By Kami Nguyen
Town Crier Editorial Intern
Schola Cantorum, a choral group of 135 singers from all over the Bay Area, will be holding its last performance of the season at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center 3 p.m., Sunday.
The group will perform Verdi’s “Requiem” as a joint concert with the Redwood Symphony.
Franca Gargiulo, executive director of the Schola Cantorum, said although the performing season will be over for the choir, there will still be singing and music programs for the community.
KidsSings 2000, a program designed for children, is free and will be held from July 11 to Aug. 15, Gargiulo said.
The classes are scheduled for 5:30-6:20 p.m., Thursdays for children 5 to 6 and 6:30-7:30 p.m. for those 7 to 9.
“The program is only two years old,” she said. “We wanted to bring singing into schools, get them interested and teach them about music.”
The program will meet in Sunnyvale at the Congregational Community Church in Room 2, next to the preschool building.
Adults have a chance to enroll in a music course called Summer Sings 2000.
Gargiulo said the class will cost $6 and will be held at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts 7:30 p.m. Mondays from July 15 to Aug. 19.
Another class, Musicianship for Singers, will teach music theory for beginners and intermediate singers.
Beginner classes will be held 7:15-9:30 p.m., Tuesdays from July 2 to Aug.6, while intermediate classes will be held 7:15-9:30 p.m., Wednesdays, from July 3 to Aug. 7.
Registration is required and can be done at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View.
Gargiulo said potential members of Schola Cantorum would have to audition.
Auditions are planned 5-7 p.m., July 14; 7-9 p.m., Aug.14; and noon to 2 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Braun Music Center on the Stanford University campus, Room 233.
Those who plan to audition are required to schedule an appointment with Schola’s music director, Gregory Waits.
For 30 years, Carol Brink and her husband have been singing in the group. The couple goes to weekly rehearsals at the Los Altos United Methodist Church.
Brink said she also serves as a volunteer librarian for the choir’s music.
She is in charge of keeping track of 30 years worth of music at a library in Mountain View. “I sort, file and categorize the music so they can be available for easy access.”
Her duties include preparing music packets for upcoming concerts. She said most concerts have at least nine different music pieces to sort and put together. With 130 members in the choir, the task could be overwhelming at times and she is glad to have volunteers and a small office staff to help her.
The couple began performing with Schola after moving to California because they shared the love of singing.
Members also need to use personal time to work on the music pieces between rehearsals to be able to know it well enough to perform, she said.
“I enjoy singing in a choir, and we were singing really good music,” she said. “(Monday rehearsals) were our night out. We wouldn’t go to the movies or anything like that. We paid for a baby sitter and went to sing for Schola.”
For more information, call Schola Cantorum at 254-1700 or e-mail info@scholacantorum.org.
