Our students have had wonderful experiences in the past partnering with community organizations. If you are coordinating an event or are involved with an organization in the Barrie area that would benefit from music student volunteers or perhaps a performance by one of our ensembles, we’d love to hear from you! Secondary school students in Ontario are required to complete at least 40 hours of community service to graduate, and volunteer opportunities that are in their area of interest are always ideal for them.

Volunteer activities that our students have been involved with in the recent past include:

• Singing the national anthem at events
• Assisting organizations that introduce music to young children
• Page turning for professional performers
• Individual or small group performances at fundraising events

In recent years, our choirs have partnered with the following organizations for performances:

• Sainte Marie Among the Hurons (First Light Event)
• Royal Victoria Hospital
• Amica at Barrie Retirement Home
• Senior’s Serenade Concert Series
• The Huronia Symphony
• “Strings Attached” touring production

See below for more information regarding specific requests.

Choir Performances

Generally, we try to have our concert season planned by April of the previous school year. For example, we’d attempt to set performance dates for the 2018-19 school year by April 2018. While our schedule does tend to fill up, particularly during the Christmas season, we are occasionally able to squeeze something in.  At minimum, we’d require at least a month’s notice for a performance, but are much more easily able to accommodate requests made well in advance.

Please contact Dave Stewart (dcstewart@scdsb.on.ca) for further information.

Orchestra Performances

Please contact Paula Kowalchuk (pkowalchuk@scdsb.on.ca) for information about having our orchestra perform.

Student Volunteers

We would be thrilled to promote your event with our students, and put interested student volunteers in contact with you.  While students are keen to take advantage of these opportunities, please be aware that the number of requests we receive sometimes exceeds the availability of interested students. The following tips for recruiting student volunteers comes from our past experiences:

• Approximately 3-6 weeks notice is ideal, with detailed information included.  Providing a document that we can photocopy and distribute to students is also helpful.
• Although not always in your control, timing can make a difference. Students have less availability during our busy seasons generally from mid-November to mid-December, and again from mid-April until early May.
• Student volunteers are difficult to find on holidays or during the school day.  Evenings and normal weekends work best.
• For recurring events, a commitment of about an hour a week at a consistent time works best for most students.
• Events reasonably close to home for students generate the most interest.
• Something suitable for our younger students (aged approximately 13-15) can be more successful, as they have more availability and require the volunteer hours.
• If you’re able to offer a very modest honorarium, or even some refreshments to students following the event, it will help students feel appreciated and that they are making a worthwhile contribution.

If you would like our help recruiting student volunteers, please email Dave Stewart (dcstewart@scdsb.on.ca), with event details including relevant times and locations, and a timeline for when you need responses by.  Attaching a printable document that can be distributed to students can also be very helpful.  We will provide contact information for interested students and their parents so you can contact them directly to make detailed arrangements.  We strongly recommend making contact with both the students and parents, to ensure a full commitment is being made.