Choir Programs
Overview
Mira Costa Choir Program
The Mira Costa Grammy® Award Winning Choirs are under the direction of choir director Kate Crellin and provide students with an extraordinary opportunity to grow as musicians, engage with high-level musical literature, and experience the unique and profound social and emotional benefits of performing as a true ensemble of singers.
The Choirs have been recognized with distinct honors and many wonderful opportunities, including performing at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the California Choral Directors Association State Conference in San Jose, California. The choirs also have performed at many locations and cathedrals around the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York; San Francisco; London; Paris; Germany; Strasbourg, France; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
This year, the Mira Costa Choirs were thrilled to perform the National Anthem for two professional sports teams : the LA Kings and the LA Sparks!
With the intent of providing each student performer with experiences that will result in their finding wonder and excitement in the creative endeavor, the highest quality literature and opportunities are selected to encourage the greatest individual musical growth, depth of experience and development of a life-long appreciation for music and the arts.
The music department at Mira Costa operates at a high level of artistic ambition and achievements. In 2014, they were awarded the prestigious GRAMMY® Signature Gold Award for being a top three high school music program in the United States. In 2015, the California Department of Education designated Mira Costa High School as a Gold Ribbon School through the strength of its Performing Arts Department.
The Grammy-Award winning Mira Costa Choirs welcome all students regardless of singing experience or ability level and offer three classroom choirs and two student-led a cappella groups.
Due to the level of training, rehearsals, performance and professionalism taught to the students over the years in choir, many have gone on to play in prestigious college music programs either as a career or to continue as a hobby.
ENSEMBLE Levels
Mira Costa Voices
Mixed Voices; SATB
This course is an introduction to the vast styles and traditions of the vocal arts, with an emphasis on voice development and performance. All levels of singing experience are welcome, including students who have had little to no vocal training.
This course will provide students with a formative education in music literacy, performance techniques, and training in pop, jazz, musical theatre, classical, and other styles.
Additionally, the class will address refining the solo voice, as well as how to blend and collaborate within a group. Vocal development goals will be augmented with other music skill sets, including improvisation, collaboration, and songwriting.
Performances and dress rehearsals outside of regular school time are required.
Choral Union (formerly Costa Chorale)
SSA Voices
Enrollment in this course is by audition only. The course provides an education for advanced music students in reading music, vocal technique and understanding different musical styles. Emphasis will be on vocal performance.
Performances and dress rehearsals outside of regular school time are required.
Vocal Ensemble
Mixed Voices; SATB
Enrollment in this course is by audition only. The course provides an education for advanced music students in reading music, vocal technique and understanding different musical styles. Emphasis will be on vocal performance.
Performances and dress rehearsals outside of regular school time are required.
other information
A Cappella Groups
Ms. Crellin coaches two extra-curricular a cappella groups, Coterie A Cappella (treble a cappella group) and Muscle A Cappella (lower voices a cappella group). Students must be enrolled in one of the three curricular ensembles to be eligible to participate in either group. Auditions are held early in the school year and will be announced in class. Ms. Crellin has sole discretion over which students are selected to these groups.
The groups are expected to meet regularly after the school day, at dates and places determined by the groups’ members. Each group will elect a leader from its members. These groups are largely self-directed, providing students serious about singing with the opportunity to learn arranging, vocal coaching, and music education methods. Muscle and Coterie will be expected to each perform at least one number at both the Winter and Spring concerts. Ms. Crellin may schedule other performances of either of the groups during the year..
Concerts, Recitals & Competitions
There are two Choir concerts per academic year - the Winter Choral Concert in December and the Spring Choral Concert in May. These concerts are held in the Mira Costa Auditorium. The Build-a-Bridge Concert, held in February, is a district-wide event that includes all MBUSD choir students from 4th grade and up, including the elementary Honor Choir. Additionally, the Cathedral Concert is held in March, normally at American Martyrs Church. Each of the orchestras perform in all these concerts and participation is mandatory.
All choirs participate in off campus festival performances each year. In past years, Mira Costa Choirs have performed in prestigious concert halls like Walt Disney Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall. They have toured the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel, performing in Cologne Cathedral, Strasbourg Cathedral and toured London & Paris, performing in Notre Dame Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, St. Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle and Grosvenor Chapel.
Choir Boosters
The MB/X Foundation sponsors numerous High School Booster Clubs organisations and their efforts to raise money in support of of their activities. Donations received are directed to the Booster Club.
MB/X is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)3 organization and as such donations received are deductible to extent allowed by law.
The MCHS Choir Booster Club is an organization of parents, alumni and community members who provide monetary and volunteer support to the Mira Costa Choirs. By having a student in the program, you are automatically a member. They support quality instruction and curricular and extracurricular experiences for MCHS students and promote music education and appreciation throughout the community. Parents work behind the scenes to benefit all of our young musicians to sustain a truly excellent music program.
The Booster Club organises volunteers, keeps parents up to date on events and all things band throughout the year, including important announcements relating school trips, concerts and festivals. The Booster Club also helps raise funds for the Choir Program as families defray nearly all costs associated with providing for the program; including, the purchase of new instruments, music scores, licensing, coaching fees, concert costs, festival fees, Financial Assistance and other incidentals.
Choir Director
Kate Crellin
Kate Crellin (she/her) is an award-winning educator, composer/arranger, and vocalist. Kate holds a Master in Choral Conducting from Queens’ College, Cambridge in England. She also earned double Bachelor’s Degree in Choral Music and Law, History & Culture from the University of Southern California.
As an educator, Kate has taught pre-K through 12th-grade music in both public and private schools across Los Angeles. She is currently a Choir Director for Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach Middle School and National Children’s. Chorus.
As a vocalist, she has performed across the world, singing with the Rolling Stones, David Crosby, Eric Whitacre, Pentatonix, and touring across eight countries. She is active in the contemporary a cappella scene as a freelance arranger, performer, and staff member of A Cappella Academy. Kate is a published composer with pieces under Heritage Press and Alfred Press, and was recently recognized as an “Editor’s Choice” by JW Pepper. To learn more about Kate, visit her website. www.katecrellin.com
Choir Accompanist
Gordon Glor
Gordon has been accompanying choirs since he was in seventh grade at Holland (NY) Middle School, when his choir director asked him to be the accompanist for the seventh and eighth grade choir.
Gordon holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he majored in composition and minored in piano performance. After graduate studies at UC San Diego, Gordon served as staff accompanist at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, where he also taught piano classes and music theory.
In 2007 Gordon joined the Angel City Chorale, a 180-voice community chorus led by artistic director Sue Fink, based in West L.A. He sings baritone with the Chorale, and serves as Principal Accompanist for the group. Gordon also enjoys serving as Principal Accompanist of the Angel City Youth Chorale (ACYC), which formed in 2018 in association with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Venice and Burbank.
Since 2008 Gordon has been proud to be the accompanist at Manhattan Beach Middle School, and in 2020 he became the accompanist at Mira Costa High School. He looks forward to many happy experiences continuing to make music together with the supremely talented singers of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District community!
OTHER BAND PROGRAMS
Elementary Choirs
MBMS Choirs
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