Youth Performers Get Involved

The NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet offers a unique and unforgettable experience for both the audience and young musicians and vocalists. The Musical Wunderkind Strings program features talented young string musicians who accompany the Principal Ballerina in Saint Saens’ “Dying Swan” before the NUTCRACKER! performance. Meanwhile, the Musical Wunderkind Choirs program provides an opportunity for local student choirs to perform alongside the ballet company in the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” scene. These community engagement programs are part of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet’s educational mission to provide arts enrichment for local communities.

Want to participate? Email [email protected]

MUSICAL WUNDERINKIND STRINGS

Youth string performers have the opportunity to play the main stage in your city with NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet Prima Ballerinas. Pre-show, top performing young musicians are invited to play Saint Saens famous “Dying Swan”, accompanied by the Principal Artist performing that evening.

“NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet’s “Musical Wunderkind” was…exquisite [violinist] Champney expertly conveyed all of the complexities in the beauty of life and death that the piece ‘Dying Swan” illustrates, while ballerina Bortiakova danced in sync with fluid perfection to each note.”

DC Metro and Theatre Arts, Bethesda Saint Saens famous 3 minute “Dying Swan” was inspired by swans that legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova saw in public parks just months after becoming a ballerina at Saint Petersburg’s Imperial Mariinsky Opera/Ballet Theatre. Choreographer Michel Fokine, who choreographed the work exclusively at Anna’s request, remarked in Dance Magazine (August 1931), “It was almost an improvisation… she danced and I walked alongside her, curving her arms and correcting details of poses.”

Trey Coughlin

Albany’s Trey Coughlin was a Lois Lyman Concerto Competition winner in 2019, performing Saint-Saëns’ first cello concerto with the ESYO Repertory Orchestra, under conductor David Beck.

Lorenzo Gallegos

Albuquerque’s Lorenzo Gallegos attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in the summer of 2019 and is currently the associate concertmaster of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

Levi Jensen

Albuquerque’s Levi Jensen has been a member of Mad About Music (MAM), an all-strings folk music group, which has toured both nationally and internationally.

Eytan Raviv

Chicago’s Eytan Raviv was chosen to play with Yo-Yo Ma as part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Chicago Youth in Music Festival String Symposium 2017.

Julia Shilz

Cleveland’s Julia Shilz served as Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and performed Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy in Severance Hall in May 2019 as a winner of COYO’s annual concerto competition.

Andrea Liu

Denver’s Andrea Liu participated in Boston University Tanglewood Institute for both the Young Artist Orchestra, in which she served as Principle Second, and in the String Quartet workshop.

Miles Goedert

Detroit’s Miles Goedert attended a composition workshop at Oberlin Conservatory and his plans for college are major in Music Composition and Chemistry.

Matthew Nguyen

Hayward’s Matthew Nguyen plays at least 10 concerts per year with his High School orchestra and his favorite piece to play in Johann Christian Bach’s Symphony in G-minor, Op. 6, No. 6.

Bree Clark

Medicine Hat’s Bree Clark has twice won the Medicine Hat Symphonic Society’s Concerto competition, and toured China with the Medicine Hat Academy Chamber Orchestra.

Archer Brown

Minneapolis's Archer Brown received acclaim for performances of concerti by Bruch, Chausson, and Saint-Saens, as well as making multiple appearances as a recitalist.

Saren Daghlian

Pasadena’s Saren Daghlian won First Place at the Satori Competition for two years; Bronze at the PCM National Chamber Music Competition; and the PCM Honors Recital as a top scorer.

Vincent Garcia-Hettinger

San Antonio’s Vincent Garcia-Hettinger is a Concerto Competition winner and has performed the first movement of the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with an orchestra.

Yubin Kim

Vancouver’s Yubin Kim participated in the Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy, as well as the Musiktage am Rhein Festival in Germany.

MUSICAL WUNDERINKIND CHOIRS

In many cities on the tour local student choirs accompany the ballet company in the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” scene. The choristers are 7 to 18 years old and rehearse prior to their performance with experienced and award-winning music directors. The live performance experience, in some of the country’s finest theaters and performing art centers, is an invaluable and rare opportunity for the young vocalists!

Many people are not aware that Pytor Tchaikovsky’s score for The Nutcracker’s The Waltz of the Snowflakes includes a wordless chorus. Tchaikovsky instructed that “This chorus should comprise 12 sopranos and 12 altos. It is all the more desirable that they should be youths from a choir.”

NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet’s Musical Wunderkind is just one community engagement program fulfilling NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet’s educational mission to provide arts enrichment for the local communities it performs in. Other programs include Musical Wunderkind Strings, New Horizons, Fine Art, and Dance with Us programs.

American Kodály Children’s Chorus

The American Kodály Children’s Chorus (AKCC)’s mission is to provide a nurturing environment where children in Baltimore’s greater metropolitan area can access high-quality musical instruction. Current choristers range from eight to eighteen-years-old and attend public, private and home school programs.

Birmingham Girls’ Choir

The Birmingham Girls’ Choir is a multi-cultural, non-profit organization that instills excellence in young girls through the study and performance of choral music. BGC seeks to enrich the lives of girls from all religious, racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The BGC staff ensures singers gain superior performing experience through the study of high-quality choral literature. BGC’s goal is to foster a commitment to musical and personal excellence through a progressively graded program that meets the individual needs of children.

Regina High School Choral Ensemble

Detroit’s Regina High School Choral Ensemble is an all-female, by-audition-only, select choir ranging in age from 14 to 18. The ensemble offers students the opportunity to learn and perform more difficult music, represent Regina throughout the community with a variety of performances, and compete in high school music competition. Under the direction of Eleonore Ellero, The Regina Choral Ensemble has performed in and around Metro Detroit.

Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir

The Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir is an auditioned choir of girls aged twelve to eighteen years of age. The vision of the choir is to provide teenage girls with the experience of achieving excellence in choral singing and to encourage a lifelong love of choral music. The choir was founded in 1982 by Carol Anderson and is now under the guidance of its current director, Katie-Anne Nemeth. Through their involvement with the choir, girls are given the opportunity to sing a challenging and varied repertoire of music from many countries and styles.

Crescendo Community Chorus

Crescendo Community Chorus offers its singers opportunities to learn vocal skills, have rich musical experiences, and grow in self-awareness while working collaboratively as a group and with the community. Crescendo Community Chorus gives children an opportunity to use their voice in making a difference in the community and enriching their lives as musicians.

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