Chœur d'enfants Chandler
juin 4 @ 5:00 - 6:00 EDT
Bio for CantusThe Chandler Children’s Choir (CCC), founded by Director Aimee Stewart, is a premier youth community choir from the Phoenix-metro area of Arizona, USA, having offered performance-based choral education to hundreds of young people since 2008. Just completing their 15th season, the choir continues to inspire singers ages 7-18 and performs a mixture of classical, folk, and art song styles for audiences throughout the Phoenix Valley, and on tours to San Francisco, New York City, and m
ost recently to Dublin, York, and London. In March 2020, the Cantus Choir performed at the American Choral Directors Association’s Western Region Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah after being selected to represent children’s choirs from the region. They have won numerous superior ratings at state festivals. “They had a beautiful, spinning, unforced tone, stunning intonation, excellent diction and a marvelous palette of dynamics.” – Larry Marietta, Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, CA. Chandler Children’s Choir believes “Every Voice Counts”. In keeping with their motto, directors teach youth the joy of singing in true CCC style, with lots of creativity and fun, and a constant focus on the singers.Bio for Ad AstraAs our choir approached its fifteenth season, it became apparent that there were a group of standout singers who had been with the organization since their earliest opportunities, many since age 5 or 6. This group of super-dedicated and talented singers stayed and wanted more. To meet their needs, we formed an ensemble of these top musicians to challenge them further and provide skills to launch them into their futures. These learners are high school students ages 16-18 who have demonstrated a desire to excel, commit to the program, work hard, and advance their skill levels. They are willing to work outside of rehearsal, and to exercise leadership and service within the organization and to our community as a whole. Besides performing opportunities, each senior was challenged to identify an
d execute a capstone project that qualified them to receive the State Seal of Arts Proficiency on their diploma. Projects ranged from arranging a carol for SSAA, planning and executing a day camp for the younger ensembles, working with a commissioned composer to write the lyrics of a new piece, planning a mini concert, and rehearsing a younger ensemble and conducting a piece in a concert. The ensemble also gained professional experiences by taking paid gigs and even recorded an entire album at a recording studio. This choir is designed to launch these singers into future musical opportunities, either as a hobby, career, or academic pursuit once they graduate from high school.Director BiosAimee Stewart is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chandler Children’s Choir, now in its 15th season. As a youth, she sang with the Salt Lake Children’s Choir, studied voice and violin, and performed in a string quartet for several years. Mrs. Stewart earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Brigham Young University. She has sung in established choirs in Virginia, Connecticut, Utah, and Arizona, and studied conducting with Dr. Jana Minov.
Since its inception in 2008, the CCC has grown into a highly respected choral organization in Arizona, with four performing ensembles, an introductory choir, neighborhood choir, and an annual summer camp. InMarch of 2020, CCC was honored to perform as a chosen ensemble at the Western Region ACDA conference in Salt Lake City. They most recently performed at the 2023 AMEA conference.In connection with her work with CCC, she was a 2012 nominee for the Governor’s Arts Award in Arizona for entrepreneurism in the arts. She was a 2014 nominee for the Beth McDonald Woman of the Year award, and in April 2019, received recognition as one of the influential Women in Chandler from Chandler Lifestyle Magazine.In addition to her work with CCC, Mrs. Stewart has been either concertmaster, head organizer, or conductor for over ten years in the Tempe Community Messiah. She was the Choir Director at Tempe Preparatory Academy for five years and currently conducts the Chamber Singers at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. She has served in a variety of leadership roles with the Arizona American Choral Directors Association, including President and Festival Chairs, currently serving as Community & Children Youth R&R Chair for the Western Region. In 2022, she was the honored recipient of the Choral Director of the Year Award from AzACDA. Mrs. Stewart’s hobbies include Duolingo, Wordle, and skiing with her husband, Adam, and their four children.
Dr. Andrew Campbell has established himself as one of the most versatile collaborative pianists in the United States with a performing career that has taken him to six continents. Recent appearances include concerts in South Afri
ca, Bogotá, Colorado, Oregon and throughout Arizona. Dr. Campbell studied with the renowned collaborative artist Martin Katz and is currently Director of the Collaborative Piano Program at Arizona State University. He has directed summer music programs in Germany, Luxembourg and North Carolina, and currently serves as Faculty Artist for the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, CO. His early musical foundation was based on choral singing, as his mother was the
founder of the San Diego Children’s Choir. After hearing the CCC Holiday Concert many years ago, and observing the amazing work of Aimee Stewart
and her team, he enrolled his own daughters as soon as they were old enough. He is the volunteer collaborative pianist for Cantus and Ad Astra Choirs.
