Arts & Culture

Our repertoire is unique among children’s choirs, as it includes an extraordinary range that spans across many different countries and music genres. Each performance is unique and the Artistic Director carefully crafts each program to suit the theme of the event. We offer performances consisting of Classical music, Folk music, Spirituals and World music.

Choral Activities/Music Education

BCC is developing a reputation for professional level performances and innovation in music education. The 40-plus annual performances are rooted in Boston but have national impact – particularly through our nationally televised Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert that has become a New England tradition.The music education program, most often recognized for a unique approach to diverse students of both urban and suburban backgrounds, levels the field of learning for singers with varying degrees of experience and leads all to achieve high levels of musicianship.

Artists and Scholars

BCC builds relationships with leading professional artists and scholars in the field of music and music education. These leaders interact and partner with BCC singers and the Boston community providing meaningful musical experiences. The 2010-2011 roster includes the following:

• Composer in Residence: Bill Banfield, Berklee College of Music
• Conductor in Residence: Maria Guinand, Schola Cantorum de Venezuela
• Educator in Residence: Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, The American Boy Choir

Tours and Excursions

Tours provide our singers with first-rate performing opportunities within the U.S. and abroad. Through this travel and the specially-designed pre-tour education programs, singers’ lives are changed as they learn about foreign cultures, their histories, and from friendships across global boundaries. Recent travels include tours to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America.



Youth Development (Modulation)

BCC empowers youth to take ownership of their participation, assisting their development as independent and responsible learners, thinkers, musicians and citizens. The youth development program provides opportunities to develop skills that allow singers to develop their own voices through omni-directional mentoring, leadership development and through the building of networking, public speaking and communication skills. In addition, the singers become deeply engaged in the community through targeted community service projects.

Choirs include:

Premier Choir
Advanced singers ages 12-18. Our premier performing group offers a stimulating, comprehensive and demanding choral repertoire requiring advanced level of musical skill. The Premier Choir participates in local, national and international tours.

Young Men’s Ensemble

A special program to meet the unique needs of boys ages 10-18 with changing and changed voices.

Concert Choir

Singers ages 10-16 with advanced musical skills receive intensive training in music theory, music history and foreign languages; performances include regional tours.

Choral Union

A choir created in 2010 to provide intense vocal and theory training for older singers ages 12-18 who have a great interest and enthusiasm for singing, but not the formal musical training.

Central Intermediate Choir

Intermediate singers ages 10-14. This level requires individual attentiveness, vocal skills and theory comprehension while offering expanded repertoire and performance experiences.

Dorchester House Training Choir

A neighborhood-based choir for beginning-level singers ages 7-12, established in collaboration with Dorchester House, in Fields Corner.

Dorchester House Intermediate Choir

Intermediate level neighborhood-based choir established in collaboration with Dorchester House, in Fields Corner.

West End House Training Choir

A neighborhood-based choir for beginning-level singers ages 7-12, established in collaboration with the West End House in Allston-Brighton.

Central Training Choir

Beginning singers ages 7-12. This program develops music basics such as theory, interval training, rhythm and sight-singing techniques. Attention span and concentration are points of focus.

Villa Victoria Training Choir

A neighborhood-based choir for beginning-level singers ages 7-12, established in collaboration with Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), in Boston’s South End community.

In addition, Rapid Achievement Practice (RAP) is a required weekly half hour music education program specially designed for all levels of singers to help advance sight-reading and musicianship skills.

African Healing Dance Video
In 1997 Wyoma, created and danced the lead role in the African Healing Dance video, produced by SoundsTrue, Inc. The instructional program of six traditional African and Caribbean dances performed by Wyoma and her dance group Damballa uses Wyoma's unique teaching style to provide audiences with a high energy and user-friendly dance class at home. As facilitator of African Healing Dance ("spirit movement"), Wyoma provides a non-judgmental atmosphere in which we can explore our own natural rhythms and our relationship with ourselves, each other, the animals, and elements. Wyoma helps people gain the confidence and ability to connect with their own rhythm and movement. This organic movement is healing and transforming to the spirit and the body.

Facilitator and Teacher
As a teacher of traditional African Dance, Wyoma incorporates into her classes an understanding and value of culture deeply rooted in community. She encourages students to respect each other, listen, be aware of space, and pay attention to breathing. Students are connected to the culture through dances, drumming, and songs that relate the rich African history. Wyoma's repertoire includes dances from Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo/Zaire, South Africa and other Sub-Saharan countries as well as Haiti and Brazil. Her classes include opportunities for students to experience their own natural movement, spirit, and sense of humor through improvisation.

Wyoma facilitates Kwanzaa workshops and celebrations intended for children as well as teaches African based movement for workout classes at spas and retreat centers.  

Body Mind Consultant
Wyoma has over thirty years of experience as a massage therapist. Additionally, she has been practicing Yoga since the age of 18, receiving her teacherís training in Yoga in 1978 from the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Montreal, Canada. She provides private consulting for physical, mental, and emotional health. Wyoma works to inspire creative problem-solving, increase body awareness, improve muscle tone and flexibility, rejuvenate, empower, and heal individuals.

Wyoma has worked with educators, students, individuals, and groups, utilizing dance therapy/healing dance, stress management techniques, intuitive healing massage, guided imagery, meditation and yoga.

Dance Project Manager
Wyoma initiated and managed the Ford Foundation funded Tudhaneni Dance Project in Namibia, Africa in 1998-1999, and consulted for the project in 2000.

The Tudhaneni Dance Project, located in Ongwediva in northern Namibia focuses on "building the future from the past" by fostering the interest and awareness of young people in the importance of dance as a medium for cultural expression in post apartheid Namibia. Working with dance groups at the local teachers' college, youth centre, schools throughout the region, and in rural villages, Tudhaneni aims at revitalizing traditional dance among young people by bringing elders and young people together to share their skills. 

Consulting and Advising in the Arts

EARTH WALK NATURE LEARNING CENTER
Advisory Committee Member
Moab, Utah | 1998-present

Emphasis on the arts for private non-profit youth development program based in Moab, Utah (summer camp) and Denver, Colorado (school year-service learning component). Program focuses on leadership skills, cultural exchange, environmental awareness and community responsibility for inner city "at risk" population. 

2012:

In June/July 2012, Sustainability Guild launched the 100 for 100 initiative.  100 for 100 engages 100 inner city residents in 100 sustainability projects and programming for environmental, economic, and social opportunity creation involving:

Living Walls | Upcycling | Energy | Community Cafe - in partnership with the Dorchester Community Food Co-op | Arts, Culture & Wellness | Sustainable Design.

Pre-2012:

International Peer-Reviewed Journals

Our publications build core knowledge and provide insight that guides holistic strategy, action, outcomes and innovation. The Guild FOCUS journal series emphasizes key issues in sustainability from institutional and organizational perspectives. The Guild CULTURE journal series examines sustainability from broad, social and cultural perspectives. Guild journals promote critical discourse through in-depth articles, interviews, case studies, program profiles, opportunities, technology assessments and book reviews.

Digital Library Series (DLS)

Our DLS publications provide deeper insight into sustainability topics and issues that emerge from our research, journals and collaborations. Leveraging the deep insight and experiences of a diverse array of strategic leaders and scholars, the series features case-study-framed examinations of quantified outcomes, emerging issues and innovation.

Arts Engaged

Reaching out to stakeholders of the art world, Sustainability Guild International seeks to determine how the players in arts and culture are involved with society, sustainability and social projects. By publishing data and articles online, holding online exhibits, holding annual events and more, the Guild will make known the points of intersection between the arts and society.