Children's Chorus of San Antonio: 

              Through the Eyes of an Alto 

The Children’s Chorus of San Antonio. Ah…The good old days. I joined Children’s Chorus of San Antonio, better known as CCSA, in the 7^th grade because of my friend, Katie Bartlett, who had joined as soon as she could speak words it seemed like. When I got the call that I made it in the choir, I was really excited. It was the first extracurricular that I told my mom I was doing rather than her telling me….Many a tap dance lesson went by before my mom realized I had to have my own heart set on something for it to work.

CCSA Winter Concert

I worked my way up from Choristers to Chamber Choir where I started off as a lowly 8^th grader who looked to high schoolers with the utmost respect and knowledge. As I made my way into high school, I soon became the one that fellow altos were looking up to. Finally, I made it to Youth Choral where when we performed, I got to wear the coolest pants known to mankind. I had graduated to the big leagues where the boys in the choir left their days of soprano/alto and moved on to tenor/bass.

Through my time in CCSA, I sang in the Majestic Theater and many other amazing venues and cathedrals. I had the great opportunity to sing with the San Antonio Symphony as well as the Master Singers and many other talented artists.  By my Youth Coral days, I had known most of the people in the choir, especially the ones who were my age. So many of these people changed my life and taught me things such as: If you’re going to make a sassy comment in choir, don’t make it audible; Choir teachers have the best ears. I also learned that the altos get in trouble the most (and are the coolest), the ladies swoon over tenor voices, if you text behind your sheet of music, it’s not sneaky…they can see you, and you may not know these peoples life stories, but they are your family.

From left to right: Katie Bartlett, Sarah Janes, Stephanie Bull

The typical response to the questions “how has being in choir benefited you?” “what is the best part about being in a choir?” are usually…I learned to express myself…I made long lasting friends…I sang with the San Antonio Symphony…I am now able to wear the really cool pants whenever I want. And while these things are all true, the coolest thing about choir is how I can run into anyone who has been in a choir and instantly, we have a personal connection with one another.

Not to say that it’s a super cool club and all, but it totally is. When I meet another vocalist, the first thing I ask is what voice part they are. I am not alone in this…all vocalist do it….don’t lie to your selves. When an alto meets a fellow alto, it’s like long lost sisters being reunited. Not only that, but the topics of music come up and which songs you sang and which arrangement is your favorite…it is truly a blessing to me to be a part of this collection of people.

Two of the four ruthless Back Row Altos

As it is now, I am a vocal performance major at Texas Lutheran University studying under Shaaron Conoly. I am also in the three choirs that TLU has to offer, under the direction of Dr. Douglas Boyer. I don’t think that I would be where I am today, with these amazing directors if I had not taken that first leap in the 7^th grade, when I knew nothing about singing in a choir. I have been blessed to work with some of the best choral conductors ever known to mankind (in my opinion) who not only care about music, but also care about their students.

I will be forever grateful to the directors of the CCSA, Mrs. McCormick and Mrs. Taute for setting the musical bar high and accepting me into such an amazing group of “youngsters” as Mrs. McCormick refers to the choir. But it can’t be unsaid what a pleasure it was to have sung and cracked a few too many jokes during choir with my back row altos and fellow choir members. Lastly, to still being in touch with the friends I have made in the Children’s Chorus is unbelievably awesome and I have the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio to thank for that.

Stephanie Bull