The Seattle Girls Choir was established in 1982 when Dr. Jerome L. Wright, Founder and Artistic Director, conceived the Choir School as a "junior conservatory" where young women from throughout the Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 region could gather after school to develop their music education

Music education

Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...

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Six levels of instruction comprise the Choir School, from youngest to oldest: Dolcinette, Dolcine, Vivissimi, Allegra, Cantamus and Prime Voci. It has students between the ages of 6 and 19.

The curriculum includes vocal technique, music theory

Music theory

Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...

, sight singing, solfege

Solfege

In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...

, musicianship, and vocal pedagogy

Vocal pedagogy

Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how proper singing technique is accomplished....

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First Place Awards

• International Youth & Music Festival – Vienna, Austria
• Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Wales – First Prize, Youth Choir Division
• International Choral Kathaumixw, Canada – First Prizes in Youth Choirs & Chamber Choirs

Second Place Awards

• International Choral Kathaumixw, Canada – Second Place in Children’s Choir Competition

Special Performances

• Salzburg Festival, performance, July 19, 2009
• World Festival of Women’s Singing – Salt Lake City, Feb. 4-7, 2004
  • Featured Choirs:
    • Mormon Tabernacle & Assembly Hall,
    • Seoul Ladies’ Singers
    • Viva Voce!
    • Brigham Young University Women’s Choir
• Czech Sacred Music Festival, Prague – Featured Choir, 2003
• Seattle Girls’ Choir Twentieth Anniversary Concert – Benaroya Symphony Hall, Seattle – June, 2002
• World Festival of Women’s Singing (Americafest) – Co-host Choir with Elektra – 2001 Concerts at Town Hall, St. James Cathedral and Benaroya Symphony Hall, Seattle
• ACDA National Convention, San Antonio, Texas – March 2001
• Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica & Concert at St. Ignatius, Rome – 2000
  • Part of the Millennium Jubilee Cathedral Tour. Cathedrals concerts in Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Venice, Ravenna, Siena, Florence and Rome (by invitation of the Pope.)
• Portland International Children’s Choir Festival “Featured American Choir” – 1998
• ACDA National Convention, San Diego, California – March 1997
• Harvard University Festival of Women’s Choirs – 1996
• AmericaFest 1994: Concerts in Minneapolis, Des Moines, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Toronto, Quebec City, the Maritimes and New England.
• One of four Founding Choirs with Tapiola Choir of Finland, Shchedryk Choir of Ukraine and Efroni Choir of Israel.
• ACDA National Convention, San Antonio, Texas – March 1993
• International Singing Week (Europa Cantat) – Veszprem, Hungary—1992
• International Choral Sympaatti – Helsinki & Tampere Finland – 1990
• ISME International Conference – Finlandia Hall, Helsinki – 1990
• Goodwill Games Arts Festival – Host Choir for the Soviet-American Youth Choir Festival – 1990
• Chorus America National Convention
• MENC National Convention – Anaheim, California – 1986
• East Coast US Tour – 1984 Boston, New York (UN & St. John the Divine), Philadelphia (Mayor’s Fourth of July Celebration at Independence Hall), Washington, DC, Baltimore and Orlando
• West Coast US Tour – 1982 Portland, Eugene and San Francisco (Grace Cathedral)

European Concert Tours

1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 Countries visited: Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Slovakia