2021 WINTER NEWSLETTER: Spotlight on PEBCC Teaching Assistants

Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir has a vibrant staff of Teaching Assistants that many parents and patrons of the organization know very little about. These high school choir members support our youngest singers by engaging in games and conversation while assisting in learning repertoire and theory. Their roles have changed as the Virtual Zoom rehearsals have necessitated the addition of small breakout rooms to build connections and friendships. Each choir has a TA that is responsible for creating an atmosphere of friendly, supportive, and fun breakout rooms for singers to feel comfortable to sing, talk, and laugh. This is an important building block to having confident singers now and in the future. We asked our Teaching Assistants to tell us about what it means to be a TA.

What activities give you the most joy as a teaching assistant?

Getting to hear the kids sing and getting to watch their progress and improvement over the semester brings me the most joy. I love seeing how much they enjoy singing and I love hearing them sing each week. - Kailamae Sands (Kinder)

As a teaching assistant, I really enjoy getting to know the singers and talking with them. - Erin Bartholomew (Training 1)

I have the most joy having one on one conversations with singers to establish friendships and learning about what they are passionate about. We are able to still establish these relationships and create a fun environment because of these open conversations! - Alexandra Fiske (Girls Training 2)

Playing mafia with gt3 is super fun for me and especially for the girls. They love trying to guess who the mafia is and enjoy my crazy stories. - Talia Young Skeen (Girls Training 3)

I enjoy thinking and planning games to play with my group the most as well as spending time with them during breakout rooms during rehearsal. - Jan Warnke (Boys Training 2)

As the TA for Girls Training 4, I have the pleasure of running fun and games. For the second half of rehearsal, I get to spend time with half of the group to just chat or play games. I enjoy spending time with the girls in smaller groups to get to know each individual. It’s really nice to have the singers open up to me, and it’s super fun to learn about their interests and opinions. Spending time hanging out with the singers makes being a TA so much fun and so worth it. I love being able to help out and have a good time. - Julia Manese (Girls Training 4)

What do you hope the singers remember about your time with them in rehearsal?

I hope the singers remember how much they love to sing and the joy it brings them. I also hope they are able to feel connected to their friends, teachers and the music even through Zoom. - Kailamae Sands (Kinder)

Mainly, I hope that choir has a positive impact on the singers, whether that be sparking their passion to sing, or just being able to talk to others. - Erin Bartholomew (Training 1) 

I hope they remember that I am here for them, whether it is just to be listened to or talk to any adult about something that is bothering them. I am here to support them and hopefully create an open space to talk and have some fun!! - Alexandra Fiske (Girls Training 2)

I hope they remember how fun it is to play solfege and sight-reading games in the future because even if they don’t know it yet, playing those games is training their ears to become better musicians and hopefully they will use their tools later in life for singing music. - Talia Young Skeen (Girls Training 3) 

I hope to have the singers remember my creativity, and I hope that they had fun with me as their teaching assistant. - Jan Warnke (Boys Training 2)

I hope that the girls remember having fun making music in GT4. I hope that they remember choir and our time together as a highlight of their time in quarantine, and I hope that I was able to encourage their love of singing and of the choir. My goal is that the singers remember choir as a fun and welcoming place to explore and strengthen their talent. I also hope they hang on to some of the stories that I’ve told them so that they can excitedly anticipate what is to come in their choir journey. - Julia Manese (Girls Training 4)

Please share either a recent interaction with your group that impacted you, or share a memory of a specific time your TA made a difference in your life.

I was having a rough day a couple of weeks ago, but as soon as I saw the kids on Zoom, I felt better. They are always so positive and they always bring a smile to my face. They all truly are such lights in the world and it has been beautiful getting to watch them grow. We also went into breakout rooms a few weeks ago, and I got to hear the kids sing alone for the first time. I was blown away by how good they sounded and it has been an amazing experience being able to hear their improvement. - Kailamae Sands (Kinder)

When I was in the training department as a singer, I always loved the teaching assistants that I had. Especially in my earlier years of choir, when I didn't know anyone yet, I would always find a friend in my TA which was a huge comfort to me. - Erin Bartholomew (Training 1) 

One interaction that has really stayed with me is in one of our Fun Breakout Rooms in the second half of rehearsal, we were sharing how online school was affecting us. I was able to see and relate to the experience of loneliness and missing your friends that we were all experiencing. It made me understand that we are all going through the same things, empathize with the experience of younger youth during the pandemic, and made us all feel a little less alone. - Alexandra Fiske (Girls Training 2)

I remember last year at the winter concert there weren’t enough altos for our song so I had to run a last-minute sectional to make sure they all had the part down completely. It was stressful for all of us but in the end, they did amazing and I felt really proud of them and glad that I was able to help them succeed in the concert. Quickly running the sectional gave me confidence that I could be a good choir director someday. - Talia Young Skeen (Girls Training 3)

A recent interaction with my group that Impacted me was hearing their singing in past concerts. A specific Memory as a teaching assistant that made an impact on my life was during the retreat last year where I got to see the BT2/GT4 singers bond with the concert choir singers. - Jan Warnke (Boys Training 2)

One interaction with GT4 that impacted me happened when Mr. Brown visited our rehearsal to talk about Concert Choir. I was in a breakout room with some of the singers, and they were asking me questions about my experiences with the Performing Department and what to expect in Concert Choir. Telling them about my time in the choir and trying to ease their anxieties helped me to reflect on how many great opportunities choir has given me and how much choir has encouraged me to grow as a person. It also reminded me that every person’s experience is different and that other people have gone through the same things you are about to experience. This small conversation with these young singers helped to alleviate my concerns about the future, and their curiosity inspired me to not be afraid to ask questions. - Julia Manese (Girls Training 4)

Every Teaching Assistant brings a little bit of personal experience and the ability to build the confidence and community for each choir. Many of these older singers will hold a special place in the younger singers’ hearts as they continue on their choir journey.