virtual programming to you for the month of July!

 

Here are the Reach! Virtual Music Camp fast facts:

  • When: July 1-31, with the final performance on July 31. Families may register to join no later than July 20. Modules are about 1.5 – 1.75 hours long every day and are self-paced.
  • Where: Your home! Programming is via the Webex platform.
  • Who: Designed for kids entering grades 1-8 in the fall of 2020
  • Cost: $85/child
  • How: Register here.

To get a little more information about how their virtual camps will work and what families should expect, we chatted with Josh Pedde, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir Art Director.

Can you tell me a little more about what the virtual camps will look like for families?

indianapolis children's choirAbsolutely. Safety and health is number one priority for our singers, which is ultimately why our summer camp is online this year. But this is not going to be their normal online camp. It’s very interactive, will get kids moving and will get them outside – not just sitting in front of a screen. We’ve made sure that parents only need to log their kids into the module, and then we take it from there. We want there to be zero pressure on parents or adults to do any teaching. It’s all on us. We’re keeping it very fun, interactive and fast-paced. People will not be disappointed!

There are 97 videos altogether and each module is about an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes long. Then we have a resource area for kids who are enjoying the programming and want to do more. We wanted to make sure to follow recommended screen-time guidelines for kids though, so we didn’t want to make the daily modules too long.

By July 20, there will be some live components, which is why that’s the registration deadline. That week there will be opportunities for live interactions with Indianapolis Children’s Choir directors, so kids can chat with us, tell us about their experience and sing with us live. We’re one of the only children choirs in the country that have the capability to sing together virtually.

Additionally, while they’re moving through the modules, students will find info about registering to virtually audition for the choir. After registering, one of our conductors will reach out to families and set up a virtual audition via our Webex platform. The audition will take about 10 minutes and will also be great opportunity for conductors and families to sit down together and discuss what the next ICC season will look like. We want to make sure everyone is on the same page.

How will the final performance on July 31 work?

Participants will submit videos to us that we will use to create a virtual choir. The performance will be on July 31 on our website, YouTube and Facebook and costs $5 to “attend.” The performance will also air twice on the Saturday and Sunday of the second weekend in August on WGNY, a WISH-TV sister station.

indianapolis children's choir
Josh Pedde, Art Director of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir

Looking ahead, what’s the plan for the next Indianapolis Children’s Choir season?

Well, the safety of our singers is our number one priority, so we’re still working out those details and are planning to release all of that information mid-July. We’ve given our reopening plans to a panel of doctors to review and give us feed back on. It’ll be a hybrid of in-person and online and, just like at all the surrounding school districts, there will always be an online option for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable with the in-person programming yet. When we do meet in-person, we will be following all state and CDC guidelines with social distancing, masks, cleaning of rehearsal rooms, how materials are handed out, all of those things. The doctors who are reviewing our plans are involved with caring for COVID-19 patients in Indy, so they are up-to-date on all the details and protocols. 

Learn more and register here.

indianapolis children's choir

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