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McGRATHPR.com – South Shore Conservatory’s SSC Community Voices chorus celebrates its 10th anniversary with a concert on Sunday, May 19, 1 pm at Laura’s Center for the Arts at the South Shore YMCA, 97 Mill Street in Hanover.
SSC Community Voices is a non-auditioned chorus that provides joyful ensemble singing and performance opportunities to adults and young adults with developmental delays. The chorus was started in 2009 by SSC Director of Creative Arts Therapies Eve Montague who saw the need for arts opportunities for individuals who had graduated from their educational entitlement and/or were living in the community with limited access to community ensemble singing. Montague, a board certified music therapist, knows the value of making music in a group setting. A sense of belonging, an opportunity to meet new people and develop new friendships, and a chance to participate in a traditional community opportunity are very real when one sings in a chorus. While musical skill development is a natural by-product, the social and well-being aspects of membership in a group such as this one often outweigh the musical benefits.
“It is very difficult for people who learn differently to fully integrate into traditional choruses,” says Montague. “Most community choruses and church choirs are not able to provide the support and accommodation non-traditional learners may require to fully participate.”
SSC Community Voices is a powerful example of what can happen when access and opportunity are created. Many participating singers require significant support in their lives, both at home and at work, and they are most often on the receiving end of services. When they sing in SSC Community Voices, they are in a position of ‘giving’ to their family, friends, and community. Their gift of song, and the confidence of performing with and for others, carry benefits across their lives. Increased self-esteem, sharing, friendships, an outlet for relaxation and leisure, and increased health benefits are only some of the advantages these singers gain as participants.
SSC Community Voices began with a small group of 12 singers, and over ten years has grown to 80 singers in two choruses. At the May 19 celebration, five singers who have been with the group since the beginning, will be recognized. The choruses maintain a 75% retention rate, and those with five or more years of participation will also be recognized. SSC Community Voices ten-year anniversary video will be shown at the event, and all audience members are invited for celebratory cake following the performance.
South Shore Conservatory (SSC) is grateful to the Cordelia Family Foundation for underwriting its SSC Community Voices program, which includes a sister chorus, SSC Community Voices Too!, at its Hingham campus. This generous gift allows SSC to offer this special chorus for a nominal amount per semester, removing the financial barrier of entry and making it accessible for all.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information on SSC Community Voices or South Shore Conservatory Creative Arts Therapies programs, please contact Eve Montague, Director of Creative Arts Therapies at 781-934-2731 ext. 20, email e.montague@sscmusic.org, or visit www.sscmusic.org.
South Shore Conservatory
South Shore Conservatory, (SSC) has been providing access to and enriching the lives of South Shore residents through music and the arts for almost 50 years. Recognized as a national model for arts education by the National Guild for Community Arts Education, SSC is the largest, not-for-profit, community school for the arts in Massachusetts, serving over 4500 students of all ages and abilities at two beautiful campuses and in partnership with schools, and social service and community agencies throughout the South Shore. A third campus in Hanover is scheduled to open to the public for classes and programs in the summer of 2020.
Students participate in more than 50 diverse programs in music, dance and drama, with performance playing an important role in overall education. With more than 100 exceptional musicians on faculty, SSC offers over 200 professionally produced concerts annually. Through innovative partnerships, SSC’s Creative Arts Therapies department supports the mental, emotional, and physical health of some of our community’s underserved members, and the ImagineARTS program strengthens pre-reading skills for young learners in Brockton Schools through integrated music and dramatic play.
SSC’s campuses are located at One Conservatory Drive, Hingham, (781-749-7565) and 64 St. George Street, Duxbury (781-934-2731), and administrative offices at 135 Webster Street, Hanover, (781-421-6162). SSC programs are supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information, call us or visitsscmusic.org.
In keeping with SSC’s inclusive mission to provide access to quality education in the arts for all, the Conservatory offers programs for all segments of the population to enjoy, regardless of age, ability, geography, and financial means. Furthermore, South Shore Conservatory admits students and families of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school.
