A Center for Singing

"I consider myself an experienced choir/chorus singer. From 4th grade on through high school, plus a year of college, I was in choir. I loved to sing and I loved chorus, and I had wonderful, memorable experiences throughout all of those years. Nothing, however, compares to singing under the direction of Christiana. Without piano, without notation, we were made to just listen, and do. By any experienced ears, we probably sounded inexperienced and off-key. My personal experience was spiritual and moving. I have never felt that way singing "Swing Lo', Sweet Chariot." When Christiana told us that "In the Winter" was Mozart, it suddenly made total sense - the difficult intervals, the sudden changes from long, monotone notes to swiftly moving up and down the scale. That most difficult piece instantly became my favorite. Since those nine glorious singing sessions, those pieces she taught us, with both humor and a demand for excellence, have been stuck in my head... And I am constantly considering how I can apply what I learned to working with my third graders. The big "aha" is that one can do great things with the human voice alone. Yes, using percussion instruments, even just rhythm sticks, is joyous fun, but an enthusiastic teacher with 27 or so students can be amazing with just voices as instruments."

Student from the Public School Institute Program at Rudolf Steiner College