If you can hear, you can sing. “I firmly believe that,” said choral conductor Sarona Mynhardt.
She’s new on the Coast, having moved from Vancouver recently and from South Africa to Canada 22 years ago. Already she has organized a treble ensemble (usually called a women’s choir although in this case there is one man involved), made up of a few voices from the Suncoast Phoenix Choir and this group performed in the choir’s concert last weekend. While Janice Brunson, conductor for the Choralations Children’s Choir, was away for three weeks, Mynhardt stepped in and worked with the kids. She was also quickly networked onto the board of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Performing Arts.
Mynhardt will continue networking into the choral community this January with a new type of choir called SongShine. It is especially for those with aging voices or with Parkinson’s or recovering from a stroke – all of which can affect the voice. She explains that the vocal cords become thinner as a result of age or injury.
“Older people’s voices are often diminished,” she said. “Their voices are not as strong.” She and Pat Hepper have become certified instructors in SongShine techniques to improve the voice that include drama, gentle movement to make the singer feel the music in the body, and vocal exercises. “Singing can bring back that confidence in their voices and feelings of self-worth,” she noted.
SongShine has already had some trial runs and will start a full program on Jan. 9 at Calvary Baptist Church, 711 Park Road, Gibsons. It will run every Tuesday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. until March 26.
Mynhardt has some other vocal coaching in mind. She hopes to continue with the treble ensemble and also to teach a solo singing course. Why a group setting in order to teach solo singing? Mynhardt explains that singers gain confidence in a group. They will work on aspects of phrasing, dynamics, emotional connection and breathing. The title for these groups will be Inspirato. It means to be inspired and also comes from the verb inspirare which means to breathe, and that is so important to singing. Connection to the music and the text is also key, along with the connection between conductor and choir that helps the audience to understand what was intended by a piece of music.
“I want to inspire all people to sing and make music,” she said. “I want singers to inspire each other to make great music together, and ultimately I want the music to be the inspiration for singers to connect with the text and through their performance inspire the audience.”
All of her programs have a variety of styles, she explained: Broadway, jazz, classical and South African choral music. A Youth Choir could also be possible in the future, if there is enough interest. “I would like to see more kids in music; they need to be singing.”
More about the courses can be found at www.saronamynhardt.wixsite.com/mysite.
Details of fee and registration for SongShine can be found by emailing Sarona Mynhardt at vivavoce@saronamynhardt.com or to Pat Hepper at pat.hepper@gmail.com
