| VSA Choir of Stoughton for Adults with Disabilities - 2016 |
Amount Funded: $500.00 |
| Negative societal attitudes towards disabilities foster isolation and exclusion, causing those with disabilities to withdraw from a more fruitful and fulfilling participation in the Stoughton community. The VSA Choir of Stoughton fills a void for many individuals with disabilities who seek structured activities to complement their home and work life. For many of our participants, the choir provides the only true outlet for creative self-expression they have in their daily lives. We make it possible for adults with disabilities to immerse themselves in the joyful and social act of communal singing. We provide opportunities that our choristers would not have otherwise, and in the process we enrich and change their lives for the better. We take adults who society has told are spectators, and we help them transform themselves into joyful performers. |
| VSA Wisconsin requests $1,500 support for the VSA Choir of Stoughton for the 2016-17 season.
The choir was established in 1995, and currently consists of approximately 17 enthusiastic adult singers with disabilities (and a few without), ranging in age from 20 to 60, who rehearse with choral director and licensed music therapist, Kim Weiss, and accompanist, Laurie Mecum, once a week at United Methodist Church in Stoughton. The rehearsal schedule culminates in two to four well attended public concert performances over the course of the season. Membership is always open.
Last year, the choir performed at Stoughton United Methodist Church (12/8/15), Stoughton Opera House (5/14/16) and Nazareth Assisted Living (6/5/16). They sang the National Anthem for a UW Badgers game at Camp Randall Stadium (9/26/15), and will do so again for a Madison Capitols Hockey game (11/5/16). |
| VSA Choir of Stoughton - 2017 |
Amount Funded: $500.00 |
| Many people with disabilities live their lives hidden from public view, and fall victim to personally internalized sets of low expectations. Negative societal attitudes towards disabilities foster social isolation, exclusion, and rejection, causing those with disabilities to withdraw from a more fruitful and fulfilling participation in their communities.
VSA Wisconsin meets this challenge head-on and works to improve the quality of life for participants by conducting a vibrant and active community choir program that gets our participants out of their house, into a warm and welcoming world, and singing their hearts out!
The choir makes it possible for adults with disabilities to immerse themselves in the joyful and social act of communal singing. It provides them with opportunities that they would not have otherwise, and in the process, enriches and changes their lives for the better. |
| The VSA Choir of Stoughton consists of 17 dedicated adult singers with disabilities, ranging in age from 20 to 60, who rehearse at United Methodist Church in Stoughton. They hold eight rehearsals in the Fall Session, and eight in the Spring, and keep an ambitious schedule of two to four public performances, reaching audiences of over 1,200 during this past year.
Last year the choir performed at Milestone Senior Living (5/27/17), Stoughton Public Library (5/14/17), Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (11/19/16), and a Madison Capitols Hockey game (11/5/16).
The choir’s first performance for the coming season will be at a Camp Randall Stadium where they will sing (and ASL sign) the National Anthem for a UW Badgers Football game on Saturday, October 14.
The choir is led by director Caitlin Schmidt, B.Mus. (in Choral and General Music Education). Membership is always open.
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| - 2015 |
Amount Funded: $500.00 |
| VSA WI requests support for the VSA Choir of Stoughton for the 15-16 season. The choir was established in 1995, and currently consists of approximately 25 enthusiastic adult singers with disabilities (and a few without), ranging in age from 20 to 60, who rehearse with a professional choral director and accompanist once a week at United Methodist Church in Stoughton. The rehearsal schedule culminates in two to four well attended public concert performances over the course of the season. Membership is always open. Kim Weiss, a state licensed music therapist, has recently assumed the directorship of the choir this August.
By participating, choir members with disabilities will become less socially isolated and more deeply involved in the richer social, cultural, and economic life of Stoughton. They flourish in an atmosphere of acceptance and encouragement and realize a true sense of fulfillment. |
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