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About Us:
The concept of a community-based children’s choir materialized seven years ago when a group of local music instructors sat among the audience for the Toronto Children’s Chorus at the National Music Education Conference. So inspired were these educators, they began researching the possibility of having a similar group in Las Vegas. They found the international choir community to be more than helpful, and with significant assistance from educators at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Clark County School District and a wealth of parents and friends the University Children’s Chorale was born.
The University Children’s Chorale emphasizes the development of musical skills and the love of the fine arts. As a result, passionate and well educated instructors are only a portion of the UCC formula. Exposing the students to the cultural aspects of singing is equally important and has led to a number of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
These experiences include a seminar in Juilliard accompanied with a performance at the Statue of Liberty and the Today Show and participation in the 2006 International Children’s Choir Festival in London and a performance in the storied Canterbury Cathedral. The choir has represented the community at the American Orff-Schulwerk Association’s national conference in Long Beach, California and the American Guild of Organists Western Conclave. The children have traditionally performed with the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra and have closed the annual Elementary Choir Festival held each spring by the Clark County School District.
Opportunities to explore the world through music are constantly presenting themselves and plans are underway to join a choral festival at the famous Carnegie Hall next Thanksgiving and the 2009 Pacific Rim Children’s Festival in Hawaii.
Diligently working to raise the level of student choral studies in Clark County, the first annual Las Vegas Spring Choral Festival is being developed along with a countywide Holiday Choir Celebration.
The University Children’s Chorale remains the center of choral activities for the youth of the Las Vegas Valley and strives to open up the world to the talented children of Las Vegas.
The chorale is composed of two groups. Elementary school children make up the Bel Canto choir. Be canto is an Italian vocal technique developed in the 18th century, with an emphasis on the beauty of sound and brilliance of performance rather than dramatic expression or romantic emotion.
Bel Canto means beautiful singing and the young choristers embody the term.
Students in middle and high school participate in the Youth Chorale. Their maturity and experience enable the group to perform more complex music, but also function as leaders in the UCC system. Each member serves as a mentor for the younger Bel Canto singers.
Each group practices weekly at locations across the valley and gather monthly at the UNLV campus for a grand rehearsal.
The University Children’s Chorale is led by Liz Goodman, & Barbara Buer.
Liz Goodman is an elementary music specialist in her
16th
year with the Clark County School District. She holds a
masters degree in Music Education from the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas and a Master Class certificate in Orff Schulwerk from the
University of Memphis.
Barbara Buer is pursuing her masters degree at
California State University at Los Angeles. She has performed with
many orchestras on piano, harpsichord and organ in Los Angeles,
Europe and Scaninavia. Barbara is faculty member at the
Meadows School teaching vocal and choral music in both middle and
upper schools.
 Barbara Buer ( Director of Bel Canto)
Liz Goodman (Co-Founder, Director, Youth Conductor )
Zheni Atanasova (Accompanist)
Zheni Atanasova is from Bulgaria. She has played the piano already for 16 years and studied opera singing for 1 year. She has participated in a lot of international competitions and the juries had granted her with 1st and special prizes. Her last scholarship was granted by the Music Department at UNLV. She loves doing solo performances and playing with solo singers and ballet. The rehearsals and the performances with the choir give her happiness and satisfaction.
Jenny Cheng (Accompanist)
Jenny Cheng earned her bachelor of music education and is
currently pursuing her master of music degree in
piano performance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As
principal pianist of the UNLV Wind Orchestra she
participated in a concert tour of
France in the summer of 2005. In addition to her
vocal, choral and instrumental accompanying Jenny has played
with the UNLV Symphony Orchestra, performs regularly in the
Las Vegas area and maintains an active teaching
studio.
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