Brett Caswell has had his fair share of experience in the music world, but after playing live music in bars for almost 12 years, he was starting to feel burnt out. As a result of playing too many shows without making room for breaks in between, he found that he was losing his joy and love for music.
In search of way to reclaim his positive experience with music, Caswell developed Caswell Community Choirs. This new group is made up of a series of choirs divided into 3 age categories: ages 8-12, 13-18 and 19+.
"Through this choir I hope the kids gain confidence."
Anyone who loves to sing is encouraged to come out to these weekly choir meetups to fine tune their skills, make friends and have fun. Caswell explains that one of his main goals of these choirs is to help children build confidence. He says:
"Through this choir I hope the kids gain confidence. Building their confidence through singing will be my main goal. A sense of camaraderie will come naturally, and I look forward to watching that happen, as well as being a part of it!"
With over 11 years of experience teaching music, Caswell knows a thing or two about helping others develop their skills. In the past, he has owned and taught at his own music school, ran rock camps for the city of Barrie and toured Canada playing shows.
Caswell says, "I've been writing and performing since the moment I could form my first power chord on guitar." He is excited to work with kids in our community in a way that is both fun and educational.
The choir group known as The Choir Lions, for ages 8-12, runs every Monday at Homestead Artisan Bakery. The meetups start at 5 pm and run for 1.25 hours with an emphasis on singing fun, popular music. Last week's song was "Roar" by Katy Perry, and tonight's song (Jan 14th) will be "Happy" by Pharrell.
The Coffee House Choir, for ages 13-18, will start on February 4th and run at Homestead as well, from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm every Monday. For this choir, the song selection will be more versatile including indie, pop, rock, folk, hip-hop and other genres.
The cost to join one of the Caswell Choir groups is $60/person for the month or $50/person for families with more than one child in the choir.
Singers can take advantage of FREE choir meetups for the first few weeks. The Choir Lions will be free through the month of January before the fees kick in and The Coffee House Choir will be free for the month of February with fees starting in March.
The third and final group in the Community Choirs will be an adult choir held at the Temple Lounge at Donaleigh's Irish Pub called The Northern Pipes. This meetup will include simple harmony arrangements geared towards having the most fun possible.
Caswell explains that this choir is meant to be a bit of a social as well. He says, "Choir patrons are encouraged to eat, drink, and be merry". The official start date for this choir is still to be determined but will most likely be sometime in March.
For more info on Caswell Community Choirs, click here.
