Introduction
Sisters’ Voices is an engaging and fun choral experience for young singers. In this Handbook you’ll find expectations of singers and parents, some of which change over the course of a singer’s SV education depending on the singer’s age.
Welcome to the SV community!
Leandra
Staff
Leandra Strope, Founder and Artistic Director
Conductor and Teacher of SV4 and SV5
leandra@sistersvoices.org
919-619-3438 (text only)
Kate DeAlmeida
Teacher of PreSV and SV1
kate@sistersvoices.org
919-225-8285
Rachel Bowman-Abdi
Teacher and Conductor of SV2 and SV3
rachel@sistersvoices.org
Brandon Long
Collaborative Pianist, Accompanist and Assistant with SV3, SV4, and SV5
brandon@sistersvoices.org
Donna Crisp
Administrator
donna@sistersvoices.org
Our Ensembles
PreSV – 3-5 year olds
Must be 3 years old by September 1
For singers who have not yet entered kindergarten, or who won’t turn 5 by 9/1
Each singer attends with a caregiver
Musikgarten curriculum, taught by Kate DeAlmeida (kate@sistersvoices.org)
Two classes: Thursdays, 4:00-5:00, or Saturdays, 9:00-10:00
SV1 – K-1 (5-7 year olds)
Must be 5 years old by September 1
Musikgarten/SV curriculum, taught by Kate DeAlmeida (kate@sistersvoices.org)
Meets Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00
SV2 – 2nd-3rd grade
Taught by Rachel Bowman-Abdi
Meets Mondays, 4:00-5:00
SV3 – 4th-5th grade
Taught by Rachel Bowman-Abdi
Meets Mondays, 5:15-6:15,
AND ALSO Wednesdays, 4:00-5:30
SV4 – 6th-8th grade
Taught by Leandra Strope
Meets Wednesdays, 5:45-7:15
AND ALSO Saturday afternoons/evenings:
1st Saturday of each month, 12:00-3:45 (includes lunch, Leadership Workshop, and rehearsal)
all other Saturdays, 2:00-3:45
SV5 – 9th-12th grade
Taught by Leandra Strope
Meets Thursdays, 6:30-8:30
AND ALSO Saturday afternoons/evenings:
1st Saturday of each month, 4:00-8:00 (includes rehearsal, dinner, and Leadership Workshop)
All other Saturdays, 4:00-6:00
How We Communicate
We communicate via email with parents and with SV5 (and sometimes SV4) singers.
Each teacher sends a weekly letter to SV families to keep you updated with current schedule and other important issues. Donna or Leandra may send other important information to the community from time to time. We need parents/guardians to read these emails and to respond when needed.
We use text messages for communication with individual parents, and to communicate with SV5 singers as a group and individually.
Please keep your contact information updated with our staff; send changes to Donna Crisp (donna@sistersvoices.org).
Expectations of Parents/Guardians
- Read group and individual emails from Sisters’ Voices conductors, teachers, and staff members, and respond when needed
- Understand all information in this document regarding Sisters’ Voices participation; please ask if you have any questions.
- Transport your child to rehearsal on time, knowing that “being on time” means that your singer is in the building at least five minutes before rehearsal is scheduled to begin; also pick your child up on time
- Keep Sisters’ Voices up to date with your contact information, emergency contacts, and other information as it changes through the year
- Stay knowledgeable about the Sisters’ Voices performance schedule for your child’s ensemble and prioritize these events
- Communicate with your child’s conductor or teacher when your child will miss rehearsal
Attendance Expectations
Singing in an ensemble is like playing on a team – the group needs every member; every member is essential to the work of the group. That every participant lives into this reality is part of what makes the SV experience valuable and rewarding for the individuals involved.
When a singer misses a rehearsal (up to 4 hours of work in the oldest ensembles) and then returns, it can be daunting to realize how much the group has moved forward without her, especially for newer singers.
Because our work is done as a group, it is not possible for a singer to do the work outside of the group. That is, a rehearsal cannot be made up, even with help from another singer or teacher. Again, this is part of what it means to be part of an ensemble, and part of what makes the experience valuable to the individual singer.
Being present is the single most important aspect of a singer’s contribution to her ensemble. When she is not present, she is able neither to contribute to the work of the group, nor to reap the rewards of connection with the others. Presence at all rehearsals, performances, and other gatherings of her ensemble is expected of every singer.
Attendance expectations for SV1 (K-1st graders) and SV 2 (2nd and 3rd graders)
Parents, please make sure rehearsals and performances are on your calendars:
- All weekly rehearsals
- Fall Family Performance (immediate families only please), Saturday, November 14, 11am (10:00 call for SV2 singers)
- Winter Concert, Saturday, January 23, 3pm (1:30 call for SV2 singers)
- Spring Concert, Saturday, May 15, 3pm (1:30 call for SV2 singers)
No other regular activity should be on your child’s schedule for the time your child is expected at SV.
Please schedule doctor visits, etc. at other times.
Please let the instructor know when a rehearsal must be missed. We welcome your open communication; this helps the instructor plan, as well as helping the teachers help your child re-enter after being away.
Attendance expectations for SV3, 4, 5 (4th grade and up)
Once you have committed to singing with an ensemble, attendance at all meetings, rehearsals, and major performances is mandatory.
Parents and singers, please make sure rehearsals and performances are on your calendars.
- SV3: 4th and 5th Graders
Rehearses Mondays, 5:15-6:15, and Wednesdays, 4:00-5:30
Performs in November, January, and May, with additional performances through the year. - SV4: 6th through 8th Graders
Rehearses Wednesdays, 5:45-7:15, AND
Rehearses Saturdays, 2:00-3:45, AND
Leadership Workshop, First Saturday of each month, 12:00-2:00, including lunch
Performs in November, January, March, and May, with additional performances through the year. - SV5: 9th through 12th Graders
Rehearses Thursdays, 6:30-8:30, AND
Rehearses Saturdays, 4:00-6:00, AND
Leadership Workshop, expected of all singers, meets First Saturday of each month, 6:00-8:00pm, including dinner
Performs in November, January, March, and May, with additional performances through the year.
Regular attendance is essential to your singer’s growth, to her feeling part of the group, and to the group’s progress. We understand that sometimes life presents truly unavoidable conflicts.
- Singers in SV3, SV4, and SV5 may miss up to four (two per rehearsal day) planned rehearsals per semester.
- Other activities (sports tournaments, theater performances, etc.) should not affect more than one week of SV rehearsals, and never should affect major SV performances.
- We will work with singers who have more absences because of unexpected illness or family emergencies and who communicate these things with us.
- When you need to miss rehearsal, please communicate with your singer’s director as soon as possible.
- For SV4 and SV5: You will be responsible for practicing on your own or with a friend to make sure you are not behind when you return.
Singers are expected to be at rehearsal 5-15 minutes early so that rehearsal can begin on time, and singers are expected to remain through the entire rehearsal.
Running of Rehearsals
We like to begin and end rehearsals at the scheduled time. Our rehearsal/class time is our creative working time together, and we rely on all participants and their supporting adults to respect and to help preserve that time. It is precious!
Therefore, we ask singers to arrive 5-15 minutes before class/rehearsal begins in order to use the bathroom, get water, gather supplies, have conversations with friends, and be ready when our scheduled starting time arrives.
For SV1 and SV2, singers gather with their parents on the playground before rehearsal and are called in to our room 5-10 minutes before rehearsal begins. All singers use the bathroom, take shoes off, and proceed to the rehearsal space for the start of rehearsal.
Singers in older ensembles are welcome to come into the building as much as 15 minutes early and to use this time to prepare for rehearsal. Singers are expected to be in the rehearsal space ready to warm up at the scheduled rehearsal starting time.
Our Space
We meet for classes and rehearsals in Room 15 in Binkley Church’s Education Wing. The Binkley Preschool uses the room in the mornings, and we use it in the afternoons, evenings, and on Saturdays.
Parents are welcome to come in and see our space when they pick up or drop off their singer.
Parents or caregivers are welcome to wait for their singers in Room 17, next door to our rehearsal space.
Dropping Singers off for Rehearsal
For SV1 and SV2, please accompany your singer to the playground (if you arrive early) or to the door at the end of the Education Wing near the large playground. (Sisters’ Voices staff do not supervise children on the playground before or after rehearsals; please stay with your children until they enter the building.)
For SV3, 4, and 5, please drive through and drop your singer off where you can see the door and watch your child get let in. This door remains locked at all times; you or your child will need to knock and wait for someone to open the door. Please do not drive away until you are sure your child has made contact with a SV adult.
Picking Singers up after Rehearsal
Adults picking up SV1 and SV2 singers, please park your car and walk to the door to meet your child. We will come out after finishing rehearsal and getting our shoes on, and singers will remain with their teacher until they see you. They will not be released to the playground until their adult arrives and can supervise them.
SV1 parents are asked to arrive at 4:55, just before the end of rehearsal, to watch a demonstration of something the singers learned during class.
Adults picking up SV3, 4, and 5 singers, please drive up to the door and wait for your singer to come to you. Once she is in the car, please drive away so that other cars can make their way to the front of the line. For safety reasons we will not release children to go around the building to meet cars at the back of the line.
Food and Gum in Rehearsal
Singers are asked to enjoy their snacks before arriving at rehearsal. Because of allergies among our singers, we do not want food in our classroom except when we (SV4 and SV5, sometimes SV3) are sharing a meal together. That having been said, parents please note that in our experience SV3 and SV4 singers are hungry ALL THE TIME, and getting through rehearsal without having had a snack beforehand can be hard. Please know that rehearsals are physically, intellectually, socially, sometimes emotionally and spiritually rigorous. Please feed your singer (something healthy!) before she arrives at rehearsal.
There must be NO gum chewing, or other things in a singer’s mouth, during rehearsal. Breathing deeply and quickly is essential to good singing, and anything in the mouth is a serious choking hazard.
What to Bring and What to Wear for Rehearsals
We sing a LOT and we move around a lot during rehearsals.
Singers should come to every rehearsal with a water bottle that’s full of water (no sugary drinks).
Singers should wear clothing that’s suitable for movement. Movement may include stretching, dancing, yoga- and taichi- inspired movement, mime, body percussion (clapping, stomping, jumping, bumping elbows to ankles, etc), skipping, running, hopping, sitting and sometimes lying on the floor, … Great singing is a full-body physical workout!
Fall, Winter, Spring, and Other Breaks
We stick closely to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System’s schedule for major breaks.
Sisters’ Voices rests for a full week at Thanksgiving.
We rest for the two weeks of Winter Break.
We break for National Holidays for which the school breaks: Labor Day, MLK Day, Memorial Day.
We observe Spring Break with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools system.
We do not often break for teacher workdays; please refer to the calendar on our website.
Inclement Weather
Please look for communications from Sisters’ Voices leadership when a storm is coming or when schools are closed.
When Carrboro and Chapel Hill Schools are closed for weather, we usually go with their decision. This might NOT happen if
- The schools are closed because a storm is expected, but the storm never materializes
- The danger that a storm poses is clearly finished by the time the afternoon rolls around
- Schools are in session but a storm develops late in the day
Music and Other Supplies for Rehearsals (SV2, SV3, SV4, SV5)
Each singer will be provided with materials they need to participate fully in their SV program. This includes a folder or binder, labeled with the singer’s name, with sheet music, a pencil, staff paper, information and work pages. It may also include shared material like sight singing books and tuning forks.
This material is borrowed from Sisters’ Voices and, like a library book, must be treated gently and preserved for use by future singers. A singer may write notations in her music that will help her learn or perform the music well. She may write only in pencil and must erase these markings before returning the music at the end of the semester.
Singers in 4th grade and older are encouraged to take their music home to practice, and must bring it back for the next rehearsal; the sheet music is essential to the singer’s full participation in rehearsal.
Performances
Primary Performances
Performances are an important part of our ensemble experiences. Indeed, much of our work in rehearsals is driven by our upcoming performances. Therefore performances are required for all members of SV 2, 3, 4, and 5 ensembles. (They are optional for SV1 singers, but we find that many of these young singers love to perform!)
We schedule three performances each year: fall (for immediate families only), winter, and spring. These are announced at the start of the year (see above) and can be found on the website calendar. A fourth performance, in March, is scheduled for SV4 and SV5.
Singers in SV2, 3, 4, and 5 are expected to arrive at the performance venue in time to warm up together 90 minutes before the start of any of these major performances. This pre-concert time is essential.
We typically open the house to the audience 20-30 minutes before a concert begins. Parents and other guests are invited to come into the performance space at this time.
These major performances are currently free and open to the public. No ticket is needed for entry. Singers and their families are encouraged to invite guests to our Winter and Spring Concerts.
Other Performances
We sometimes schedule additional performances around town and just out of town (Raleigh, Hillsborough, Pittsboro). For younger ensembles, these performances are encouraged but optional. There may be extra performances for older ensembles that are required.
We occasionally schedule small gatherings for our own family community to give the singers, and sometimes other family members, and opportunity to perform for each other. These are always optional.
Dress for Performances
For All Singers, for All Performances
Hair: long hair must be pulled back and secured out of the face with a black simple barrette, headband, or hair tie. Please no bows. The important thing is that the audience is able to see the singer’s eyes and face – this is a primary way that singers communicate with their audience.
Jewelry: simple rings, earrings, and bracelets are fine. Necklaces and watches should be left at home. SV5 please wear your SV pendant for all SV performances.
For our Winter and Spring concerts and some extra performances, dress is formal.
Formal attire for Elementary Ensembles (SV1, 2, 3)
Shirt: white, long sleeved (3/4 sleeves are okay) blouse or shirt. It should feel dressy, elegant. It must be comfortable. It may have buttons, ruffles, lace, as long as everything on it is white and there is no visible logo or other writing. Please aim for white white, rather than off white. A simple cotton long-sleeved t-shirt is great, as long as the singer feels dressed up.
Pants/skirt: Long, to the shoes, black. Corderoy, velvet, denim, and others are all fine as long as they are solid black, introduce no other color or logos, and feel dressy to the singer. If the singer chooses a skirt, it must be a maxi skirt, to the shoes. No leggings, no sweatpants. Some loose-fitting yoga pants work well.
Shoes: black, flat, close-toed dress shoes. They must fit, be comfortable, and the singer must be able to run in them. No heels. The sole must be thin and flexible. Please, no boots. No athletic shoes, no white soles, no logos. Jazz shoes or simple Mary Janes are a great choice.
Socks: black or none.
Formal attire for SV4
Shirt: black, long sleeved (3/4 sleeves are okay) blouse or shirt. It should feel dressy, elegant. It must be comfortable. It may have buttons, ruffles, lace, as long as everything on it is black. A simple cotton long-sleeved t-shirt is great, as long as the singer feels dressed up.
Pants/skirt: Long, to the shoes, black. Corduroy, velvet, denim, and others are all fine as long as they are solid black, introduce no other color or logos, and feel dressy to the singer. If the singer chooses a skirt, it must be a maxi skirt, to the shoes. No leggings, no sweatpants. Some loose-fitting yoga pants work well.
Shoes: black, flat, close-toed dress shoes. They must fit, be comfortable, and the singer must be able to run in them. No heels. The sole must be thin and flexible. Please, no boots. No athletic shoes, no white soles, no logos. Jazz shoes or simple Mary Janes are a great choice.
Socks: black or none.
Formal attire for SV5
We will make some changes to our wardrobe for 26-27. Please stay tuned for more information.
For local Informal Performances, All Ensembles
Singers wear their Sisters’ Voices t-shirts, long pants/jeans, and athletic or other casual shoes. No flip flops or other shoes that are not fully connected to the singer’s feet.
Travel
SV4 and SV5 singers often travel toward the end of the year. The cost of this travel is not included in tuition, and families will need to cover their singers’ costs.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is a group of adults, mostly parents of singers, who gather to take responsibility for the workings of the Sisters’ Voices organization. They support the staff and make sure the organization is legally and financially on a good track. If you are interested in serving on this Board, please contact Leandra or the Chair of the Board.
This year’s Board of Directors
Kate DeAlmeida, Chair
Jennifer Shen, Treasurer
Kelly Peak, Secretary
Alexandra Figueroa, At Large
Leandra Strope, ex officio
Costs
Please find costs and links for the 26-27 season on the Registration page of the website.
The season for most ensembles runs from September (just after Labor Day) through May.
Deposits, equal to the last two months of tuition (April and May, 2027), are not refundable.
Scholarships
We offer 25% and 50% scholarships to families based on income and other situations. These scholarships are identified by parents when you register and pay. If you need more of a scholarship, please reach out to Donna Crisp (donna@sistersvoices.org), and she will work with you.
If you sign up for a scholarship, we ask that you know and respect that the scholarship means that other people’s donations are covering your child’s tuition (it does not mean that your child’s tuition is lowered). We develop tuition based on the costs of running the organization, paying our staff, and our best estimate of the number of singers we will have. People donate to our scholarship fund because they believe in the work we’re doing, and they want to see girls and young women grow up with the community that we’re cultivating. We ask that you pay what you can and then ask for what you need; we do not want the cost to be prohibitive for any singer who wants to join us.
Beads, Beads, Beads, and a Pendant
As a singer grows through our program, they build a string of beads that represents their individual growth and contributions to, and participation in the Sisters’ Voices community. Each time a singer completes a semester, moves to the next ensemble, participates in a performance, attends camp, etc, they receive a bead to add to their string.
Once a singer completes their second full consecutive year in SV and completes 8th grade or higher, they receive a pendant which they will wear when performing with SV5. This pendant is the bird from our icon, a picture that has multiple meanings: a bird in a nest (we sing about birds a lot), SV for Sisters’ Voices, a treble clef, and a spiral which is a symbol showing that we are on a journey getting to know ourselves and each other deeply. The pendant was designed by Leandra Strope and Lynn Occuzio (OQZO) of Hillsborough.
