MomChoir: Mothers, singers and community-builders
Is there room for one more choir in the community? Yes, there is! Katy Cadman explains how she got MomChoir off the ground, what she'd do differently and what happens when choir is about more than just creating joy and a space for togetherness.
In this episode of ChoirSuccess, we talk to Katy Cadman, the musical director of Vancouver’s upstart MomChoir.
Once upon a time, Katy Cadman was a music teacher with three kids. She saw that moms around her were forgoing things that once brought them joy. Kate had always been passionate about singing and she wondered if there were other moms who would like to carve time out for themselves. And what if she scheduled rehearsals at bedtime and made choir a no-kid zone, would anybody come?
The next day she had 100 requests for auditions.
Today, MomChoir is a successful community-based in North Vancouver with two franchise choirs for kids - and soon, for dads too.
In this interview, we asked Katy how she got her community choir off the ground, what she'd do differently and what you need to know before you start. Katy has strong ideas about repertoire too and what message your choice of music sends to the audience. For Katy it's about more than just creating joy and a space for togetherness.
About Katy
“Because music is so complex, when you’re learning and you’re performing, you know everything else in your life kind of falls by the wayside. And we’re able to just be present in a moment with other people.”
Katy Cadman has been passionate about singing and choir since she was a kid. She currently sings with an a cappella group, Sweet Scarlet and loves directing MomChoir.
About MomChoir
MomChoir is a Vancouver based choir made up of local moms who not only share the joys of motherhood but also the love of music and singing. The choir presents two shows a year and sings at various other performances throughout the year.
Interview Transcript Highlights
Mom choir is what it sounds like. It's a choir for moms, a local community via auditions, and a lovely group of humans who come together once a week to sing.
I recognized during the motherhood process that it can really overtake your life. A lot of women tend to forego the things that once brought them joy and devote their entire lives to their children.
Someone asked me, what would I do if I wasn't teaching? And I said, I'd love to start a community choir in my retirement. All of a sudden I thought, what about just a mom choir? Maybe there's other moms who would love to lose themselves in the music and then this idea was sparked
I'll just put it on social media. And there's a North Vancouver mom's Facebook page. Well, I had over 100 women respond. So from there on, I realized this was actually an idea worth pursuing.
I want us to focus on music, musicality, and kids are not invited. I thought let's make rehearsal time right at bedtime so we can remove ourselves from that task in the evening.
My family does come first, but music is a really important part of my life. And I think recognizing that and also carving out just a little bit of time each week to pursue that passion has really added to the quality of my life.
I've got about 60 women now in my group. And, you know, for many of them, this is the one thing they do for themselves in a typical week.
But recognizing that there's so many people out there who have joy in singing, you recognize that coming together as a community of singers is a powerful thing. And when they're faced with the opportunity, I think a lot of people are actually really eager to sign on and participate.
Yeah, I believe anybody can sing. Just about literally anybody can learn how to sing and that's a great way to get started, because of the 60 people. So you are an active participant in an action that's happening in real time. You know, we all breathe at the same time. We sing the phrase at the same time. We're feeling the emotions at the same time.
And I don't think you have to stand out as an individual. I think it's all about blend and community. So actually, for those who feel nervous or shy or uncomfortable being in the spotlight, it's a beautiful activity to be a part of.
Mom Choir's becoming kind of more franchised. So we're going to be having Northshore choirs, and then under that branch we're going to have mom choir.
We've now got two kid choirs happening, and the goal is to hopefully end up with youth choirs as well and maybe dad choir, you never know dad board choir to take off and do something like that.
But right now we do have two kid choirs at that full capacity and they are junior level and as senior level up to grade seven.
How do I do the business part of choir? I was renting spaces. I was looking for locations that were central. I was getting insurance. I was doing all this legwork before my group had actually formed. Formed yet because you actually do need to have those provisions in place before you can start.
Then came the branding piece. I was like, What do I want the logo to look like? What do I want? What is my mandate for this group? What do I want our mission statements to look like? So you start to look at the business from that standpoint. And then I had these incredible women in front of me, and that also helps to shape your vision.
You've got a group who is actually really interested in giving back to the community and wanting to participate in community activities and fundraising activities. So that became a big part of where we're headed. And then from there, you know, yes, they pay fees to be part of it. So that helps to pay for our rent and our insurance and the accompaniment. And then we also have revenue from concerts and ticket sales and things like that.
Next five years? I think moving into branching out and adding youth into the equation. We are both high school music teachers, so I think we both have a passion for working with youth. I'd love to see us connect with the community.
We were able to do a fundraising concert for the Pacific Postpartum Support Society and we raised $11,000 for them. So having the power of music propel a social justice need. I think we'll continue connecting with the community
I think there's always an opportunity to add to the choral community in your area. And so really use your passion and use your own stance to think about what area could be fulfilled in this space, who what kind of choirs are around me, what is missing, and what mission or goal do I have that I can share?
The opinions expressed in this program are those of the guests and contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ChoirGenius Inc.