When Gillian Wortley made the difficult decision to leave the school system, she promised herself that she would find a way to keep working with young children. She says the creation of the Creemore Community Children’s Choir is the fulfilment of that promise.
Wortley has a Masters of Education and first taught music in the UK, then in Toronto schools, and more recently in Simcoe County.
Music has always been an important part of her life, and she believes it is foundational to learning, brain development and social awareness.
She recently joined Music Care by Room 217, an organization that has been around for 18 years but has a newly launched certification program to recognize excellence in the use and delivery of music to improve quality of life and care in a variety of settings. The first group to be certified was an Alzheimer’s Day Program in Peel.
During her years as an educator, students often told Wortley that choir was the best part of their day. She is committed to bringing that sense of fun, play, discovery and experimentation not just to schools but to long-term care homes and hospices and using music as a foundational piece in improving quality of life.
“I saw a gap,” she said. “Creemore is a very arts-based community but here was no after-school program that is sustainable. I can see this becoming inter-generational – a children’s choir that regularly performs at Creedan Valley.”
Wortley says the language centres of the brain are different than the music centres, which are often the last to be affected with the onset of dementia. Music sparks memories, she says, “this can be a pathway to communication for people who are losing the ability to speak.”
The Creemore Community Children’s Choir will launch at St. Luke’s Church on Oct. 25. It will be non-denominational and inclusive. Children from eight to 18 years of age are welcome regardless of previous musical experience. Participation will be free, the organizers just ask that members commit to regularly attend practices to be held Wednesdays from 5p.m.to6p.m.
Wortley says in the early stages, the focus will be on having fun and creating a feeling of community. She is hopeful the choir will be ready to debut during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Creemore, and aspires to enter community choir competitions and the Kiwanis Music Festival.
“Performance is a really important skill for kids,” said Wortley. “It’s a skill I’d like us all to be comfortable with because that’s how we bring joy to each other. Kids have to understand that it doesn’t have to be perfect. There can be a lot of anxiety around performing – and the isolation during Covid exaggerated the problem because there weren’t a lot of opportunities to sing to each other.”
She is hoping to see 20-25 youths join the choir but will work with whatever size group they get, adding they could support a choir with 100 members, although that might require a few more volunteers.
Wortley is currently working with Marnie Hillier, a retired nurse and business leader, and Robert Davies, an architect and part-time Mulmur resident. Both are long-time choir enthusiasts.
The choir will be registered as a charity and eventually will be seeking funding to purchase instruments, such as drums and xylophones, used to teach music fundamentals.
More information is available at www. creemorecommunitychildrenschoir.com.