IMA Offers Music Instruction, Youth Choir and Youth Orchestra
CUA’s Institute of Musical Arts is gearing up to launch a youth choir and youth orchestra that will offer performance opportunities to young people while introducing prospective CUA students to the university’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music.
The IMA, created almost two years ago, is the music school's noncredit program, offering private instruction in voice, piano, percussion and orchestral instruments. The institute’s faculty includes CUA professors, alumni and current students, said Chiara Selby, the IMA’s director. About 70 students currently take lessons through the institute.
Ms. Selby, who earned her doctorate from CUA, teaches piano to music majors as well as directs the IMA noncredit program. While CUA has previously offered noncredit music instruction, Ms. Selby’s goal is to "build something that incorporates the entire school of music," she said.
CUA faculty, staff and students who are not majoring in music can arrange for private lessons that are tailored to their educational and financial needs.
Students do not need to commit to long-term contracts, she said.
Auditions for the youth orchestra and youth choir will be held 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 9, and Saturday, September 16. The youth orchestra will be conducted by Peter Wilson and the youth choir by Jennifer Gumina, both alumni of CUA.
"Our goal is to offer the community musical opportunities with the same excellence that the school of music offers university students," Ms. Selby said. "Many schools of music have preparatory programs that provide experience for pre-college youth, and we're excited about developing a high quality program here."
Among the institute’s current students are homeschoolers, CUA students and individuals from the community who take lessons early in the morning, in the evenings or on Saturdays. Several current IMA students have already been recruited into the school of music, Ms. Selby noted.
"We have found a lot of the institute’s students like to be associated with Catholic University because of its fine reputation," she said.
Rehearsals for the new choir and orchestra will take place on Saturday mornings, Ms. Selby said. Concerts at the end of the fall and spring semesters will provide performance experience for the musicians and singers, she said.
For more information on individual lessons or the youth orchestra and youth choir, contact the institute at 319-5422 or by e-mail at: cua-ima@cua.edu or visit their website at: http://IMA.cua.edu.
Rates are competitive for the Washington area, she noted.
Ms. Selby earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance at the Peabody Conservatory, before receiving her Doctor of Musical Arts at CUA. A frequent adjudicator of music competitions, she has lectured on topics pertaining to international and national piano pedagogy in England, Italy and the United States. She performs nationally as well as abroad, in rural settings as well as for international music festivals.