song and service at Stone Mountain, GA. Your choir is invited to be a part of America Sings! Atlanta, GA 2015! We are so glad you are considering joining John Jacobson and friends on May 1st and 2nd for this unique musical experience located at Stone Mountain. Your singers will love learning that they, along with hundreds of other young people who love music, have the power to make a difference singing and serving! Its an artistic growing experience!
At the America Sings! Festival, choirs have the opportunity to perform their own individual choir concert and do communi t y ser vi ce pr oj ect s. Each registered participant will get a T-shirt to wear, and every choir will be presented with a plaque to commemorate their participation! The spectacular Massed- Choir Finale Celebration will feature four songs, and the directors will perform a song, too! When your choir registers, youll receive a choreography DVD showing the moves for the Massed-Choir Finale songs.
In this brochure, you will nd necessary information about the Atlanta America Sings! Festival. The America Sings! registration form is attached along with registration for an optional activity, America Sings! Spirit of America Choir. Please contact us at any time with your questions or concerns. We look forward to helping you make this an inspiring and educational event for your singers! A m e r i c a
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2 0 1 5 IN THIS BROCHURE: Festival Schedule 2 Festival Activities 2 Massed-Choir Finale 3 Spirit of America Choir 3 Registration Information 4 Required Music 4 Goals of America Sings 4 Contact Information: America Sings! Inc. c/o Jason Misner P.O. Box 990 Ocoee, FL 34761 Phone: (321) 209-0097 Fax: (407) 992-9468 www.americasings.org jason@americasings.org Hope is the song we share. Regional Representatives: Bob Misner, North East Rep bob@americasings.org Sarah McLendon, South East Rep sarah@americasings.org Roxanne Semonchick, North West Rep roxanne@americasings.org Jason Misner, South West Rep jason@americasings.org Social Media Contact Information:
www.facebook.com/americasingsinc
Festival Schedule As the festival approaches more information will be given to directors regarding exact times and locations
***SPECI AL*** Schools can maintain the $55/participant registration fee through Dec 19, 2014 if a $500 NON- REFUNDABLE deposit is received by Aug. 1, 2014 Festival Deadlines Friday May 1, 2015 Saturday May 2, 2015 August 1, 2014 Registration deadline for Pre- Early Bird Discount ($55/Participant) 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Spirit of America Choir Rehearsal (Lunch and Dinner Provided) 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Individual Choir Performances, Clinics, Teacher Discussion Forums, and Music Workshops November 1, 2014 Registration deadline for Early Bird Discount ($65/Participant) 5 p.m. Festival Registration Opens 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Various Community Service Projects January 30, 2015 Choir registration deadline and refund deadline ($75/Participant) 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Opening Rehearsal and Entertainment. All participants expected to attend. 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Stone Mountain Massed-Choir Finale Celebration Festival Activities Opening Rehearsal and Entertainment Friday, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. All participants are invited to join John Jacobson at Stone Mountain as he leads a fun rehearsal of the four Massed-Choir Finale songs that the participants have learned in advance. Guest artists from around the country will perform for participants.
Noncompetitive Individual Choir Concerts Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Choirs perform individually in public performances on stage (optional). Your entire choir can perform, or you can highlight smaller ensembles. Performances are not judged or critiqued. Choirs are allotted twenty minutes for their concert. This time must include set- up, performance, and strike. Choirs may choose to wear their own costumes or their America Sings! T-shirts for their individual shows. Each stage is furnished with a high-quality sound system, CD player, eight microphones, an electric piano and platforms in three heights. A professional sound engineer will follow your instructions to control the sound for your performance. Every choir is presented with a plaque commemorating their participation. Performance slots are limited, so first registered/first scheduled.
Choir Clinics Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Guest clinicians will offer personalized choir clinics for schools after their individual choir performance. Space will be limited, contact America Sings! (jason@americasings.org) if you are interested in these clinics. Guest clinicians will include Rollo Dilworth, Mac Huff, Roger Emerson, Kirby Shaw and many more.
Community Service Projects Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. America Sings! participants join voices in song and combine their efforts to help less-advantaged people both in their hometowns and at the festival. The young singers are encouraged to bring supplies to the festival that will be used for this charitable work and to build time into their festival schedule to help with the service projects. A list of needed supplies will be sent to registered choirs.
Music Workshops Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Guest clinicians will offer a curriculum of workshops for registered participants. A list of workshops will be sent to directors six weeks before the festival. Space is limited, so contact America Sings! with your choice of workshop as soon as you receive the list!
Massed-Choir Finale Celebration Saturday May 2nd 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. ! All participants join voices to perform four festival songs their choir directors have taught them in advance. Choirs are responsible for purchasing the sheet music from their favorite music dealers in the voicing (SATB, SAB or Two-Part) that works best for their ensemble. ! Each song is choreographed. Choirs will receive a choreography DVD when their registration for ten or more participants is received by America Sings! Directors are responsible for their choir learning the choreography in advance of the festival. ! During the Finale, inspiring motivational speakers encourage the participants to keep singing and to find ways to use their skills to serve others. ! America Sings! requests that every participant in the Finale wear their festival T-shirt and white pants (shorts, slacks, sweats, etc.). Festival T-shirts are sent to choirs in advance. ! Registered chaperones are not required to learn the choreography, but many enjoy having that opportunity, and we welcome them as part of the Massed- Choir. ! Directors are invited to perform informally on stage in the Massed-Choir Finale. Sheet music for a Directors Choir song will be sent to registered directors before the festival. Students join together for the massed finale at Stone Mountain. Spirit of America Choir Friday May 1st 9am - 4pm The America Sings Spirit of America Choir will be a unique opportunity for America Sings! participants (middle school and older) to rehearse intensively with John Jacobson on Friday, May 1st, in preparation for a fabulous performance of two songs in the America Sings! Friday Evening Opening Rehearsal and Entertainment. Choirs that are interested must register for both the Stone Mountain festival and the Spirit of America Choir. Directors must submit a separate Spirit of America Choir registration fee and form. Song selections will be made in the future and directors will be notified. Singers from across the nation perform individual non- competitive choir performances. As John Jacobson, founder and president of America Sings! looks on, this young singer captivates the audience. America Sings! Memories - 26 Years Later
I got to sing one of the solos to the theme song at the 2009 DC festival. Performing on that stage with thousands of other people in front of me coming together to do the same thing, and for joy..it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! -Derrick, Philadelphia, PA 2009
Meeting new friends and having a day to just dance and sing together with a big group, I'll never forget that. -Zavier, Clermont, FL 2011
I was at the rst one on DC.. It gave new meaning to Singin In The Rain...... but no one remembers the bad weather, only the wonderful experience!! -Jayne, Hillside, IL 1989 Registration, Fees, and Refund Policy
To register your choir, please complete the enclosed registration form and send with registration fees to America Sings! Register your choir directly through the America Sings! office unless youve arranged to register through your travel agent. Travel agents must meet the same deadlines.
Choirs receive one free additional registration for each thirty participants they register. Participants requiring 2XL or 3XL T-shirts are charged $5 extra.
An adequate number of chaperones must be with your singers in the Massed- Choir Finale Celebration. They must register as participants and wear the festival T-shirt during the Massed- Choir Finale Celebration. Friends, family and guests who do not plan to be in the Massed-Choir are not required to register.
Choir registrations will be accepted until Jan. 30, 2015. Registered choirs may register additional individuals at any time. Jan. 30, 2015 is also the last date for individual or choir cancellations. If a choir requests a full refund by that date, all registration fees less $400 are refunded. No refunds are given to choirs or individuals if the request is received after Jan. 30, 2015.
Goals of America Sings! 1. To educate young people about the joys of philanthropy and their opportunities for charitable service and giving. 2. To provide high-quality, non-competitive performing opportunities for young singers and dancers from choral organizations. 3. To make direct contributions on behalf of these young choral performers to established children's charities, especially donations for disadvantaged children. 4. To promote throughout the nation's schools and the national media, a positive image of American youth involved in public service to needy children through the performing arts. 5. To promote and stimulate interest in choral music as an art form among young people and the general public as a whole. On Saturday evening, all singers join together in one massed finale. Singers help sort and organize toiletries for local organizations Required Music for the Massed-Finale Celebration
Registered directors will be notified as soon as the finale songs have been selected. Since 1989, America Sings! has produced dozens of special choral events with the participation of nearly 250,000 young singers in over 200 choirs from every state in America!