Students receive vocal support in April 7 T.O. choir festival
By Denise Gula Special to the Acorn

Local area choir students will perform in the All District Choir Festival at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza for the first time on April 7 and 8 due to a mutual agreement among many governing agencies.

The All District Music Festival is held April through May this year at the Civic Arts Plaza. The event began as the All District Band Festival in 1983. Until now choir students from elementary, middle and high schools have performed at the local high schools, while the instrumental groups have performed at the plaza.

Scott Buchanan, the cultural supervisor with the Conejo Recreation and Parks Department, said, "We are in partnership and work directly with the Arts Council of the Conejo Valley to help offset the cost of performing at the Civic Arts Plaza. Of the total cost of $7,000, we spend approximately $3,500 in parent donations, while the city of Thousand Oaks Endowment and the Alliance of the Arts offer approximately $3,500 in scholarships and grants."

Frank LaGuardia, elementary school chorus coordinator for the Arts Council and Conejo Valley Unified School District, is enthusiastic about this year's event. "After three great years of doing the chorus festival at the high schools, I am very excited to finally move the chorus festival to the new exciting venue. That also sparked enthusiasm with the children in the chorus program. I made the announcement during our holiday concert to get everyone excited about it, and the district finally gave the okay, although many of the details were not finalized yet."

Buchanan said, "This program keeps the children involved in music so that they are committed year after year. We hold the event at the end of the year, so it encourages the children to enroll in chorus the following year. Feeder schools allow the children from, say, Westlake Elementary School to watch the middle school chorus students from Colina perform and, from there, watch Westlake High School chorus students, where they will eventually go to school."

LaGuardia said, "The students are really excited about performing on the same stage, in the same place, as professional singers that come to town, especially at the elementary school level. Most of the children have been to the Civic Arts Plaza to see concerts."

Robert Iezza, CVUSD director of elementary education, recently took over the project. He worked with Janet Cosaro, assistant superintendent for instructional services, and Terry McCallum, board member of the Conejo Schools Foundation, to bring the project to fruition.

Arts Council President Pat Johnson said she would like to see lower rates at the Civic Arts Plaza and get a "better break" to keep the cost low so that more students may participate. District schools have allowed the afterschool choir programs free use of their space, Johnson said, so "Why can't the city of Thousand Oaks be more involved by writing grants or scholarships?"

Students in chorus programs donate $10 each to receive two passes for the performance at the plaza, including free parking. Additional passes may be purchased for $5 apiece.

Last year many children suffered from heat exhaustion during the performance at Thousand Oaks High School, including Summer Hatae. Her mother, Lisa, owner of Sushi Ko, said, "We don't mind the $10; it's better than going to the high school."

Pamela Schott, assistant director to Laguardia, said, "We're all happy for this exciting opportunity for the chorus students. They work hard all year, and we are looking forward to this incredible live stage performance."

Buchanan agrees. "There's many issues, including capacity at the high school, and eventually we would have to divide the event into two separate days."

The All District Choir Festival performances start at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat., April 7 and 8.

For more information, call (805) 497-9511, ext. 410, or visit www.conejoschools.com/ events.htm.

Denise Gula is a freelance journalist and a parent at Westlake Elementary School.