Can Singing Make You Happy?

6/17/2021

Can singing make you happy?

We know that your children love to sing with CCYC; we see it in their faces at every rehearsal. But did you know that singing with CCYC could make your child happier in general? Research shows that singing, particularly singing in a group, is beneficial for mental health.

Singing can help to decrease anxiety and depression, relieve stress, and make you happier. In addition, joining a choir is a great way to help your child navigate the unique challenges they face in this generation.

Research has shown that musical frequencies travel through your body and stimulate the release of positive hormones. The more people singing with you, the more significant the impact!

For our part, CCYC is often the highlight of our week, and the smiles and hugs from singers remind us of the importance of the service we provide.

Do you see the difference in your singer? How has CCYC helped your child live their best life? How do you feel when surrounded by the voices of our gifted singers?

Reach out and tell us how music and CCYC have impacted your life! We love to hear from our families and supporters!

~By Erin Zvada, CCYC Onsite Manager

Oh Say Can You See

It's baseball season, and our CCYC singers have been invited to perform the National Anthem before 3 games this summer. Come cheer our team on when they sing on July 8th, 22nd, and 31st!

**Mike Smith has offered to sponsor some tickets to the games. If you would like to receive a free ticket, please reply to this email for details.

Mark Your Calendars!

Musical Movie Night #2

Join us at the Atascadero Galaxy Theatre on Wednesday, July 7th at 7 pm for a private showing of the musical Enchanted. Laugh, clap, and sing along as an archetypal Disney Princess is forced from her traditional animated world into the live-action world of New York City.

Reserve Your Seats Here

CCYC Season Kick-off

Food, fun, fall music, and fellowship! Join us for a full day of exciting activities and music work as we kick-off our 2021/2022 choir season.

Location: SLO Nazarene Church
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Cost: $35 per singer

Includes lunch, dinner, and a CCYC t-shirt.
Singer's masks will be available for purchase.

Registration opens July 1st on our website.

Invite your friends and neighbors to come be part of CCYC! Pre-registration for the season will be available.

Scholarship Opportunity

We want every singer to have an opportunity to attend! As such, we have a very robust scholarship program to underwrite the cost of this event for anyone who is unable to afford the registration fee. Please reply to this email for more information!

Fall Choir Rehearsals Begin

Starting Tuesday, September 7th at 4 pm we will be holding weekly choir rehearsals at the SLO Nazarene Church at 3396 Johnson Ave. in San Luis Obispo. Stay tuned for a full season schedule!

Registration opens July 1st on our website.

Did you know?
We are excited to announce that we are once again in the process of becoming a vendor for
Heartland Charter School.
If you are a member of that school, you will be able to use your educational funds to pay for choir tuition!

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What has 100 Legs, 100 Arms, and Buttery Fingers?

6/7/2021

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Newsies: When you’ve got a hundred voices singing, who can hear a lousy whistle blow?

Central Coast Youth Chorus, which serves San Luis Obispo County, held their first Musical Movie Night in April. The socially distanced private screening of the musical Newsies was held at Galaxy Theatre in Atascadero with 50 choir members and supporters in attendance.

It’s been a challenging year for CCYC and other non-profits due to limitations on in-person gatherings. Especially challenging have been the recommendations against singing in groups. However, in the words of one choir member,

“Just because you can’t sing doesn’t mean you can’t be musical!”

And a musical night it was!

“Being in the theater with only members from our choir upped the fun factor immensely. We laughed at all the jokes, clapped after Seize the Day and The World Will Know, cheered when justice won out, and wiped away tears

after Christian Bale, starring as Jack Kelly, sang Santa Fe," said Jill Whaley, Executive Director for CCYC. The kids noshed on popcorn with refills and brought blankets to get cozy while enjoying the show.

Especially meaningful was the message behind the movie. Newsies teaches children that even during challenging times they can and do have power to make a change in their circumstances and in their community. They can chase their dreams and help others along the way.

"Thank you for a fun show tonight!!! Glad to be with other lovers of song again!"

- Marni-Lynn Ager

Marni-Lynn reminds us of another message from the movie: there is power in a community.

Together CCYC will “Arise and seize the day!”

Article by Erin Zvada, CCYC Onsite Manager

Upcoming Events

Our next and final singer get-together is on May 11th from 4 - 5:40 pm at the San Luis Obispo Nazarene Church (notice the new location!)

A Note from Ms. Kelley:
Hey, everyone!! We are so excited to see you next week! So many of you learned new instruments over the past year... Because of this, we will be hosting an instrumental jam session as part of our get-together! Feel free to bring a small hand drum, a guitar, a ukulele, a harp...whatever you'd like! All you need to do is learn chords D, G, and A. (Learn F# minor as a bonus!)

We also have special guests joining us, music activities, and more.... See you there!

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Reflection & Gratitude

4/8/2021

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Reflection & Gratitude

This March at CCYC we held our first “rehearsal” of 2021, nearly a year to the day since we paused rehearsals for what we hoped would be a short break. As the weeks turned into months we marked the end of our 27th season without a concert for the first time in our history.

Although our hearts have been heavy over the last year with longing for busy rehearsals, pizza nights, concerts and even fidgety 1st graders, CCYC has so many reasons to be grateful. We experienced many firsts over the past 12 months, some unwelcome but many more a welcome blessing to our musical souls.

In October 2020, CCYC held the First-Ever Costume Singing Contest! We always knew that CCYC was a big deal but when Elton John submitted his video we were star struck!! Click here to see all of our submissions. 2020 Costume Singing Contest - Central Coast Youth Chorus

Resilient as ever, our singers have been busy with their own “firsts” while we have been away. Virtual drama, guitar, writing, driving, college and even trapeze lessons, CCYC singers have been keeping themselves busy! Now more than ever we take pride in and learn from our students. They are the reason we do what we do and our reminder to keep going, sing from the heart and try new things!

Speaking of trying new things, did you hear that we are planning our first Musical Movie Night at Galaxy Movie Theater on April 23rd?

We are hosting a private, socially distanced viewing of Newsies! Thanks to the Levanway Family for their generous donation to sponsor this event!

Each season our Artistic Director envisions an all-encompassing theme for our season. With the lack of a true concert season we did not have a theme last year. Today, though, we are inspired to name this our season of Reflection and Gratitude. We are blessed by our singers, staff, parents and community partners and we would not be the

organization we are without all of YOU!
There are no words eloquent or powerful enough to express our gratitude for our community partners. Without their generous support we could not share our music and because of their partnership we are returning to in person rehearsals and planning for a full 2021/2022 concert season!

Special Thanks to our Community Partners over the last year!

One of our biggest supporters, the Symonds Family Foundation, increased their giving by 25%
Grocery Outlet began supporting us with a 5% donation for all CCYC sales
Robert H. Janssen Youth Sports Foundation donated $5,000 to our scholarship fund
The Community Foundation of SLO donated $3,250 toward operating costs
Buckley Springs Storage supported us by providing a discounted storage solution for our music library
Mike Smith from State Farm partnered with us to raise $600 to support ongoing operations
Margie Noble Englund continued to support us with the gifts of her song, her presence and her donations!

As we return to “normal” in the coming year, we will carry the lessons of 2020 with us into the future. We are stronger and more determined than ever to rise up and share our song with you!

Miss hearing CCYC? Click here to get your daily dose of joy!
Audio & Video - Central Coast Youth Chorus

Article written by Erin Zvada, CCYC Onsite Manager

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