Why Ragazzi Matters!

Ragazzi has auditions January 8. Phone 650-342-8785 to schedule an appointment. See the following for the reminders as to why this is such a good thing for boys!

 

Why Ragazzi Matters

 

Ragazzi is all about music education

·         Ragazzi has more than 20 years experience taking untrained boys from all walks of life and leading them to be good singers, good musicians, good students and good citizens. We admit all boys with promise, without regard to ability to pay – our scholarship program is essential.

·         Ragazzi is a complete program – vocal training, ensemble singing, music theory, movement and showmanship.

·         Choral singing trains children’s brains to truly multitask – they have to sing the right words and pitches, in the right rhythm and tempo, all while watching the conductor for cues and listening to their neighbors for blend.

·         Parents of singers report their children have good memory, good homework habits, and high levels of creativity.  Children who sing in choruses get significantly better grades.

·         Parents also report their children are better team players and have more advanced social skills.

·         An overwhelming majority of these parents date improvements in these areas to when their child joined a chorus, and also say their child’s ability to manage his/her emotions and read the emotions of others improved after they became choral singers.

·         Educators agree that singing in a chorus can help improve overall academic performance, help instill self-discipline and punctuality, and more.

(Source: http://www.chorusamerica.org/documents/Impact09/ImpactStudy09_ExecSum.pdf)

 

Ragazzi is all about boys

·         The artistry that boy singers are capable of is truly astonishing. As young musicians, they don’t have the experience of adults, and yet they are fully capable of skilled, nuanced, and deeply moving performances.

·         Boys’ voices are unique – there is no vocal sound quite like that of an accomplished boy soprano.  Before a boy’s voice changes to tenor, baritone or bass, the quality of his voice becomes increasingly different from a girl’s.  As boys mature, but before the voice fully drops, a rich tone develops that is unique to boys.  This period of high vocal range and unique color is one reason why so many vocal traditions throughout the world embrace boy choruses and soloists.

·         In a boys chorus, where they are with their peers, boys will work and compete toward the same goals.  Gender issues transform themselves from liabilities to strengths.

·         Ragazzi is a safe place for boys to explore their capacity for Art.

 

Ragazzi is all about performance

·         Ragazzi rocks! And folks, and jazzes, and pops, and... Our repertoire covers all of Western music, from medieval plainchant and Baroque fugues to the Beach Boys and Queen.  But we don’t ignore other traditions—we also sing music from all over the world, in the original languages.  Boys go home singing in Japanese, French, Yiddish, Latin, or all of the above!

·         In addition to its own concerts and recitals, Ragazzi frequently performs with other top- notch Bay Area groups, including the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, Peninsula Symphony, Masterworks Chorale, and Stanford University Symphonic Chorus.

·         Ragazzi tours internationally.  Past destinations include Australia and New Zealand, Quebec and British Columbia, Spain and Portugal, the British Isles, Russia, Eastern Europe, Italy, and Japan. The chorus has also toured domestically to Minnesota, Oregon, Montana, and Arizona.  Next up?  Cuba, 2011!!!

·         Ragazzi’s internationally respected co-founder, Joyce Keil, leads our experienced and capable faculty. All of our directors have years of experience as singers, conductors and educators.  Even our newest faculty member, who got his start in formal music as a Ragazzi boy, has years of choral leadership experience!

·         Ragazzi’s summer camp, for its upper chorus levels, is a fabulous experience for the boys. They spend ten days at a lovely campus in the hills above the Napa Valley, learning new repertoire and dance routines, advancing in the theory program, and cementing friendships and enjoying outdoor activities.

 

Ragazzi is all about outcomes

·         Ragazzi offers our boys the chance to learn the art of singing in a supportive environment where they can hone performance skills, experience the joy of creating music and learn firsthand the value of leadership, teamwork, commitment, and
self-discipline.

·         Ragazzi gives our boys a golden opportunity to find success.  And from that success, a genuine sense of self-esteem; all the more resilient and valuable because it’s earned... the old-fashioned way.

·         Our boys and grads find commonality and community anywhere and everywhere the universal language of music and singing is “spoken.”

 

Written by David Jones, Executive Director of Ragazzi Boys Chorus

 

 

 

Joyce Keil, Artistic Director

Ragazzi Boys Chorus