About us

Trifold brochure

Our Mission Statement
Children's Chorus of Carroll County exists to provide an accessible,
quality choral experience for children in central Maryland.
Furthermore, it is dedicated to serving the community and helping children
develop attitudes which will perpetuate a lifetime of joyful singing.
    To those ends we provide:
  • Developmentally appropriate choral activities for children of all ages
  • Highly qualified musical leadership and instruction
  • A variety of performance formats, including artistic collaborations.
  • Exposure to and involvement in music from a wide spectrum of historical,
    cultural, and ethnic styles,thus nurturing a respect for diversity
  • Opportunities which develop teamwork, personal excellence, self-discipline, responsibility,
    self-control, self-expression, personal confidence, and community service 
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The Children’s Chorus of Carroll County is a 501( C ) 3 organization,
affiliated with Carroll County Department of Parks and Recreation,
McDaniel College, and the Community Foundation of Carroll County.
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The Directors


Diane Jones

Diane Jones is a co-founder of the Chorus and has served as co-director and accompanist in addition to her current role as Artistic Director. She has an MLA from Western Maryland College and a BME from Houghton College, Houghton, NY. Her professional experience includes twenty-five years in music education at both the high school and elementary levels. Presently, Ms. Jones is adjunct music education faculty at McDaniel College and maintains a private piano studio. She is a sought-after choral clinician and is actively involved in MTNA at both the state and local level. She is co-director of Cantare Bel Canto and Voce Viaggio.


Diana Greene

Diana Greene is an active performer, accompanist, and music instructor with expertise in piano instruction and early childhood music. She is a certified Musikgarten instructor and holds Level 1 certification from the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association and is the Vice-President for the ECMMA Greater Washington Chapter. Ms. Greene serves on the faculty at Gerstell Academy as the music instructor for the primary grades and teaches piano in the McDaniel College Community Music Program. She has a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from The University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College. In addition, Ms Greene is an active chamber music player appearing locally with the Trio Giocoso. Ms. Greene is the director of the Music Maker II program, oversees Music Maker I, directs Les Petites Voix (Grades 2 and 3), and the Chorus' accompanist.


Ms. Katie Cole

Katie Cole, now entering her second year as faculty of the Children's Chorus of Carroll County directs MusicMaker 1. She is employed by Carroll County Public Schools where she teaches elementary general vocal music for students K-5th grade. In addition to her full-time teaching duties, she is one of the instructional faculty for the Children's Chorus of Maryland and an Early Childhood Instructor for the Carroll County String Project, Carroll County's newest non-profit Community Music School. Katie received her Bachelor's of Music Education and K-12 Vocal and Instrumental Certification from Towson University and is currently pursuing a Master's of Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from The Hartt School of Music. Katie has been a presenter at workshops for MUSIK and for the Washington Chapter of ECMMA on topics involving the young child's singing voice and enjoys arranging music for her young students to perform. She enjoys performing with the Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County and with Musica Schola as well as doing occasional solo work on her flute.



Mrs. Julie Hollenberg

Ms. Julie Hollenberg is the director of the Della Bella's. She received her BA degree in music education from Bridgewater College, and a Master of Music degree from James Madison University. She earned her Orff/Dalcroze/Kodaly Certification from Towson University, and is currently a candidate for National Board Certification. She teaches elementary vocal music at Hampstead Elementary and directs the youth choir at her church.





The Organization

Children's Chorus of Carroll County (C4) was started in 1986 by Idalea Rubin and Diane Jones.  Teaching elementary school music in Carroll County made them aware of a need for a community based organization that would provide a standard of excellence in choral music for children with unchanged voices. The organization has grown from one chorus to choruses of different age levels with members from throughout Carroll County.

Tuesday evening rehearsal details:

Music Makers I: 6:00 - 6:45pm

Music Makers II: 5:00 - 5:45pm

Les Petites Voix (LPV): 6:00 - 7:00pm

Il Choro Della Bella Voce (DB's): 5:45 - 6:45pm

Cantare Bel Canto (BC's): 7:00 - 8:30pm



Meeting and rehearsals at Grace Lutheran Church in Westminster

The Choruses

The various choruses provide opportunities for all students to learn and perform choral music that is age appropriate. Auditions are held annually in May. Selections are made by the current Chorus Directors. Our performing groups provide an opportunity that enables both young and older students to learn and perform choral music that is appropriate to both age and ability. We are proud to introduce Music Makers, an early childhood component based on the Musicgarten® curriculum, for kindergarten and first grade students. This program began in the fall of 2006.  Our groups are as follows:

Music Makers I
Based on the well-respected Musikgarten© curriculum, this fun, interactive program builds language abilities, increases coordination and motor skills, enhances listening, fine tunes impulse control, and develops memory while establishing a solid musical foundation for the rest of the child's life. Music Makers are five, six, and seven year olds. There is no performance expectation.

Music Makers II
Also based on the Musikgarten© curriculum, this program continues to develop and fine tune the skills achieved in Music Makers I. Children will build on existing vocal skills and sharpen their kinesthetic and aural abilities with songs and dances from around the world. In addition, music reading begins with simple rhythmic and tonal patterns. Music Makers II are in first and second grade or have completed Music Makers I. There is no performance expectation.

Les Petites Voix
Second and third grade students possess genuine music ability which is developed in many ways through rehearsals and performances. The goals of Music Makers are expanded, basics of musicianship and music reading are developed and the excitement and joy of performance is introduced. No previous formal music instruction is necessary. Weekly rehearsals are one hour long with approximately three extra Saturday rehearsals during the year. Les Petites Voix perform in the winter and spring celebration concerts.

Il Choro Della Bella Voce
Choristers in grades four and five exude the spontaneity and energy of younger singers, but a higher skill level enables them to engage in music at a more advanced level. Basic musicianship skills are taught within the context of choral music. Repertoire includes canons, descants, unison and two-part pieces, accompanied and unaccompanied in English and other languages. Weekly rehearsals are one hour long with approximately three extra Saturday rehearsals during the year. Della Bella's perform locally in a variety of venues and participate in the winter and spring celebration concerts.

Cantare Bel Canto
Designed to provide challenge and opportunity necessary to meet the artistic potential and developmental needs of choristers in grades six through high school, the Bel Canto repertoire and schedule is more personally demanding than the other choruses. Pieces include unison through four-part treble, accompanied and unaccompanied in English and other languages. Weekly rehearsals are between one and a half and two hours long with approximately three extra Saturday rehearsals during the year. In addition to local performances, Bel Canto's enjoy travel opportunities. Annually, the group participates in an adjudicated choral event such as the Heritage Festivals (New York City, 2002, Philadelphia, 2004), Paramount King's Dominion Choral Festival (King's Dominion, 2003), Music Maestro, Please ( New York City, 2005): Six Flags America (Washington, DC, 2006).

Voce Viaggio
This select group of 24 to 30 singers frequently serves as ambassadors for the entire Chorus. A more rigorous rehearsal and performance schedule combined with a wide musical spectrum offers VV members a more in-depth experience than can be achieved otherwise. In 2004,Voce Viaggio traveled to Finland, Sweden and Estonia, representing Westminster and the United States in Estonia as an extension of the Westminster, Maryland/ Paide, Estonia Partner City Program.

Choral Highlights

C4 presents two major annual concerts and is also involved in other concerts and musical collaborations. The Chorus has joined forces with the Peabody Children's Chorus and Peabody Strings, The Johns Hopkins Chorus and Orchestra, The Georgetown University Chorus and Orchestra, Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County, McDaniel College Choir, Old Line Statesmen Barbershop Quartet and Chorus, Estonian Television Girls Choir, Blue Ridge Brass Quintet, Westminster Ringers, and the Paide Girls Choir (Estonia). Our singers are regularly showcased at the Big Band Merry Christmas Concert. The Chorus has joined Masterworks Chorale and the Westminster Ballet Theater in a stellar production of Orff's Carmina Burana. Recent highlights of the two younger groups of our chorus were performances at Hershey Park Candy Lane, the Washington, D.C. Mormon Tabernacle Visitors Center, Port Discovery in Baltimore. Bel Canto highlights include performances at the White House Candlelight Tours, Carnegie Hall and the Riverside Church in New York. Each spring the Bel Cantos participate in an adjudicated event. In May of 2003 they were awarded a Superior Rating at the Paramount King's Dominion Choral Festival. In May of 2004, the Bel Cantos went to Philadelphia to participate in the Heritage Children's Choir Festival, receiving an adjudication rating of excellent. May of 2005 found the group in once again in New York City participating in a "Music Maestro, Please" festival where they earned a Superior rating. In April 2006 the Bel Canto's went to Six Flags America in Washington, DC and earned two trophies: one for a superior performance and one for Best in Category. In 2007 they received an Excellent rating in Music in the Parks at Busch Gardens, VA.

The Estonian Connection The City of Westminster has enjoyed outstanding participation in the Estonia-Maryland partnership which was established in the early1990's. The cultural exchange piece in Westminster was initiated in 2003 when the Children's Chorus presented the Estonian Television Girls Choir in concert. The following year, Voce Viaggio traveled to Finland, Estonia and Sweden, spending eleven days representing the City of Westminster and the State of Maryland. The Chorus hosted Sirjelind, the Paide Girls' Choir, from June 24 through July 1, 2005. Both choirs traveled and performed together in Baltimore, Annapolis, Ocean City and Westminster. The culminating experience was the June 30th Gala International Concert with the Carroll Festival Chorus, Sirjelind and Voce Viaggio. The Chorus, Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County and the McDaniel College Choir combined forces in commissioning "Journeys to Freedom: Rännakud Vabadusse," a work for three choirs and instrumental ensemble by Rebecca Oswald. The quest for freedom was dramatically chronicled through the folk songs of both Estonia and the United States. The ongoing collaboration with our Estonian friends has not only been a rich source of musical growth, it has opened new worlds of international friendship and understanding. .

Collaborations and Commissions

Integrated into the fiber of the Chorus is a commitment to involving our members in the greater music picture of the community. To that end we have established a long-term collaboration with Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County, McDaniel College and Old Line Statesmen Barbershop Quartet and Chorus. Other performances partners have been Westminster Ringers, the Peabody Children's Chorus, , Estonian Television Girls Choir, Blue Ridge Brass Quintet, and the Paide Girls Choir (Estonia). Our singers are regularly showcased at the Big Band Merry Christmas Concert and in 2006, joined Masterworks Chorale and the Westminster Ballet Theater in a stellar production of Orff's Carmina Burana. The Chorus is committed to supplementing the repertoire of quality choral music for children.

The following pieces have been commissioned by Children’s Chorus of Carroll County, thereby enriching the choral music available for unchanged voices:

    “Te Deum” by Richard Eichman
    “Hippopotamathalium” by D.J. Sparr
    “The Letter” and ”Wesley Church” by Dr. Larry Harris.
    “The Journey to Ithaca” by Garth Baxter
    “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” by Garth Baxter
    “Songs of Life” by Garth Baxter
    “Carroll Canons” (for band and chorus) by D.J. Sparr and Henry Ditman
    “Journeys to Freedom: Rännakud Vabadusse” by Rebecca Oswald

updated July 6, 2008